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Are my tunes video game-worthy?

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1 comment, last by nsmadsen 8 years, 9 months ago

Hey, guys. This is my first post here. I've read the stickies for this subforum, and I'm not trying to plug my tunes or spam (I have plenty of releases out under other aliases which won't be mentioned here, for obvious reasons). Anyway, I'm getting into the idea of composing for video games (I'll probably end up working for free just to build a portfolio, which sounds fine to me) but I'd like some opinions on these audible 'sketches' I drew up, just in case they suck.

TL;DR: In your opinion, would either of these be considered by anyone on a serious level, or are they just totally terrible?

https://soundcloud.com/vfaxxx/bullet-shower

https://soundcloud.com/vfaxxx/91215-wip

Thank you!

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The music sounds good but I only heard one track which was EDM. There's nothing wrong with EDM but not every game may want or need that style. It's very hard to say if someone's music is "game worthy" because there's such a wide range of games out there. So instead consider these points:

- Can you compose music quickly?

- Can you take a client's vision for their game and make your audio fit that vision? Can you write music that helps support the story instead of overpowering the gaming experience?

- Are you open to feedback/revisions, especially when it's someone who may not know anything about music?

- Can you create interactive music with different stems so more complex games can utilize it effectively?

- Are you a gamer yourself? Even if you're super busy now, do you have enough foundation with the gaming community to know what's cool, what's cliche and what your players would like to hear?

- Can you music sound good on whatever platform(s) the game will be played on?

Lots of people I run into can make great music. That's only a tiny portion of it. But less can make great game audio. The best way to get started is to reach out to other developers and see if anyone likes your style and has a need. You'll learn a great deal from working on your first few projects. In fact, I learn something from every project I'm on.


(I'll probably end up working for free just to build a portfolio, which sounds fine to me)

Please don't. Work for cheap! But not for free. You and your audio are worth so much more than that.

Hope that helps!

Nate

Nathan Madsen
Nate (AT) MadsenStudios (DOT) Com
Composer-Sound Designer
Madsen Studios
Austin, TX

Update - I was able to check out a few other songs of yours and many of them are in the same style. If you want to freelance as a composer for games, it's very helpful to be able to do more styles of music. Not saying be able to do all styles because, realistically, who can do that! But find 3-4 styles which fit you well.

Nathan Madsen
Nate (AT) MadsenStudios (DOT) Com
Composer-Sound Designer
Madsen Studios
Austin, TX

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