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Indie Game Development

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Sound Resources for Indie Game Development

Feb 25

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Setting the mood through music opens up what experiences are capable for your user.  But choosing the right sound file for your game can be tough.  Most sound files are copyright protected and unavailable for use if you want to make a profit on your idea.  However, there are a few sites out there which I’ve found to be useful:

freesound - a great resource for sound effects.  It has everything from thunder to restaurant noises.

ccMixter – lots of music files for various genres.

incompetech – great background music.  Some are created especially for game use.

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Game Design: Katamari Damacy’s Music

Feb 15

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Video game music is often (rightly) associated with electronic music:  with bleeps, sweeps, and creeps.  I don’t always think that’s a bad thing, but it is refreshing to hear someone mix it up.  Today’s example:  Katamari Damacy, a game which brilliantly uses music as part of its overall experience for the player.

While there are a few electronic tracks, the best are in done in a jazzy / lounge singer style which is unexpected and works incredibly well given how wonderfully weird the rest of the game is.  A few tracks for your listening pleasure:

Katamari Damacy remains the only game whose soundtrack I have actually purchased.  I highly recommend you do the same.

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Great Moments in Game Design: Music of Megaman

Nov 16

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Few platformers have had longer running series than Megaman.  Part of the reason for this longevity is Megaman’s Music.  A few examples:

Megaman succeeded at providing unique experiences for each level of the game.  Each of these examples helped by setting the mood for their perspective stages.  Megaman is one of the few games that I’ve actually listened to while not playing it (along with Cave Story, Katamari Damacy, and La Mulana).

I would also argue that Megman’s music has been highly influential.  You can look to the reviving chiptune genre for signs of this, but also to various remix projects and indie rock bands.  Take a moment and enjoy the old school music of this wonderful series.

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Great Moments in Game Design: Cave Story’s Music

Sep 1

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One of the finest, if not the finest, independent games to come out in the past decade is Daisuke Amaya’s Cave Story.  There are several reasons for its critical (and with a Wiiware version coming soon, soon to be commercial) success, but the one I’m going to focus on today is its music.

Cave Story Main Theme

Daisuke created everything in Cave Story by himself from 1999-2004, including the art and music.  If you haven’t played it yet, download it for free here.

The soundtrack is deliciously varied from wistful to playful.  It makes you think of bygone NES and Genesis titles from childhood and yet remains fresh.  I keep the soundtrack on my iPod to work out to.  It’s that good.

I wouldn’t begin to describe myself as a competent music theorist, but one thing I’ve noticed is how several themes are repeated on different tracks.  For example, the initial Labyrinth theme is heard again with a faster beat when you explore it further with a companion.  This ties all the music together, creating a more unified artistic whole which adds to the game playing experience.  You can download the entire soundtrack, in mp3 format, from here.

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