- A 3d immersive sim made in godot
- Video game inspired by games such as hitman and cruelty squad
- Low poly graphics, emphasis on player freedom (Large reason why games such as cruelty squad are so popular is due to the freedom they give the player)
- Custom music and sound effects
- Somewhat unclear story, large emphasis on environmental story telling and player exploration to piece together the story
- 2d metroidvania game based around exploration and player choices
- Pixel artstyle with simple shapes and bright colors
- Inspired by the video game hollow knight
- Simple story told to the player through progression
- Boss battles and progression system
- Custom music and sound effects
- Emphasis on exploration, the player must explore the world to discover new bosses that progress the game
- An original sound track for a non existent video game
- Heavily inspired by Karbonic, the creator of games such as psychopomp and dreamwild
- Dreamlike OST, genres such as experimental ambience, atmospheric and electronic
- 5-8 song ep with all the songs for different occasions within the context of a fictional game
- On top of creating an ep from scratch, I will be creating an audio visualizer in the program Touch Designer
For the first two songs I want them to sound very similar to karbonic, these songs won't necessarily be ambient but still implements techniques used in atmospheric music. I feel that this gives the soundtrack a strong start and as the Ep progresses it gets more and more mellowed out. I plan to use VSTs such as serum and rave maker on these songs since they have a broader selection of sounds, Zenology is great for ambient sounds but for the first two songs I feel that it's unnecessary to overuse. I intend on utilizing Bitcrushing on most of the sounds to give them an old video game feel. Karbonic also utilises bitcrushing in his songs, so having bitcrushed sounds on these two songs are crucial. Since these songs aren’t going to be too heavy on the atmospheric pads, I don’t intend on these songs being too long. I’m thinking 3 minutes max for each song here. I would like to sample voice lines from anime and video games. The BPM for these songs won't be fast or too slow, I think somewhere between 100 to 120BPM would be applicable
For these next three signs I intend to lean into a more atmospheric sound. Before this project I did make a couple atmospheric songs to gain confidence in the genre. Therefore I intend these songs to be atmospheric with hints of karbonic’s style. These songs will be longer than the first two songs since atmospheric music tends to be quite long. I intend on these songs being below 5 minutes in length, since I think anything longer is unnecessary for this project. These songs will heavily rely on Zenology and soundfonts for these songs, since Zenology has a large library of atmospheric sounds. I will be using other plug-ins such as Toxic Biohazard which is a stock plug in. (stock plug in meaning that it came with FL Studio) since it has some nice atmospheric pads and arps. Soundfonts hold instruments used in old video games, before working on this project my classmate Faith sent me a file containing a large amount of soundfonts from old games. Atmospheric songs are typically slow, therefore the BPM should be somewhere between 80-90.
For the final two songs, there will be no similarity between these songs and karbonic’s music. It has been a tough decision but I have decided to pivot the initial design choices of the EP towards more of an atmospheric sound. While the EP had notes of atmospheric noise, it wasn't the main focus. Producing music similar to Karbonic has proven to be quite difficult and has limited the sounds I could use. These Final two songs will blend into each other to create unity with the heavy atmospheric sounds. I feel like it represents the change in the EP. These songs will use slow pads with multiple layers of sound. I also intend to sample sounds and voices from video games. I personally feel that samples from dark souls would go perfect with the somber sound of these last two songs.
The gantt chart was used to judge on what days I would be working. I created this before working on the project and ensured that each part of the project would have a fair amount of time for me to work on. Unfortunately for the fourth week I did not follow the gantt chart since I was in hospital, this has been mentioned in the constraints. The gantt chart has been a great deal of help since I’ve planned out when I will be working so I don't have to stress about knowing when to work on specific tasks.
| Strength | Weakness | Opportunity | Threat | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Immersive Sim (3d) | The last project I worked on was also in godot, this would be great since I could improve my skills in godot while developing a game that I’m interested in. Allowing myself to push my skills in godot further will definitely be useful with future projects. Cruelty squad is my favourite video game, therefore making a game similar to it seems very appealing. | I dont have experience working in a 3d environment in godot. All the work for the game might be hard to complete before the deadline, writing the story and sound design would take a long time, it would be hard allocating time for all aspects of the game and completing on time. | It will allow me to develop my skills further in godot and allows me to work not only in a 2s setting but a 3d setting. Having a broad range of skills is crucial in this field and this idea could help with enhancing and developing skills. Coding in 3d is pretty different from coding purely in 2d, having the opportunity to be able to create a game under a genre that I am a big fan of will be enjoyable and useful. | Since I have never done anything in 3d in godot before, I might spend far too much time on the project and not finish it in the designated time. Learning 3d is far harder than learning 2d and the basics in godot and having to manage the time will prove to be difficult. |
| 2D Metroidvania | As stated previously, my last project was within godot and notably it was a 2d platformer. Therefore all the skills that I learned from the last game can be implemented within this game. Developing a metroidvania could definitely meet the time frame given to us. Since the artstyle of the game will be pixel art, I can do it without having to outsource my work to someone more capable. | While it was one of my ideas I feel like with a project such as this I would lose steam quite quickly with the project. Since my last project was also a 2d game, since I’ve only been working on 2d games in godot I could see myself getting bored or burnt out with the work. I feel like developing my skills in other genres would help me in the long run. | While I would still be developing my skills further with my project, allowing myself to experiment with 3d would broaden my godot abilities and coding skills. Working on what is essentially the same game is useful to hammer down the skills previously learned. | Having to make a large and diverse map would prove to me quite difficult and time consuming. Having to manage creating the fundamentals of the video game and creating other aspects such as a unique map and sprites would be difficult to manage. And since it's a solo project I’d have to create music and sound effects for the video game which would be too much for just one single person within the designated time. |
| Original Soundtrack/Touch Designer | The video game OST idea is the one that seems the most appealing, I am quite proficient with music production. I have been using the DAW (digital audio workstation) FL Studio for 3+ years now and have been producing music ever since. Inspirations such as Karbonic, the creator of games such as Dreamwild definitely sway my opinion, however I am far better at producing music rather than developing games, therefore for a quality FMP creating music seems like the best option. This will allow me to develop my music production skills further. Learning touch designer will be useful for a myriad of different situations, touch designer is an incredibly versatile software that is used by artists, programmers, creative coders and software designers. | Since it's not a video game I won't be able to use the skills that I have learned within the course, touch designer and FL Studio aren’t software that the current course covers, nor are they industry standard in their respective fields. I won't be able to work on the music side of the FMP in college since they don’t own FL Studio, therefore I must be very careful with how I plan working on the music and the writing to ensure completion before the deadline. | Learning touch designer will be useful for a myriad of different situations, touch designer is an incredibly versatile software that is used by artists, programmers, creative coders and software designers. Having experience in touch design could open up jobs in multiple sectors, one notable sector is theatre. Touch designers can be used for theatre lighting. So learning touch design will be a useful skill. | Threats with making the soundtrack itself is that FL studio can crash when working on a project for a long time and adding too many instruments and severely affecting the speed of your computer. Another threat that could be an issue is forgetting to save files or files corrupting |
For my final decision I have decided to go with creating an original soundtrack and making an audio visualizer in touch designer. I have chosen this since my passion is creating music and it will allow me to develop skills within touch designer. For making the music I will be using the DAW “FL Studio”, I have four years of experience in this DAW and have been learning music theory for the same amount of time. I am proficient in music theory and have been learning how to play guitar for the same amount of time. Music is a large part of my life and I’ve decided to incorporate a musical twist into this course. Creating original soundtracks are crucial for video games to create tension and build atmosphere. Music makes people feel, and in video games making the audience feel something is crucial in keeping player attention and leaving a lasting impression.
| Constraints: |
How to Overcome them: |
|---|---|
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Time constraints: Spending too much time on the music. Leaving everything until the last couple of weeks. Bac Dissertation |
Follow the gantt chart and ensure to allot time carefully to ensure maximum productivity. |
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Equipment constraints: The college computers don't have FL Studio. Theres only one computer that has Touch Designer in the college |
Asking the college technician if we could allow FL Studio on the computers. If not then work on the music side of the project at home |
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Resource constraints: No college coputers have the programmes I need in order to work on the practical aspects of the project, making it so I can only work on certian parts of the project at home (With producing the music) This could be detrimental since I can only work on the pactial work at home, this could lead to work being unfinished or rushed. |
Making sure to work on the music at home, and working on the writing aspect and the website at college. Ensuring that work is split up evenly, making sure that the these sides of the FMP don’t clash will keep the project productivity efficient. |
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Personnel constraints: Working on music for friends Video games Anime Movies Spending time with family and friends On the 20th of march I was taken to hosipal due to a foot infection. I was in hospital from the 20th to the 25th. |
Ensuring to allot enough time to be able to hang out with friends while not interfering with working on the project |
The overall aim of this project is to create a video game sound track that is similar to a Karbonic game. Karbonic is a developer and music producer who has created video games such as Dreamwild and Psychopomp. I have chosen this project since Karbonic is a large inspiration to why I create music and why I joined the game development course. His music is atmospheric and typically a bit crushed which gives it a nostalgic feel. Other Inspirations for the OST are C418, Solar Fields and Akira Yamaoka. The skills that I have gained from the other projects won't necessarily be of use within this project since I am not developing a video game. However, I did produce music for my last project, so the skills that I learned while producing for that project could be of use here. Personally I think that it will, since it helped me improve on my theory, which is essential in music production. It also improved my skills within the DAW (FL Studio) that I was using. This year has been crucial to my music production capabilities since college has allowed me to create more music, hence allowing me to grow my skills as a producer. I also aim to create an audio visualizer within touch designer. I’ve decided to create this since It will complement the OST and make the sound design of the OST stick out.
The project is going to consist of 8 songs, it's going to be a short ep inspired by Karbonic. Each song is going to be different but most of them are going to sound very similar to Karbonic. I intend to take some artistic liberties with some songs to add some flair to the soundtrack, however most songs will be akin to Karbonic songs. Most of the ep is going to consist of atmospheric bitcrushed sounds and simplistic drums. Karbonic uses a wide variety of instruments in his songs, I aim to broaden my use of instruments and not rely on serum/zenology synthesisers. Karbonic uses a lot of strings and instruments such as bongos in his music which cuts through the atmospheric synthesisers. This blend of electronic sounds and acoustic bit crushed instruments are a key aspect of Karbonics production. The other part of the project is to create an audio visualizer within touch designer. Making an audio visualizer will be important since there isn’t a real game to complement the OST, since there isn’t a video game for the OST making an audio visualizer is another way of being able to visualise the sounds and appreciate the sound design. When the soundtrack has been completed, the EP will be released on Soundcloud and youtube, A file will be provided for UAL containing all the songs and the audio visualizer and a video showing the audio visualizer at work will also be within the file.
The project's development will be documented weekly on the website, with overlapping weeks if progress was limited due to illness or leave. A task checklist will be created to facilitate planning and assess workload. To ensure quality, selected song segments will be reviewed by informed individuals for feedback. Upon completion, a comprehensive evaluation will be provided, addressing the project's outcome, the usefulness of the Gantt chart, and alignment with initial goals.