|Spectraball| - Original Soundtrack

Hello, everyone!

As some of you may have heard, I've recently been conscripted to write the music/soundscapes for an upcoming platforming game called "Spectraball" which is to be released for the PC via the Steam network (host of the Half-Life series, Portal, CounterStrike, etc) and also the Xbox 360 via Xbox Live (that one's still unconfirmed, but we're working on it).

The basic premise of the game is rather simple: it's a platform game wherein you control a ball and navigate it through a series of themed stages, each of which makes creative use of the game's fantastic physics engine and graphics.

The track list below represents every piece (as far as I know) that will be in the game. I will add links to the appropriate item in the list as I complete more tracks. Please feel free to comment on any or all; I'd love to hear your feedback, even though I may not be allowed to implement any suggested changes if my employer does not agree with them too.

1. Main Theme
2. Jungle Stage
3. Snow Stage
4. Windy Ruins Stage
5. Lava Stage
6. Desert Stage
7. Space Stage
7a. Space Stage 2
8. Alien Stage

Promo Trailer Video

Enjoy and thank you in advance for your responses!

Steam.... that excites me
i'll have to check it out when it releases.

The jungle stage kinda seemed too desert-ish for me though

Wow, this is great music indeed. I love the trance/techno feel all 3 tracks bring. Especially the jungle theme. The soundscapes were really amazing, love the synths getting in and out of the picture.

As for the other 2 pieces, they were cool as well. I love the sound effects you used in the lava stage. Very clever usage of sound effects to make the whole piece loop. The morphing basslines really caught my attention. The fast part was great, really energetic. I can imagine myself in a disco with this kind of music

Tell me when you have done the other pieces to the ost, I'd love to have a listen. This is going into my collection.

Hey,

These are very interesting pieces. I like the variation of instruments you tried to maintain. It keeps things fresh.

I liked Windy Ruins the most out of the 3. I like the section at 1:01 and how it transcends to the trance/club feel.

Can I ask what software and libraries your using?

BTW, I'm not sure if this was meant, but at the end when the sound effects fade the piece out the sound of the wind isn't there like it is in the beginning, just the waves.

Thanks very much for your comments, guys!

Xanic, I actually agree that the jungle sounds a bit desert-like, but I've got a sketch for the desert one and it sounds so nicely desert-like that the jungle one won't even compare.

Nigel, I'm very glad you enjoyed them so much! I had a lot of fun with the basslines in the Lava Stage...I figured they were a good way to get that dark, earthy feel in there - the volcanic depth.

Bob, I'm glad you noticed that I've been trying to keep these as fresh as I can. I figure just because I'm working in what may be considered a generally under-developed and unremarkable genre, I don't need to submit to stereotypes. So I'm doing my best to keep a nice vitality about each piece. And I'm glad you mentioned the wind in the ruins piece...I don't know if it's too jarring, but I DID intentionally leave a difference in between the beginning and end soundscapes, just to prevent too much of an audio "drone" from building itself up in the listeners' brains.

I'm using a combination of synths from my Alesis keyboard, Altered States, Colossus, and Logic to make these, along with some guests from other EWQL libraries for some of the percussion and more traditional instruments.

Thanks for the comments, everyone! I'm actually almost done the Snow Stage, so I'll likely add that up later tonight

UPDATE: Snow Stage added!

Delightful indeed, love the jazz guitar comping (is it a jazz guitar?). I think that should be more of the wind sounds inside it though. I also felt the little twinkling synths, the ones which sound really high up should appear more, to portray the image of falling snow. I love the way you morph different themes into each other, good job with that. Another thing, I didn't think this piece looped that well. I know you left some silence for it to loop, but for me, when it loops, the jazz guitar comes in too much of a sudden. Actually this only feels that way if I'm listening to the piece, so I think it will work fine when it's used in the game.

Just my thoughts.

Thanks, Nigel!

I think you're right about the tinkly synths, so when I get around to doing the final mixes of these, I'll work in some more. Ditto with the wind dealie...I think that'll also help me smooth out the looping a bit.

Thanks for the comments, they're quite helpful. It's actually funny because I've not yet seen any of these in their in-game setting so it's a pain for me to try to get the moods right from descriptions and screenshots, but we'll see how it turns out.

I've recently been conscripted to write the music/soundscapes for an upcoming platforming game called "Spectraball" which is to be released for the PC via the Steam network

Holy foot-long Subway!

Have you had a break like that in the past, Marius? How exciting! I'll definitely buy the game when it comes out...presumably, this will equate on some level to me giving you money! How quaint!

The music's fantastic - no gripes whatsoever.

Any idea as to a release date, or is it too early to say?

I was actually called up to score a similar game that was to be released on the Wii a few months back, but that one dissolved almost immediately because a publisher backed out and some other problems that I never fully understood - no harm done though, I hadn't even had a chance to start the music. So this isn't really my first opportunity of this size, it's just the first that seems like it's going to GO anywhere.

The project is extremely solid and it's exciting because I get to see progress with the engine and everything on a daily basis - the team is extremely talented and dedicated. And they like the fact that I work nice and quickly - they want to release the game within the next month or two (!!) which is why I'm busy churning these pieces out as quickly as I can

They seem to appreciate it though - the dev guy told me yesterday that they want to call me back for their future projects, so I guess the work is finally paying off.

Thanks for the support, Mike.