Space Unlimited: Fighting the Swarm

Hey guys

This is the first piece I have written for a new game development team I'm working with. The piece is called "Fighting the Swarm" and is supposed to be a dramatic battle in space between dozens of spacecraft.

Any feedback would be appreciated, thanks :)

SoundClick artist: Luke Stephenson - page with MP3 music downloads

This is a great piece IMO. Worthy of a commercial game. Lots of variation, dynamics and drama. One thing though... it seems to start off with a bit of a bang, but the majority of the rest of the piece is more sort of brooding. Maybe you could build up the ending a bit more.

Like the contrast you make with the quieter theme which comes in at around 0:38. Also, not 100% sure this is what I imagine for music for a space game - probably that I am expecting more synthy/electronica sounding music rather than orchestral stuff. I think this piece would be just as appropriate for a medieval battle as for a space battle. But still - very well done... you are quite talented.

I see what you mean about the electronica. I was trying to take influence from similar titles on the market like "Freelancer", but I've also been watching alot of Star Wars recently! Interesting thought about the ending. Other feedback I got said that I needed to make the start more impressive so when it looped at the end it crescendoed into that initial bang again, but I see your point. Thanks for the listen.

I like this. I see no reason why it can not fit into a space theme. An orchestra can fit into any style IMO.

The only thing I might do is jack up the percusion in a few spots. Some places it is barely heard. Afew timpani rolls might help as well.

Very well done

Ron

Oh, I agree with the tympani roll suggestion a lot. At the quiet piano section at 2:15ish, in between the trumpets interjecting, I think some dramatic tympani work there could be very appropriate and help carry the tension back to the the initial climax.

But really, this is a wonderful piece of work. Excellent, excellent job.

Edit: I guess that part also happens around 40 seconds. Would work there too.

Marvelous piece.

It really , imo, gives a feeling of an intense battle going on somewhere, in this case in space.

I like the way you have the snare do the rolls around 1:30.

I found this piece fun to listen to.

And it also inspired me to keep writting and improving on battle - ish themes of my own :]

The sample quality is quite good. This piece really does sound quite commercial and could easily work into a game. The orchestration sounds good and balanced and I could definetly hear that John Williams Star Wars thing going. I can't exactly explain it but it does have sorta Sci-Fi feel to it as well. The one problem I did have is, there doesn't seem to be any kind of melody to attach to. I can hear some recurring themes and motifs but overall, I didn't find anything that memorable. I believe the success to alot of videogame music is creating a simple recurring theme that people will recognize. My other problem was that the percussion was a bit low. Maybe I'm a bit close minded but I always believed that loud, booming percussion is the best way to show aggression in orchestral style pieces. I understand you wanted to show some contrast but there are definetly parts where I thought some louder and more sophisticated percussion could do help enhance the mood. All in all, a great piece. I think I might be slightly jealous.

Interesting point re the melody especially, as melody is 99% of the time what I do! Perhaps I just didn't quite get it right this time. I also know what you mean about the percussion, that was an inner battle I had with myself to!

Thanks for the listen.

What music program did you use to compose this piece.?