Alora Fane

I've composed some music for Divine Dreams! Here are three pieces, with the equivalent ones from MARDEK to directly compare them to!

I've done quite a bit this week other than the music - I actually composed that over last Sunday and Monday - but again it's been mostly technical behind-the-scenes stuff that needs doing, but which isn't really worth showing off or talking about.

I did make a dialogue editor for myself that should make writing conversations more intuitive for me than it was previously, and have this (stupid) gif from that:

The inappropriate expressions in that made me laugh, and I wondered whether to make a few similar scenes as gifs to promote the game. I could use them both to familiarise myself and the audience with the characters, and maybe to introduce bits of the story or world. Kind of like animated comics, in a way (though much quicker for me to produce; it'd only take a few minutes, once I had an idea). It seemed an interesting challenge to write a story or scene in just four sentences, the same length as this gif. It's something I've never tried, though, so I don't know if I'll actually do it, but it's a thought!

The most important thing this week is the music though, so let's get to that now.

I was expecting to release a video demo with the music incorporated into the game before the individual tracks themselves, so you'd be able to see them in their actual context first, but that's still some time off (though hopefully not too long), and I didn't have anything else to write about this week, so...

I've uploaded these as videos with the sheet music, which I know many people won't be interested in or be able to read, but I've included a bunch of comments at specific bits to explain what I was going for which might be interesting to you even if the notes are meaningless. Unlike with MARDEK's music, which was very much a naive stream of consciousness I felt I was channeling but not exactly controlling, I was much more deliberate and thoughtful with every bit of these. I've also learned a whole lot about the craft by looking at the sheet music of other pieces as they play, so maybe these will be useful to a couple of budding composers either now or in the future.

(The program I use for composing, Sibelius, gives essentially no options for customising the layout of its exported videos though, so if you notice stupid apparent decisions like sections starting right at the edge of the page, this is why!)

I was going to explain a bit of music theory here to make sense of stuff if you're unfamiliar with it (scales, Roman numeral chords, etc), but it'd take a while and I don't know if anyone would be interested, so I'll just get straight to the music!

I actually composed the Main Theme at the start of the year, though I don't think I've shown it off before. It'd play on the title screen, like MARDEK's did, so most people wouldn't hear more than a few seconds of it, but, like with MARDEK's, it establishes a melody which would be used in other tracks to signify their importance.

Here's the original Main Theme from MARDEK:

Like I wrote about in more detail ∞ in this late-January progress post ∞, all the music from MARDEK was very rough around the edges because I was self-taught and still figuring things out. That's still true, but I've been at it for longer now so I've figured more things out (I likened it to the difference between raw and cut gemstones).

Here's the Main Theme for Divine Dreams:

Like in both MARDEK and Taming Dreams, this melody would be the leitmotif of the Rohoph character (called Dharma in this), rather than Mardek himself. I've talked previously about how characters have 'mottos' (like they did in Taming Dreams): phrases that succinctly sum up their worldview and goals. I don't know if I'll be heavy-handedly inserting them into the actual dialogue, but they're nice to use for composing melodies around.

Dharma's - as you can see from the text in the video - is:

"Divine dreams die in enlightened eyes; this sacred lie, this jail I deny".

What that actually means would become clear over the course of the story!

Typically, JRPGs tend to have Main Themes that are either heroic and energetic (the main Final Fantasy theme), or melancholy piano pieces (FFX, FFXV, Xenoblade Chronicles, etc). This is more like the latter, though I was going for something like a dreamy, mystical feeling since, well, it is called Divine Dreams. I wanted to keep it simple, too, to make it easier to reuse (and because I'm doing everything myself and not a professional specialised composer!).

Here's an image of that sheet music so I can use it as the preview for this post:

Oh, also, I have ∞ this version of the piece ∞, where a weird synthesized voice sings the lyrics. It's not exactly easy on the ears, but it's not like I was going to sing it myself, I was curious to see how the words would match the melody, and this was the best way of generating singing that I could find in the limited time I could be bothered devoting to it. I won't be using that in the game, and actually getting someone to sing it is beyond what I'm capable of, so this is probably the best we'll get!

The Dreamcave section that I'm making first - see ∞ all the previous posts in the series for more about that ∞ - is equivalent to the Gem Mine section in MARDEK 2. The music that played there was this, which was a generic dungeon track used in other places too:

Again, rough around the edges. But not bad, really. Unremarkable though.

Here's the Dreamcave one:

I'd been wondering for a while about what the best kind of feeling for this area might be, listening to music in a bunch of other games for inspiration, but nothing really clicked for weeks. I was really pleased when something finally did come to me, and I was even more pleased when the outcome turned out much better than I was expecting!

The area is supposed to be sleepy (it's called the DREAMcave, after all) and mystical, enchanting, not just some generic scary cave full of monsters. I hope that comes across in this.

Area music tends to be forgettable to players, so I'm not expecting excitement about this, especially since it's detached from the actual gameplay experience here so you can't even relate it to memories. I like it though, so I thought I'd share to give a feel for the general music direction I'll be heading in. Thanks if you've actually listened to it!

This one is likely to be more interesting to you though, and perhaps more contentious: it's the 'normal' (or 'casual', as I've used as a title many times now) battle music, for when you fight unimportant monsters.

Here's MARDEK's, which you're likely deeply familiar with if you played MARDEK (with the sound on):

It's not bad, and it served its purpose well. There are many things I still like about it. But, again, it wasn't exactly sensibly constructed.

Here's what I've got this time:

It's certainly different! It's more elaborate, and I can imagine objections that maybe it's too elaborate for fighting random craplings. I wanted to make something that's actually enjoyable to listen to considering how often you'll be hearing it, and it's been a success for me in that regard. I know that I used to appreciate JRPGs with fun battle musics over others, and some rose above mediocrity purely on the strength of the battle track (Lufia II comes to mind).

I fantasise about people saying "wow, that's way better! I'm impressed!! I want to have your babies!!!", that they'd see - as I do - how much I've improved in the years since I made the original, but I know that's not how our minds work. We like what we're used to, and it's difficult to know how something like this would feel in-game before you actually get a chance to experience it in the proper context. I also recognise that my opinion is uniquely altered by the feeling that "I made this!"; that is a very fulfilling feeling.

Still, I wanted to share, so I hope you find it interesting anyway!

I'm getting very close now to the point where I can at least make a video demo showcasing the basic gameplay (similar to the Belief one I posted a while back, though I don't know why it took a fraction of the time for me to get to that point with that game!). Once I have something like that, I could start promoting, then do some more work, build a playable demo, run a Kickstarter, etc...

I've also been thinking though that perhaps I should get back to tweaking the original MARDEK trilogy for a Steam release. I worked on that a while back, and finished a playthrough, but there were some issues I still need to address (primarily getting Steam achievements and cloud saves working with it), plus the actual upload process to Steam takes weeks because of various checks and such on their side, forms to fill out, icons to make, etc.

I'd been planning to re-release that alongside the Kickstarter so then it could help fuel that, maybe, so over the next week or two I'll try to figure out how best to schedule everything.

(I'm curious to see how many sales a MARDEK re-release would get, though I'm not getting my hopes up. Probably just a handful. It's worth doing anyway, though.)

So yes, more on that next week, probably!

Thanks if you've listened to these pieces of music! I put a lot into them, but I know they're not massively interesting when removed from their context, and they take a while to listen to, so I appreciate it if you've given them that time.

41 COMMENTS

astralwolf92~5Y

Interesting!

Tama_Yoshi82~5Y

Wow, these songs are really good O_o The main theme made me emotional!

You mentioning Xenoblade Chronicles made me think "Yes, I think I know which piece(s) he took inspiration from."

I also realized the instruments aren't basic MIDI instruments anymore, which I think really help too. I mentioned Pianoteq a while ago, did you settle on some music library?

Tobias 1115~5Y

Thank you! Just hearing that people like these really means a lot to me.

I still have Pianoteq, though the instruments I'm using for these are the non-standard-MIDI ones that come with Sibelius. I have a bunch of other soundfonts to play around with if I want to (they're the ones I used in Taming Dreams), but for now I'm quite happy with these!

MaxDes45~5Y

Just curious since I use Sibelius too, where did you pick up those other sound fonts not included with Sibelius?

Unfortunately I can't remember, it was years ago... I think I'd just discovered a free program called SynthFont, and googled "soundfonts" or something generic and collected everything (free) I came across, some of which are better than others. I wish I could be more specific!

I don't use them with Sibelius though; I export the music as a midi, and add the virtual instruments in SynthFont. It allows for different soundfont libraries to be applied to each track, so mixing and matching them to find the right one became a big part of the process. I prefer Sibelius now just because I don't have to bother with that anymore.

Nothing to say other than I really like the direction you're taking this in, and the new music sounds great! The new casual battle especially is really fun to listen to.

Ampersand68~5Y

Ha! Using a vocaloid for Dharma's voice seems strangely fitting, somehow. Love the new music tracks- definitely more refined than your earlier stuff!

I know comparison is the death of happiness, but if you're at the stage where you're starting to compose tracks for Divine Dreams, I think it really is time to play Undertale. Although at this point, Toby Fox's soundtrack is far different from yours stylistically, how he scored the game might give you some insights into incorporating your own music into the narrative of DD.

This essay provides an in-depth look at the music of Undertale (contains spoilers), and how it complements and shapes the narrative of the game.
[LINK]

facefacefaceface4~5Y

Haha, I'd never realised you'd called it a 'casual' battle on that video; does that mean there are also 'filthy tryhard' battles?

I really like all three of these songs, and even though they're going in quite different directions to the originals, they definitely sound like they'll satisfy their roles in the new game.

I'm always pretty impressed by how talented you are in all aspects of making assets for your games, and these songs have reinforced that, so keep up the good work!

Thank you, that means a lot!

I don't know why I went with "Casual Battle" years ago; I think I just found it silly! I've reused the name out of tradition though, without considering the connotations of 'casual' in the gaming world. I should totally call the Boss Battle music "Filthy Tryhard Battle" though!

Ptyrell37~5Y

Wow I loved this so much! Got hit by a huge wave of nostalgia when listening to the old intro. I really like the way you've gone with these new tracks, and you pick a lot of really interesting chords.

For me, listening to the intro that second time with the "lyrics" really added a lot actually. Though primarily because I already have a general idea of the character who is saying it. I think it would be cool if you included that somehow in the credits or something after the player completed the game, with a more polished voice of course. I'm guessing a lot of other people would enjoy that as well.

Those pauses at the end of Dreamcave are really powerful, and I bet even casual players will all of a sudden notice the music right at that moment. To me though, it felt like there was a beat or two too long of a rest at the end of the piece before it loops. Like the music really gets your attention, then ends, then gradually restarts. As a stand alone piece it ends perfectly, but as a looping piece I don't know. Feel free to disagree since you know more about music than I do, but that was just how I felt listening. I'm curious if others feel similarly?

That said, the transition in the battle soundtrack is amazing!! I also reeaally like how well you utilize holding the same chords to build tension. Details like that make something great into something incredible. One thing I distinctly remember liking in the original battle soundtrack was the crisp percussion. Your new track has a very different feel to it, but I thought I'd mention it. Maybe making the bongos slightly louder would add some of that? Or maybe not, I don't know. Just throwing out ideas.

Not sure how much "feedback" you like to get in these comments. I figure it could potentially be helpful though?

For me, listening to the intro that second time with the "lyrics" really added a lot actually. Though primarily because I already have a general idea of the character who is saying it. I think it would be cool if you included that somehow in the credits or something after the player completed the game, with a more polished voice of course. I'm guessing a lot of other people would enjoy that as well.

Those pauses at the end of Dreamcave are really powerful, and I bet even casual players will all of a sudden notice the music right at that moment. To me though, it felt like there was a beat or two too long of a rest at the end of the piece before it loops. Like the music really gets your attention, then ends, then gradually restarts. As a stand alone piece it ends perfectly, but as a looping piece I don't know. Feel free to disagree since you know more about music than I do, but that was just how I felt listening. I'm curious if others feel similarly?

That said, the transition in the battle soundtrack is amazing!! I also reeaally like how well you utilize holding the same chords to build tension. Details like that make something great into something incredible. One thing I distinctly remember liking in the original battle soundtrack was the crisp percussion. Your new track has a very different feel to it, but I thought I'd mention it. Maybe making the bongos slightly louder would add some of that? Or maybe not, I don't know. Just throwing out ideas.

Not sure how much "feedback" you like to get in these comments. I figure it could potentially be helpful though?

I definitely do appreciate specific comments like this, much more than a general "I liked it"! So thank you for sharing your thoughts!

I'd happily include a sung version quite prominently if I could get a more polished voice, but the problem is actually doing that! If there's a way to generate one without getting a person involved (which sounds better than this and doesn't cost a ton of money), I'd love to know about it!

I get what you mean about the Dreamcave's ending being too conclusive for a loop. I actually fiddled around with the timing a bit to get something that sounded right to me. The first four bars of the C section have a fermata (the semicircle with the dot, if you don't already know!) on the high chord to mark a pause, and originally the second four bars had the same. It sounded like the pause was too short to me though, so I changed that bar to 9/8 instead because that sounded better. But of course everything's subjective! I could explain it as leaving an appropriate feeling of fading into emptiness or something, but it was really just me setting on something that felt right.

I'm glad you liked the battle track! Recently I've been moving away from the more traditional drum kit percussion that I used a lot in MARDEK to a shaker + bongos + timpani combo as seen here, which definitely sounds softer than what's in most conventional music, but I quite like it for that reason. It's interesting that you pointed out the volume, because I was actually concerned that they were too loud in this! I might try experimenting with them a bit; now that I'm paying attention to it, I can barely hear the bongos.

Thanks for the comment!

I definitely do appreciate specific comments like this, much more than a general "I liked it"! So thank you for sharing your thoughts!

I'd happily include a sung version quite prominently if I could get a more polished voice, but the problem is actually doing that! If there's a way to generate one without getting a person involved (which sounds better than this and doesn't cost a ton of money), I'd love to know about it!

I get what you mean about the Dreamcave's ending being too conclusive for a loop. I actually fiddled around with the timing a bit to get something that sounded right to me. The first four bars of the C section have a fermata (the semicircle with the dot, if you don't already know!) on the high chord to mark a pause, and originally the second four bars had the same. It sounded like the pause was too short to me though, so I changed that bar to 9/8 instead because that sounded better. But of course everything's subjective! I could explain it as leaving an appropriate feeling of fading into emptiness or something, but it was really just me setting on something that felt right.

I'm glad you liked the battle track! Recently I've been moving away from the more traditional drum kit percussion that I used a lot in MARDEK to a shaker + bongos + timpani combo as seen here, which definitely sounds softer than what's in most conventional music, but I quite like it for that reason. It's interesting that you pointed out the volume, because I was actually concerned that they were too /loud/ in this! I might try experimenting with them a bit; now that I'm paying attention to it, I can barely hear the bongos.

Thanks for the comment!

Glad I can help!

This morning I found myself subconsciously humming the melody for the main theme. So it definitely is catchy! There have got to be at least one or two tenors around here that could sing that small bit... It probably would sound decent auto-tuned, so they wouldn't even have to be that good really.

That's very good to hear, especially someone else had concerns that it wasn't catchy enough!

Maybe I could try singing an auto-tuned version myself!

purplerabbits148~5Y

I'm liking the music so far.. I know when playing MARDEK, the battle theme for random did start to wear its welcome after the 200th battle. Though most games who do have random encounters do also suffer the same issue, Pokemon is the first one that comes to mind.

One way to combat the same theme player over and over again would be to have different tracks that play on occasion so there's some variety(like in The World End with You), or there is themed battle music(ice area would have different battle music than the fire area.)

I think the only one that doesn't wear out its welcome would be Golden Sun's music. I still am able to hum the overworld music from memory even though its been years since I played it.

Earthbound comes to mind as a good example of a game where there's no general 'battle music', but rather each enemy type has its own battle track. I don't mind that kind of thing, but personally I quite like the consistency of having something for every battle of a certain type. I once played an RPG that I remember nothing of other than the fact that its 'normal battle' music changed during the second half of the game, which felt really special and significant since I'd been used to hearing the same one so much until then. FFVIII also comes to mind, with Laguna's party having their own 'normal battle' theme which also felt special.

So while it might be interesting to have the battle music vary constantly, I appreciate that the convention is to keep it fixed except in very rare circumstances, since that's less work for me! I might just have different 'Casual Battle' tracks for each chapter/episode/whatever, unlike in MARDEK.

kidupiscean37~5Y

I read your blog earlier and listened to your original and new pieces of music. I think the original pieces are good in their simplicity, while the new pieces are good in their depth.

A few hours later I stumbled upon a youtube video which discussed and praised your Mardek OST. The youtuber also posted remastered versions of Mardek OST. Thought you might be interested to take a look?

[LINK]

[LINK]

ALazyTotodile14~5Y

Whew, I am LIVING for the C section of Dreamcave--when you referred to it as "not really diatonic," I was stuck for a moment trying to think of the opposite of diatonic--or at least "diatonic" as it pertains to this case--notes within a key, I suppose. So, in that regard, chromatic wouldn't really serve the right purpose...

Anyway. Not an important ramble to have. VERY very excited for how the OST turns out, if all of this is any indication!!

Chromatic! I was trying to think of the opposite of diatonic myself ("adiatonic??"), but didn't give it enough though to get there. Chromatic probably would fit there, though it's a fairly mild example of it!

Maniafig222~5Y

I wonder, how do you feel about the music from Taming Mind? That was my first of comparison for the new music, rather than MARDEK's music! The music here is more similar to Taming Mind's than MARDEK's. I was really fond of the Taming Mind OST, personally! I'd say it might have been your best OST altogether, my favourite tracks being Atonae, Miasmon! and Longing/Be Now.

The main theme actually reminds me a bit of Rohoph's theme from TD, fitting I suppose since Dharma seems to be at least partialle inspired by him. Maybe even a mixture of TD Rohoph and Enki? It's a nice theme!

I'm quite fond of both the energetic and the subdued types of main themes. EBF5 and Undertale both go for the latter sort, but I think that in terms of energetic main themes the crown has to go to Mr Triangle's Adventure absolute banger of a main menu theme, which always amuses me when I boot that game. [LINK]

The dungeon theme from MARDEK does fit the whole bandits atmosphere, but it is otherwise rather odd for a rather serene sparkly gem mine, it'd have made more sense if the cave's music shifted to a more peaceful track after the bandits leave.

The Dreamcave track is very much that sort of peaceful track! It fits the idea of a dreamlike cave, but I also wonder whether it properly sells the idea of the cave being taken over by deranged cultists? I think this theme would fit for the cave after they are dealt with, but otherwise it doesn't really sell a sense of risk and danger, which I'm assuming is why four Seraphim were sent there in the first place! Of course maybe there would be a seperate theme for that.

How odd, I'm so used to hearing MARDEK's music in-game, that I never heard some of the details you can hear in the YT version. I do like that battle track, it somehow works well as the generic battle theme throughout all chapters and dungeons. I wonder whether the latter half of the series would've had a different generic battle track? Once the series was gonna head into SCI-FI IN SPACE, that is, of course. That's what everybody speculated would happen after the end of chapter 4.

For the regular battle theme, the part from 1:12 to 1:27 seems very low energy. Neither MARDEK's not TD's track had such a long section where there didn't seem to be much going on.

Aside from that I do like the melody of the piece, but there is something weird about the sine waves, the way it sounds. The super high flute at 2:13 is also super high!

I assume that the way the track works, the battle transition coincides with the four consecutive notes, and is preceded by the enemy noticing the player which is what the first part with the piano is for?

Anyway, I do like the track! But since it's such an important one, I thought it important to pay extra attention to this one, hence why I also tried to be specific!

I do think it fits battles against the Miasma, though maybe it wouldn't fit for battles against other humans quite as much? It seems too whimsical for that, perhaps. Maybe I'm thinking of TD too much here again, in that game the generic battle theme also felt very fitting for fighting Miasma, would wouldn't have fit battles with other humans. That's not a criticism of the music itself, but a thought on the breadth of its applicability!

The main theme actually reminds me a bit of Rohoph's theme from TD, fitting I suppose since Dharma seems to be at least partialle inspired by him. Maybe even a mixture of TD Rohoph and Enki? It's a nice theme!

I'm quite fond of both the energetic and the subdued types of main themes. EBF5 and Undertale both go for the latter sort, but I think that in terms of energetic main themes the crown has to go to Mr Triangle's Adventure absolute banger of a main menu theme, which always amuses me when I boot that game. https://sodapiggy.bandcamp.com/track/enter-the-triangle

The dungeon theme from MARDEK does fit the whole bandits atmosphere, but it is otherwise rather odd for a rather serene sparkly gem mine, it'd have made more sense if the cave's music shifted to a more peaceful track after the bandits leave.

The Dreamcave track is very much that sort of peaceful track! It fits the idea of a dreamlike cave, but I also wonder whether it properly sells the idea of the cave being taken over by deranged cultists? I think this theme would fit for the cave after they are dealt with, but otherwise it doesn't really sell a sense of risk and danger, which I'm assuming is why four Seraphim were sent there in the first place! Of course maybe there would be a seperate theme for that.

How odd, I'm so used to hearing MARDEK's music in-game, that I never heard some of the details you can hear in the YT version. I do like that battle track, it somehow works well as the generic battle theme throughout all chapters and dungeons. I wonder whether the latter half of the series would've had a different generic battle track? Once the series was gonna head into SCI-FI IN SPACE, that is, of course. That's what everybody speculated would happen after the end of chapter 4.

For the regular battle theme, the part from 1:12 to 1:27 seems very low energy. Neither MARDEK's not TD's track had such a long section where there didn't seem to be much going on.

Aside from that I do like the melody of the piece, but there is something weird about the sine waves, the way it sounds. The super high flute at 2:13 is also super high!

I assume that the way the track works, the battle transition coincides with the four consecutive notes, and is preceded by the enemy noticing the player which is what the first part with the piano is for?

Anyway, I do like the track! But since it's such an important one, I thought it important to pay extra attention to this one, hence why I also tried to be specific!

I do think it fits battles against the Miasma, though maybe it wouldn't fit for battles against other humans quite as much? It seems too whimsical for that, perhaps. Maybe I'm thinking of TD too much here again, in that game the generic battle theme also felt very fitting for fighting Miasma, would wouldn't have fit battles with other humans. That's not a criticism of the music itself, but a thought on the breadth of its applicability!

I'm really proud of the Taming Mind music! I was tempted to just reuse it, but it felt wrong, since it's been a few years since then and I've changed how I compose a bit, plus I actually like making more music and was curious to see what I could come up with. I still enjoy listening to it though, and I wonder if I can even outdo some of the pieces. I've also listened to some - like the not-called-Casual-Battle-in-that one - a few times for direct inspiration.

This main theme's kind of like a combination of the TD and MARDEK ones; it uses the same chords as MARDEK's (in the main melody at least), but a similar structure and tone to Rohoph's from TD. It'll be interesting writing a "Dharma's Theme" in the style of Rohoph's two using this melody.

I've never heard of Mr Triangle's Adventure, but that's one ridiculously over-the-top theme that doesn't suit the image alongside it at all! I'm assuming that's deliberate.

I was thinking about the cultists, which don't really fit the Dreamcave in general, and it seems fitting to give them their own theme. They could even have an Evil Pokemon Team vibe where they have their own battle music when you fight them! That could be interesting on several levels. I suppose that theme and Muriance's - or Murias's, rather - could be similar, or one and the same.

Ah right, the sound quality in MARDEK was godawful! I'll have to remember that when pushing the re-release since the quality's much better in that.

Who knows what would have happened in MARDEK 5+!!! Even I did not.

I probably should have kept that low-energy bit to four bars instead of eight (and I actually did at one point, but the instrument I added for the second four bars went missing at some point and I forgot to put it back?). This track's also longer than the old ones though!

The sine waves do sound weird, but I quite like that! It sounds unique??

I imagined the super high flute bit right at the end there as sort of comically pushing it too far, before getting suddenly cut off. It's something I've done a few times in intentionally silly pieces, like the 'lift music' in the MARDEK 3 Warport or the similar track in Miasmon! Not the same, I know, but I suppose it's something I find amusing.

I think making the cultists the only humans you ever fight, and giving them their own battle theme, could work! I think I will do that!

This main theme's kind of like a combination of the TD and MARDEK ones; it uses the same chords as MARDEK's (in the main melody at least), but a similar structure and tone to Rohoph's from TD. It'll be interesting writing a "Dharma's Theme" in the style of Rohoph's two using this melody.

I've never heard of Mr Triangle's Adventure, but that's one ridiculously over-the-top theme that doesn't suit the image alongside it at all! I'm assuming that's deliberate.

I was thinking about the cultists, which don't really fit the Dreamcave in general, and it seems fitting to give them their own theme. They could even have an Evil Pokemon Team vibe where they have their own battle music when you fight them! That could be interesting on several levels. I suppose that theme and Muriance's - or /Murias's/, rather - could be similar, or one and the same.

Ah right, the sound quality in MARDEK was godawful! I'll have to remember that when pushing the re-release since the quality's much better in that.

Who knows what would have happened in MARDEK 5+!!! Even I did not.

I probably should have kept that low-energy bit to four bars instead of eight (and I actually did at one point, but the instrument I added for the second four bars went missing at some point and I forgot to put it back?). This track's also longer than the old ones though!

The sine waves do sound weird, but I quite like that! It sounds unique??

I imagined the super high flute bit right at the end there as sort of comically pushing it too far, before getting suddenly cut off. It's something I've done a few times in intentionally silly pieces, like the 'lift music' in the MARDEK 3 Warport or the similar track in Miasmon! Not the same, I know, but I suppose it's something I find amusing.

I think making the cultists the only humans you ever fight, and giving them their own battle theme, could work! I think I will do that!

SettingMoons1~5Y

I really appreciate the music, and that I can say that these are some improvements. Both OSTs have matching things, where some battles have upbeat song to rally the mood, and boss music to show how serious this is. Though I do ask, when you're done with the music for the game, what then will you work on next? The battle system(Sorry if i got the guessing time wrong where you already got this, but still; will it completely different, or will it have some aspects pulled from Mardek?) Map layout, Ect.

I've been working on this for 12 weeks now, and I've already done those things! Here's a page with the relevant blog posts: [LINK]

SantiagoJose2~5Y

Speaking of music, do you by any chance still have those MIDI files you used to have on your old website? Or is there any way to get your older music in MIDI format? I enjoyed them very much but the site is no longer available. Thanks in advance.

I'd like to make an archive of all my music in a better format like mp3. I wonder whether I could do that at a rate of one per day or something? That could be interesting. There are hundreds of those old pieces of music though!

Thanks! Is there any chance of you releasing the original files alongside the new for comparison or will you just upload mp3s (if you decide to, even)?

The mp3s should sound the same as the midis (I'll be literally using the midi instruments for the recordings rather than giving them 'better' ones; that'd feel wrong to me)... Or do you want to use the midis for something?

This reminds me of a very annoying issue I had with MARDEK. After beating a casual fight, the area music wouldn't start from where it stopped but instead restart from the beginning of the track. I really didn't like this since I repeatedly only heard the beginnings of songs, and I had to force myself to stop playing if I wanted to hear deeper into the track. I don't remember if you've already changed this in Taming Dreams, but do you think you'll change this in Divine Dreams?

Someone else brought this to my attention not too long ago, and it was on my mind when I was adding this music to the game. I've made sure to resume the music at the point it was interrupted! (I can't remember if I did it in Taming Dreams or not!)

Carthagis2~5Y

Hi Tobias!

I'm a returning fan of yours; I recently played Mardek all throughout again and, once again, thoroughly enjoyed it!
We had a few discussions some years back, when you were in a... darker mood. So I wouldn't blame you for not remembering! Especially since I had to make a new account. Anyway.

First of all, it's awesome you're still kicking and developing games! The future seemed bleak for you at one point and I'm so glad you've gotten better :)

Now more to the point of this post: while re-listening to your soundtrack for the Mardek series, I've realized that one of the reasons I like it so much is because it's actually pretty bare: most of the time, only a single melody is played. The way you're composing now is definitely an improvement, but take care not to overdo it; you've said it yourself regarding the battle theme, and I really think you ought to mind that. 'Rough around the edges', as you've said, is true. But not necessarily bad.

It could also be that I'm unncessaringly complicatening thing in a very roundabout way of saying the stuff! Possibly! Woof.

On a totally unrelated note, I've seen a few comments on some of the tracks on youtube of people saying they'd be willing to take up Mardek for further development (you had mentioned something like that a few years ago I recall). You're probably aware already, but pointing it out just in case (since I guess that's not an option anymore).

Hi Tobias!

I'm a returning fan of yours; I recently played Mardek all throughout again and, once again, thoroughly enjoyed it!
We had a few discussions some years back, when you were in a... darker mood. So I wouldn't blame you for not remembering! Especially since I had to make a new account. Anyway.

First of all, it's awesome you're still kicking and developing games! The future seemed bleak for you at one point and I'm so glad you've gotten better :)

Now more to the point of this post: while re-listening to your soundtrack for the Mardek series, I've realized that one of the reasons I like it so much is because it's actually pretty bare: most of the time, only a single melody is played. The way you're composing now is definitely an improvement, but take care not to overdo it; you've said it yourself regarding the battle theme, and I really think you ought to mind that. 'Rough around the edges', as you've said, is true. But not necessarily bad.

It could also be that I'm unncessaringly complicatening thing in a very roundabout way of saying the stuff! Possibly! Woof.

On a totally unrelated note, I've seen a few comments on some of the tracks on youtube of people saying they'd be willing to take up Mardek for further development (you had mentioned something like that a few years ago I recall). You're probably aware already, but pointing it out just in case (since I guess that's not an option anymore).

Are you from the Fig Hunter era or the Taming the Mind era? Either way, thanks for checking back despite how embarrassing my behaviour was back then! I cringe a lot thinking back on how other real minds out there were subject to my own's madness back then. I'm quite insane, though hopefully I'm getting better at controlling that now.

That's an interesting but surprising observation about the music! One of the things that I noticed about MARDEK's soundtrack myself was that I often ineptly tried to add multiple voices because I thought I should, despite a poor understanding of harmony, and in recent years I consider my composing to be (relatively) more simple, clean, even minimalistic to a degree. I actually thought the reduction would be something people would notice and complain about ("it's too simple!"), so I'm surprised it sounds like the opposite to you! I'm definitely aiming towards simplicity; I even considered composing everything for intermediate-level solo piano, though the limitations of that turned out to be too much (the Main Theme is based around this idea though).

It seems there were at least two parties interested in doing something with MARDEK. One person approached my directly and came across as sensible, polite, and devoted, though he wanted to buy the rights and offered only a small amount of money for that, which I almost said yes to because I was so sick of the thought of MARDEK at the time. I'm glad I didn't, though I can't help but feel bad about it since he poured a lot into his emails and seemed genuine.

The other seemed to be a group of people who were actively but slowly working on either a sequel or remake or something, I don't know, but they didn't seem to be doing a very impressive job of it, from what I heard from other people (I never looked at it myself). They'd never reached out to me to ask if they could. When I expressed interest in returning to the series myself in the form of a reimagining, one of them apparently wanted to push me over the edge so then I'd commit suicide and be out of the way. What a world.

Other people have offered to help out, but it requires a level of devotion that I wouldn't expect or want anyone to have to maintain, and a level of skill that people who have it wouldn't give away for free. So going it alone seems the only real option at the moment.

That's an interesting but surprising observation about the music! One of the things that I noticed about MARDEK's soundtrack myself was that I often ineptly tried to add multiple voices because I thought I should, despite a poor understanding of harmony, and in recent years I consider my composing to be (relatively) more simple, clean, even minimalistic to a degree. I actually thought the reduction would be something people would notice and complain about ("it's too simple!"), so I'm surprised it sounds like the opposite to you! I'm definitely aiming towards simplicity; I even considered composing everything for intermediate-level solo piano, though the limitations of that turned out to be too much (the Main Theme is based around this idea though).

It seems there were at least two parties interested in doing something with MARDEK. One person approached my directly and came across as sensible, polite, and devoted, though he wanted to buy the rights and offered only a small amount of money for that, which I almost said yes to because I was so sick of the thought of MARDEK at the time. I'm glad I didn't, though I can't help but feel bad about it since he poured a lot into his emails and seemed genuine.

The other seemed to be a group of people who were actively but slowly working on either a sequel or remake or something, I don't know, but they didn't seem to be doing a very impressive job of it, from what I heard from other people (I never looked at it myself). They'd never reached out to me to ask if they could. When I expressed interest in returning to the series myself in the form of a reimagining, one of them apparently wanted to push me over the edge so then I'd commit suicide and be out of the way. What a world.

Other people have offered to help out, but it requires a level of devotion that I wouldn't expect or want anyone to have to maintain, and a level of skill that people who have it wouldn't give away for free. So going it alone seems the only real option at the moment.

I'm from the Taming the Mind era, if you want to call it that ^^

I haven't played any of your other games (yet) so I'll likely give them a try sometime.
I am particularly fond of the main theme of Taming the Mind though. But my point is that I may not be too familiar with the music you've composed since then, apart from what you shared in this post.
Like I said, I'm just returning to Alora Fane so I've got a bit of catching-up to do! Which I will!

Regarding these Mardek would-be makers, I really wanted you to know because, too often, people steal others' ideas and work without giving proper credit. I wouldn't want that to happen to you.

Aaaand I have to ask: do you intend to bring Solaar back? :3 I just love the character. And not just because he's a shiny golden wolf. Which is awesome.
I guess writing dialog for this kind of character is rather hard (I recall that's actually what you wrote for one of his lines when asking for his backstory ^^) but on the other hand it's also extremely fun to play with the language like that. At least it is for me.

I'm from the Taming the Mind era, if you want to call it that ^^

I haven't played any of your other games (yet) so I'll likely give them a try sometime.
I am particularly fond of the main theme of Taming the Mind though. But my point is that I may not be too familiar with the music you've composed since then, apart from what you shared in this post.
Like I said, I'm just returning to Alora Fane so I've got a bit of catching-up to do! Which I will!

Regarding these Mardek would-be makers, I really wanted you to know because, too often, people steal others' ideas and work without giving proper credit. I wouldn't want that to happen to you.

Aaaand I have to ask: do you intend to bring Solaar back? :3 I just love the character. And not just because he's a shiny golden wolf. Which is awesome.
I guess writing dialog for this kind of character is rather hard (I recall that's actually what you wrote for one of his lines when asking for his backstory ^^) but on the other hand it's also extremely fun to play with the language like that. At least it is for me.

Confusingly, I have three different things with similar names:

Taming Dreams was an Android remake of MARDEK I released a few years ago.

Taming the Mind is a blog I kept not long after that.

And Divine Dreams is what I'm working on now.

Even I get them mixed up!

So I assume you're referring to Taming Dreams there. I still love the music and I'm really proud of it, but I also like starting afresh and seeing how new ideas develop. I'm hoping this new main theme will grow on us like the old ones did, in time!

I liked Solaar a lot, but what I'm doing with that isn't straightforward, and it's a long story! I'm planning to write about all of the characters that'll be in Divine Dreams in a series of blog posts with elaboration about their creative origins in the not-too-distant future, so there'll be more about that then!

MarninPL33~5Y

I simply LOVE the Dreamcave and Casual Battle OST. The first one is really whimsical and I think it fits more than perfectly, and the second one really catches the atmosphere of the world in my opinion.

However, when it comes to the main theme something keeps bugging me. Don't get me wrong, it's a solid piece of work... But I think it misses something. Don't you think that it has little leitmotiff potential? When I listen to main themes of both MARDEK and it's last reincarnation there are parts that I recognize immediately, despite listening to the latter just couple of times. The song itself is great, I really love the melancholic feeling it gives. However, I would consider revisiting it and adding some more memorable parts to it that can be used in future tracks, as of right now it fits "sad moment" more than leitmotiff of the whole series. Maybe it is a little bit monotonous? I don't know, but that's just my opinion! Keep doing great work!

All I can really say about this is that it seems to be subjective! I've been humming the melody quite a lot myself, and in these comments someone else said "This morning I found myself subconsciously humming the melody for the main theme. So it definitely is catchy!"

This is also the third version of this piece, so it's not just the first thing that came to mind. It's true that there's probably something that could be done to make it more memorable and interesting, but I suppose that's quite an aethereal thing, not easily captured. I'm hoping it'll become more memorable largely through the in-game contexts it appears in (which I think is how most leitmotifs become memorable).

I was also trying to stick to the chords used in MARDEK's theme, at least for the main melodic part, so that limited things somewhat.

In Taming Dreams, the title screen Main Theme was a super simple music box reduction of the melody, and I have a version of this theme in the same style. I've also got a more elaborate version, with a structure more like MARDEK's Main Theme (the calmer section is followed by a richer reprise of the theme, rather than trailing off and looping back). I decided on this somewhere-in-the-middle version for the title screen just because most people wouldn't be on there for more than a few seconds anyway... and because I got distracted and didn't finish the fuller version! Maybe I could get back to that.

I suspect if the theme were used in - and bonded in memory to - important, emotional gameplay moments, that'll be the what brings it to another level. But we'll see! Maybe I'll just change it if it doesn't work when I try to do that with it!

This is also the third version of this piece, so it's not just the first thing that came to mind. It's true that there's probably something that could be done to make it more memorable and interesting, but I suppose that's quite an aethereal thing, not easily captured. I'm hoping it'll become more memorable largely through the in-game contexts it appears in (which I think is how most leitmotifs become memorable).

I was also trying to stick to the chords used in MARDEK's theme, at least for the main melodic part, so that limited things somewhat.

In Taming Dreams, the title screen Main Theme was a super simple music box reduction of the melody, and I have a version of this theme in the same style. I've also got a more elaborate version, with a structure more like MARDEK's Main Theme (the calmer section is followed by a richer reprise of the theme, rather than trailing off and looping back). I decided on this somewhere-in-the-middle version for the title screen just because most people wouldn't be on there for more than a few seconds anyway... and because I got distracted and didn't finish the fuller version! Maybe I could get back to that.

I suspect if the theme were used in - and bonded in memory to - important, emotional gameplay moments, that'll be the what brings it to another level. But we'll see! Maybe I'll just change it if it doesn't work when I try to do that with it!

MontyCallay101~5Y

That's some cool music! The amount of effort you put into the composition and themes is really apparent even without looking at the comments you made in the sheet music. It's clear to me that these pieces are far more sophisticated than your old ones. And I like them! My favourite so far is actually the Dreamcave, I like the way it evokes sleepiness and exploration both at the same time! It's certainly far better than the MARDEK dungeon piece, which just sounds very generic.

Though I have to say that it's counterproductive, to me, thinking of these as *replacements* for MARDEK's music, since no matter how good these are they can't stand up to my nostalgia just yet. It's relatively easy to compare these new tunes to ones I have emotional attachment to, find them lacking, and then rationalise justifications for it afterwards.

If I had to do it, though... the new one that, to me, compares least favourably is the main theme. It's more sophisticated, and it evokes the feeling of uncertainty well, but I find that the MARDEK theme has a stronger sort of storytelling pathos that I can't see in the newer one yet. The Divine Dreams theme feels more... constrained in terms of its structure (the leitmotif, chords, then repeat), compared to the way the old theme takes some time to meander about, vary and build on the theme, which I find ends up strengthening it in the end. But, again, I can't promise that these aren't post-hoc rationalisations! So take it with a grain of salt, as always.

But, also as always, good work! I hope you're able to keep up motivation so that you can produce a demo as soon as possible! I think that what with all the social isolating going on (I'm all but locked up, and the start of the next semester is uncertain - exciting times!) there's going to be a great demand for the kind of deep, emotional experiences that you so love to create :)

Edit: Also, I just saw that Octopath Traveler is 50% off on Steam for the next few days - weren't you interested in playing that but put off by the price? Did not play it yet myself, but heard some good things about it...

Though I have to say that it's counterproductive, to me, thinking of these as *replacements* for MARDEK's music, since no matter how good these are they can't stand up to my nostalgia just yet. It's relatively easy to compare these new tunes to ones I have emotional attachment to, find them lacking, and then rationalise justifications for it afterwards.

If I had to do it, though... the new one that, to me, compares least favourably is the main theme. It's more sophisticated, and it evokes the feeling of uncertainty well, but I find that the MARDEK theme has a stronger sort of storytelling pathos that I can't see in the newer one yet. The Divine Dreams theme feels more... constrained in terms of its structure (the leitmotif, chords, then repeat), compared to the way the old theme takes some time to meander about, vary and build on the theme, which I find ends up strengthening it in the end. But, again, I can't promise that these aren't post-hoc rationalisations! So take it with a grain of salt, as always.

But, also as always, good work! I hope you're able to keep up motivation so that you can produce a demo as soon as possible! I think that what with all the social isolating going on (I'm all but locked up, and the start of the next semester is uncertain - exciting times!) there's going to be a great demand for the kind of deep, emotional experiences that you so love to create :)

Edit: Also, I just saw that Octopath Traveler is 50% off on Steam for the next few days - weren't you interested in playing that but put off by the price? Did not play it yet myself, but heard some good things about it...

I actually bought Octopath Traveler on the sale when Mania mentioned it a couple of days ago, though I've yet to actually start playing it!

I'm really proud of this new music, but even I, listening to them back-to-back with the originals, felt conflicted, even hurt, because I felt what I made now couldn't compare to the originals. "I've lost it!" and all that. I do think the new ones are objectively better though, but subjectively the emotional memory attachments to those old tunes have too much power to just be thrown away. It's natural to cling to a beaten-up old toy we've grown up with even if we're presented with a shinier, more objectively exciting one. It'll definitely take more exposure - especially to these tunes played during emotional moments we're actually involved in as players - before they feel nearly as potent.

The point of this Main Theme track isn't to be a journey in itself, really; its purpose is just to lay out the melody so then it can be reused later. I actually have two other versions: a minimalist music box reduction of just the melody (which is what I did with the Main Theme in Taming Dreams), and a more elaborate version that builds up to a richer reprise of the established melody, like the MARDEK one's structure. I decided on the version in this post, which is somewhere between the two, since most people won't hear more than a few seconds of it anyway as it's on the title screen.

I actually bought Octopath Traveler on the sale when Mania mentioned it a couple of days ago, though I've yet to actually start playing it!

I'm really proud of this new music, but even I, listening to them back-to-back with the originals, felt conflicted, even /hurt/, because I felt what I made now couldn't compare to the originals. "I've lost it!" and all that. I do think the new ones are objectively better though, but subjectively the emotional memory attachments to those old tunes have too much power to just be thrown away. It's natural to cling to a beaten-up old toy we've grown up with even if we're presented with a shinier, more objectively exciting one. It'll definitely take more exposure - especially to these tunes played during emotional moments we're actually involved in as players - before they feel nearly as potent.

The point of this Main Theme track isn't to be a journey in itself, really; its purpose is just to lay out the melody so then it can be reused later. I actually have two other versions: a minimalist music box reduction of just the melody (which is what I did with the Main Theme in Taming Dreams), and a more elaborate version that builds up to a richer reprise of the established melody, like the MARDEK one's structure. I decided on the version in this post, which is somewhere between the two, since most people won't hear more than a few seconds of it anyway as it's on the title screen.

Garra1~5Y

Hi Tobias,

The new music sounds very beautiful! I'm amazed that you are self-taught. I have wanted to learn how to compose music since I have melodies in my head but no way to really get them out into the real world. How were you able to teach yourself and compose so nicely?

I have been playing Mardek again and I'm very much enjoying it. It's brought a lot of fun and nostalgia in these strange times.

HolyPenguin96~5Y

It all looks and sounds nice so far, keep up the good work!

I'm also really looking forward to being able to get MARDEK on Steam! You'll definitely get at least 1 sale! But seriously, I would expect it to sell well. You'll have loads of us who've already played it to death who will be craving actually *owning* a copy, and also it may draw new players who would have shunned it for being 'just a flash game', but now will be more open to trying it as it's a 'real game', on Steam and everything!

The retro RPG market is booming; there's a huge RPGMaker market on Steam just for starters and MARDEK looks and plays better than 99% of those games (I mean, I'd say 100% but there may be some hidden RPGMaker gem out there).

I would also recommend taking advantage of Steam sales, both for Sindrel Song (you were talking about this in your other post I think) and MARDEK (obviously maybe don't chuck a sale on it as soon as it launches, but, y'know, down the line).

Speaking from experience, some Steam users will stubbornly leave an item in their wishlist and refuse to buy it until it goes on sale because they want the most bang for their buck and because Steam sales are fairly frequent. Plus, also speaking from experience, if you have a sale lasting just, say, a weekend, people are more inclined to grab it at a reduced price while they can. In addition, it's more likely to appear in people's feeds as recently discounted, etc.

It all looks and sounds nice so far, keep up the good work!

I'm also really looking forward to being able to get MARDEK on Steam! You'll definitely get at least 1 sale! But seriously, I would expect it to sell well. You'll have loads of us who've already played it to death who will be craving actually *owning* a copy, and also it may draw new players who would have shunned it for being 'just a flash game', but now will be more open to trying it as it's a 'real game', on Steam and everything!

The retro RPG market is booming; there's a huge RPGMaker market on Steam just for starters and MARDEK looks and plays better than 99% of those games (I mean, I'd say 100% but there may be some hidden RPGMaker gem out there).

I would also recommend taking advantage of Steam sales, both for Sindrel Song (you were talking about this in your other post I think) and MARDEK (obviously maybe don't chuck a sale on it as soon as it launches, but, y'know, down the line).

Speaking from experience, some Steam users will stubbornly leave an item in their wishlist and refuse to buy it until it goes on sale because they want the most bang for their buck and because Steam sales are fairly frequent.  Plus, also speaking from experience, if you have a sale lasting just, say, a weekend, people are more inclined to grab it at a reduced price while they can. In addition, it's more likely to appear in people's feeds as recently discounted, etc.

Gyroger5~5Y

Music sounds super good ^-^ I'm so excited for the release of this and potentially Mardek again.

ChuckNorris18~5Y

Hi Tobias,

Just wondering if you received my message about potentially including one of my tracks? The song title is 'Hestia' and I sent it from my personal mail.

Best wishes,
Chris

I have now replied! Sorry about the delay!