It was another amazing year at Global Game Jam! GLITCH always does a great job hosting our local jam site, Gamecraft, here in Minneapolis, MN.
This year I got to work with some people I already knew as well as some people I had just met. Either way, it is always an amazing experience to be surrounded by so many talented and tenacious people and to make a video game start to finish within a 48 hour window.
As per usual, I worked on more than one project doing original music composition and sound design.
Crosswired is a Virtual Reality cable management game with funny dialogue. It's up to you as the operator for an intergalactic communications switchboard to connect the correct calls. Don't break a connection or you will be jettisoned into outer space!
For this track, I was going for "crappy corporate musak." The goal being, write the least memorable, most aimless melody line ever that represents the banality and loneliness of being the only life form for light years in any direction while simultaneously being in an extremely dull environment...I also scooped out all the low end to make it sound like it was coming from a crappy hole-in-the-wall speaker.
You can download and play the full game HERE (assuming you have an VR setup).
Next up is a game called Spacing Out.
But! Before I can talk about that I need to touch on something that I talked about in my last game jam post, and it has to do with the Misfits of Video Game Music.
Sometimes, you get a temp track, or somebody says they are looking for a certain sound, or you have an idea of something that might work, and it turns out...it doesn't work.
The first instruction I got for this tune was to make music kinda like that in Overcooked. So I did. Turns out this is just way to goofy for the vibe of interstellar mind control (regardless of if the ultimate goal of the game is interstellar sandwich delivery...). Always glad to have a team that will call out when the music isn't right...that's how you make the best game possible.
So here's Polka Party--a misfit video game track.
Okay, so on to the music that did work! Complete 180.
Welcome to the Stellar Delivery Service! You have been assigned to the SDS Sand-Witch as its acting Captain.
With your rank comes access to the Employee Positive Influencer, which you will use to ensure the crew stays on task and content. The crew of the Sand-Witch are known for being difficult to manage, but we have faith in your abilities and in the EPI.
Your mission is to carry a very important cargo from Earth to one of our interstellar colonies, Sigma Alpha Nu Delta Which. Deliver it on time, and don’t explode. Godspeed Captain!
Spacing Out is a single person game about mind control and space travel. You control four crew members on a spaceship as they hurtle towards a far away planet. You can only control one of your lazy crew at a time, so plan ahead and don't get stuck.
You can download and play the full game HERE (all you need is a PC).
Also, check out this sick GIF by Andrew Herbst
Thanks for stopping by and listening to my music.
Please reach out if you'd like me to write music for your video game or film (or any other project). I'd love to hear from you!
UPDATE: These tracks can be found on my 2019 album, Production Music, Vol. 4: 2018-2019.
Download your copy of the audio by clicking here.
If you want to support me as an artist, and CDs and Audio Downloads just aren't your thing -- Please follow me on your favorite streaming service and social media platform, share your favorite track of mine on social media or with somebody who might also like it, and just keep listening.
I have a lifetime of new music coming your way and having you as a listener truly means the world to me.
Thanks for being a listener and making it all matter ❤️
Bryan