Welcome Back! Last time we said that we'd be talking about the birth of As It Is and its mechanics. We still are! Just not right now. We decided to force Alex off the reins and give an opportunity to others to show their voice and talk about the game. Alex is still alive, so don't worry! Without further ado, here is Krystof Senfeld, our Music Composer! Greetings! I’m Krystof, the composer for As It Is, and I’m here to bring you our sophomore blog post and talk a little about the music in the game as well as the team dynamic. (I know the previous entry said something different, but I’m pulling a switcheroo.) A Collaborative Process One of the most exciting things about working on games as a musician is getting to be involved in their development. This doesn’t always happen – sometimes the musician is enlisted after all is said and done to add the aural icing on the cake – but when it does, it allows the music to unfold and grow with the game, granting more opportunities for interactivity along the way. Take the clock in the school hallway, for instance. Our sound designer John had the idea to make the clock tick in time with the music. It’s a little thing, but it’s in the little things that the charm often lies. Of course, writing music at the same time as the game is being developed means that inevitably some work will be left behind. In our first blog post, Alex mentioned the significant amount of scoping down we’ve already had to do, and I have little doubt that this is not the last time we’re cutting elements from the game. It’s not just that the music is written concordantly with the game, though. The entire team is encouraged to pitch in in all areas, regardless of their discipline. We frequently hold design and narrative meetings when we’re trying to move forward, and everyone being able to contribute means that there is a greater variety of ideas to think about. To me, this truly collaborative process is what makes indie games in particular a joy to work on. Here’s a piece of music you are unlikely to hear in the game as a result of scoping. Goodbye, Froggo! More on Music I’m sure future blog posts will touch more on the team and where the game is headed, so for now I’d like to take a moment to talk about the music. Because As It Is is such a character-driven game, it made sense from the get-go that each major character should have a recognizable theme or presence in the music that can develop and change depending on what the situation calls for. In the case of Hedgehog, that recognizable element is some swift-moving xylophone and marimba parts. You can hear those plainly in the original draft of the character theme, made before there was barely any art or code at all, and you can hear traces of them in the school hall, the band room, and of course Hedgehog’s minigame. Hedgehog Minigame
Moving Forward
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