This is so exciting, I know I'm late to the party but holy cow was it ever a treat to see that this awesome game is finished. I am definitely downloading this within the next few days and playing it over the weekend. I had the privilege of playing through the game in its alpha and pre-beta states, so I am super excited to see the story and finished levels! Awesome job Gridlock, I'm extremely proud of you and the rest of the team for finishing this!
Hey thanks man, that's awesome to hear and very encouraging! I had a great time writing the soundtrack, and really got to flex my musical muscle. Especially with weirder songs like Hornet Hive. It's so cool seeing an entire playlist of these songs on youtube. I haven't heard some of these in years! haha. The Cargo Transit song is actually one I'm very proud of. I wasn't expecting it to turn out as well as it did, I thought the echo-y effect would be too much for the poor IMF format so I was ecstatic when it worked. The Sky Sanctum was also a blast to write: it and the final boss song. I listened to so many final boss/levels songs for inspiration and really tried to create a dramatic, tense, yet energetic song for those areas that got you pumped up for the final confrontation.Grimson wrote: Aside from the dark level graphics and story, what touches me most is the music. It's pure gold. Every track matches its level perfectly, like how Cargo Transit A is a fast-paced track for a fun, fast-paced level, or how Crystal Shrine makes you feel calm, yet uneasy, as if something sinister was looming in the distance. I also like the way the central Atroxian/Krile theme is included and played with in almost every track, it shows how morphable and ambiguous (in a good sense) the theme really is. And don't even get me started on Sky Sanctum. When I listen to this track, my insides get filled with weird mixture of melancholism, joy, dread and determination. The music is so deep and the level is so dark, it's perfect. Just...whoa. I hope GameBird hasn't stopped making music, I'd love to hear more from him/her.]
I was very inspired by not only Metroid (my favorite game series) when composing, but also by Super Mario World and the way it got so much mileage out of 1 or 2 tunes; I really wanted to replicate that and have most of the songs hearken back to the main themes of the game and reinforce this cohesive world you were exploring. I'm glad you all enjoy the soundtrack so much. Sadly I haven't been able to write much music lately, although I did compose the soundtrack for a game I made in RPGMaker 2003 recently that's based on my personal life events (still deciding whether I should make it public or not haha, it is very personal, but I may sell it on steam after making some changes).
Although I love writing music, I've actually aimed my career at animation. for the last year and a half I've been working for Dreamworks on an animated series on Netflix called Dinotrux. Check it out, the first 45 seconds of this teaser is all my animation! and if you're interested, the first 3 minutes after the intro of episode 9 is all my work haha.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSGVQ1iUsX8
In any case, I'm so glad this is released! Can't wait to play! I'd actually be very interested in hearing what everyone's favorite song from the game is.
Also nice work on the extra and rearranged songs, Gridlock and Co! I like them a lot!
Edit: Was watching the playthrough and It's a small thing, but I really like the sound effect for the checkpoints haha.
Edit2: I remember Gridlock and I actually had quite a few conversations about some design elements for the game. I believe we both came up with the initial design for the Krile based on a sketch, and the idea to have a bunch of puzzles destroyed in the Ruins. I thought it was an awesome idea to have you get a gem and come to a locked door, but the gem's stand was destroyed, forcing you to find a different way past the door. Good times.