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HOW DOES THIS SOUND FOR A BATTLE THEME?
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IcyJK913
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IcyJK913
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CloseWell I made a little something for a thing I want to do, since my area of expertise is in music. It is a battle theme for one of my RPGmaker projects:
Battle Theme - Gachette
Battle Theme - Gachette
My main issue is that it's very in-your-face (i'm not a music guy, i don't know the proper terms, sorry). especially in menu-based rpgs, but even arpgs, music shouldn't be the stand-out part of a scene (usually). while i like this track as a track, i feel like it'd get in the way of my thinking and planning.
j-e-n-o-v-a is a great example of an invasive battle theme in my opinion, primarily because it's an isolated theme and not something you're gonna hear every battle. it also starts to let up a bit after the introduction, giving you that initial jolt of OH SHIT before letting you hear those ff7 casting animation sounds and focuso n the battle.
tl;dr: i like it but i'm not sure it works for every battle.
j-e-n-o-v-a is a great example of an invasive battle theme in my opinion, primarily because it's an isolated theme and not something you're gonna hear every battle. it also starts to let up a bit after the introduction, giving you that initial jolt of OH SHIT before letting you hear those ff7 casting animation sounds and focuso n the battle.
tl;dr: i like it but i'm not sure it works for every battle.
IcyJK913
0
author=Craze
My main issue is that it's very in-your-face (i'm not a music guy, i don't know the proper terms, sorry). especially in menu-based rpgs, but even arpgs, music shouldn't be the stand-out part of a scene (usually). while i like this track as a track, i feel like it'd get in the way of my thinking and planning.
j-e-n-o-v-a is a great example of an invasive battle theme in my opinion, primarily because it's an isolated theme and not something you're gonna hear every battle. it also starts to let up a bit after the introduction, giving you that initial jolt of OH SHIT before letting you hear those ff7 casting animation sounds and focuso n the battle.
tl;dr: i like it but i'm not sure it works for every battle.
Hey there I know exactly what you mean. I imagine it being for a flashy fast paced battle system rather than the more passive tactical ones. I guess kind of like Final Fantasy XIII,the battles are pretty fast and it's very actiony.
It sounds like it would fit for a very desperate battle against some boss - say you've got to beat it within a time limit or the like. For normal battle music though? Too much.
I'm not a real music man either but I can tell you that using synth hits as your main instrument is rarely a good idea. The in-your-face feeling Craze is describing stems from the hits being loud and overpowering your percussion, for me. Plus the staccato guitar totally kills the song because it sounds like just a couple of loud, random notes. You've got to have a catchier melody. Something you can hum. Check the song in Audacity or whatever program you have to make sure the sound isn't spilling out of the headphones. If you want a really frantic boss theme then its got to have a strong percussion and rhythm to carry it. Usually the best way to do that is to start out with your percussion line then build up from there with your main melody.
R-Type shows us how its done.
I really love the beat & accompaniment going on around 0:32-0:49 and that's probably where the song ought to start. Use that rhythm and build off of it. Maybe try a simple little piano melody as part of the percussion to accompany a more low-key guitar for the main.
R-Type shows us how its done.
I really love the beat & accompaniment going on around 0:32-0:49 and that's probably where the song ought to start. Use that rhythm and build off of it. Maybe try a simple little piano melody as part of the percussion to accompany a more low-key guitar for the main.
IcyJK913
0
author=Isrieri
I'm not a real music man either but I can tell you that using synth hits as your main instrument is rarely a good idea. The in-your-face feeling Craze is describing stems from the hits being loud and overpowering your percussion, for me. Plus the staccato guitar totally kills the song because it sounds like just a couple of loud, random notes. You've got to have a catchier melody. Something you can hum. Check the song in Audacity or whatever program you have to make sure the sound isn't spilling out of the headphones. If you want a really frantic boss theme then its got to have a strong percussion and rhythm to carry it. Usually the best way to do that is to start out with your percussion line then build up from there with your main melody.
R-Type shows us how its done.
I really love the beat & accompaniment going on around 0:32-0:49 and that's probably where the song ought to start. Use that rhythm and build off of it. Maybe try a simple little piano melody as part of the percussion to accompany a more low-key guitar for the main.
so generally you're saying that I should add more percussion and more instruments? Can do. :) I tried adding a lot of bombastic brass to it but for some reason the program I use made it sound really quiet and weird. :/ The does actually have a melody, I guess it's just not clear enough to notice, so I should fix that. :) Thanks for the suggestions!
Housekeeping
3571
I actually think this song could work given the right setting and battle system. If it's more action-oriented and you're infiltrating a base or something, then this works for me. If you're walking across peaceful pastures on the world map and you fight some rabbits and this comes on, then it's not going to fit. And, yeah, it could work as a boss theme.
I actually don't mind that it's not super melody-forward. My only advice is that the synth hits that come in at around :51 go on for too long. I'd cut that down from 4 repetitions to 2.
I actually don't mind that it's not super melody-forward. My only advice is that the synth hits that come in at around :51 go on for too long. I'd cut that down from 4 repetitions to 2.
IcyJK913
0
author=Housekeeping
I actually think this song could work given the right setting and battle system. If it's more action-oriented and you're infiltrating a base or something, then this works for me. If you're walking across peaceful pastures on the world map and you fight some rabbits and this comes on, then it's not going to fit. And, yeah, it could work as a boss theme.
I actually don't mind that it's not super melody-forward. My only advice is that the synth hits that come in at around :51 go on for too long. I'd cut that down from 4 repetitions to 2.
That's exactly what I was thinking! Though still, they have those bombastic battle themes in peaceful places in other video games and somehow it works haha. The battle system I'm planning this to be for has flashy animations and is fast-paced. I cannot reduce the part at :51. That is the climax of the song, and reducing it would make it sound incomplete. I'd also like to point out that the game this battle system is meant to be for (all in my head :)) is somewhat advanced in technology and isn't like mideval fantasy like Final fantasies 4, 5, 9, etc. I guess it's more like in between FF8 and FF13????
I think most comments here are pretty random and just personal opinions. Mine is that this works very well as a battle theme, though more so as a special battle theme. Generally I couldn't find any fault in the instrumentation or composition, however. My feedback would be to improve the sound and mix quality.
And why is this better for a special battle, than re-occurring battles?
You have a progressive section swap around 0:30, where you break down the rhythm pattern and carry it out it with more subtle variation of instrumentation and with different accents, and this draws a lot of attention to the song itself. This is also why the song will sound like more custom tailored for a very specific situation because it has very discernible detail and transitions. It's hard to have this sort of background track used repeatedly to far extent because we grow very familiar with the discernible details and they will start to sound repetitive. These memorable bits make it a great track for some very underlined situation, however.
If you want to create a track that can be repeated to further extent as re-occurring, more "casual" battle theme, without having it sound too repetitive, I'd try stick with a structure that has room for texture and patterns, and doesn't have too expressive or over-emphasized details. If the melody itself is memorable, that's not a bad thing at all though.
Then again, I'm no expert at battle themes yet, but I think your song would make great boss battle theme at least.
And why is this better for a special battle, than re-occurring battles?
You have a progressive section swap around 0:30, where you break down the rhythm pattern and carry it out it with more subtle variation of instrumentation and with different accents, and this draws a lot of attention to the song itself. This is also why the song will sound like more custom tailored for a very specific situation because it has very discernible detail and transitions. It's hard to have this sort of background track used repeatedly to far extent because we grow very familiar with the discernible details and they will start to sound repetitive. These memorable bits make it a great track for some very underlined situation, however.
If you want to create a track that can be repeated to further extent as re-occurring, more "casual" battle theme, without having it sound too repetitive, I'd try stick with a structure that has room for texture and patterns, and doesn't have too expressive or over-emphasized details. If the melody itself is memorable, that's not a bad thing at all though.
Then again, I'm no expert at battle themes yet, but I think your song would make great boss battle theme at least.
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