After the Sequel OST

Sanic

Sonic After the Sequel

ATS OST

B/A ts

Fan Sonic Sounds

FS-471 Wwise Interactive Music implementation assignment.
update: Video of implementation here- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjtXrKpW7G4&hd=1
remix version: http://soundcloud.com/falk-2/be-wild

Credits:
Sean Folk - Piano
Nikhil Hogan - Acoustic Guitar
Ethan Lee - Guitar Solo (SECRETS LOL)

THE BAND!!!
Guitars - Fake Falk
Bass - Fake Falk
Drums - Fake Falk (yeah you get the idea)

When thinking of what game to score for my Wwise interactive music assignment, I had the bright idea a few months ago to try to do a Sonic the Hedgehog level. Firstly, because it was a no brainer, but secondly - Japanese games have had a cultural precedent of barely touching interactive scoring compared to western titles. On the flip-side, this allows the composer to do what he does best, which is create memorable melodies and hooks you can hum along to that aren't limited by the 'loose' requirements that interactive scoring demands.

While the goal of 'interactivity' and 'memorability' seem to pull in opposite directions, Sonic levels are (for better or worse) on rails, and more importantly at points they funnel you through one-way sections, meaning that I could apply a basic song form concept, assigning each part of a song to each part of a level, making sure the sections can loop around seamlessly, and then writing appropriate transitionary sections that can be jumped to from the end of each phrase within a section.

I chose Spagonia as my level, and there are many tie-ins of the composition to the level. For instance, while the violin lead parts were a feature of the original track, I maintained that as a means of tying the track to the European vibe of the level.

Since musical sync to the level is the essence of this project, one of the transition segments is the clock tower climb and subsequent grind (which conveniently enough is one-way) and is characterized by the breakdown section and guitar solo.

There's also a whole bunch of little musical cameos that connoisseurs of fans of Sonic music throughout the past 20 years -should- be able to pick up on (I hope!) be it from the 16-bit games, Sonic Adventure, hell even Sonic X anime.

This is only Stage 1 of the assignment. There's a shit ton of other stuff I still need to do before the project is deemed complete, and no, I'm not talking about implementing it in Wwise. Stay tuned!



Be Cool

FS-471 Wwise Interactive Music implementation assignment, Part 2
update: Video of implementation here- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjtXrKpW7G4&hd=1
rock version: http://soundcloud.com/falk-2/be-cool

Credits:
Sean Folk - Piano
Nikhil Hogan - Acoustic Guitar
Ethan Lee - Guitar Solo (SECRETS LOL)

THE BAND!!!
Guitars - Fake Falk
Bass - Fake Falk
Drums - Fake Falk (yeah you get the idea)

Part 2 of the assignment. So the secret is, aside from having parts sync to points in the level, there are 3 genres corresponding to how well Sonic is doing. This is when Sonic is tearing up the level, wherease a 3rd iteration, "Be Groovy" will correspond to when Sonic screws up/gets hit/etc.

I've spent since literally the start of the year coming up with the concept of tying interactivity to how well Sonic is performing. Imagine to my amazement when the Sonic Generations demo came out, and the exact same thing was being done by Sonic Team (listen to Modern Green hill playthroughs - when Sonic boosts, the drums go double-time)

I think I was pretty elated and disappointed at the same time. Elated in the sense that great minds think alike, and disappointed that what I'd intended to be an original concept has been 'done already', even though the game releases today. Oh well. Live and Learn.

Be Wild

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDXldDOlllM

Music for the second Zone of this awesome fangame. It's out and you can play it now*; we're making a 2012 special edition with an original score for SAGE 2012.

This is the first Tails stage, and the "Green _______" trope zone. The music is homage to Richard Jacques and his amazing work with 3D Blast Saturn which I feel helped define the game more than the original Genesis soundtrack. I definitely had a lot of fun working on this one.

*http://www.sonicfangameshq.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7437

In Your Eyes - For Star Shores Act 1

On the Hero's Trail - For Star Shores Act 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92s47PQNw8Y

Act 3 of the first Zone of this awesome fangame. It's out and you can play it now*; we're making a 2012 special edition with an original score for SAGE 2012.

If Rivulets (Act 1 music) was characteristic of Before the Sequel as a whole, and Downpour (Act 2 music) built on it, this track would be a step towards building expectations for the OST in general. I wanted to, early on, expose players to the full range of genres that could be represented in the soundtrack and dissuade any preconceptions on what a 'retro'-style game had to sound like. Sonic CD was 1992 and its two OSTs fit so well with the game despite it being 224p 16-bit fare.

This was an interesting track to work with. I discovered halfway through working with Act 2's music that the rap I was working with actually mentioned "Rainbows" and "Prisms"- a fact that I didn't know when I was just using its chorus "Feel the Beat" section for Act 1. It worked alongside the orchestral-ish rendition perfectly for Act 3's lighter mood. Kinda funny how things turn out.. ;p Despite the rain being gone, I still get a very chilly vibe from the overall zone coloration (nevermind that it's really Hilltop Zone tiles in the foreground). Hopefully the music conveys that well.

I also threw in Green Hill again like I did with Act 2, except as a feature rather than a hidden easter egg. Musical quotes from Sonic music is going to be another staple for this OST, as it really is my homage to the franchise in general.

* http://www.sonicfangameshq.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7437

Prismatic - For Hilltop Heights Act 3

That classic metro feel. Except not quite 'classic'.

Tea With Ellie - For Cyan City Act 1

Mach Σ - For Dream Dance Act 1

Props if you can remember where the quote is from without googling.

(All cutscene music names are video game quotes because I'm a marketing genius)

CUTSCENE - But Dropping a Warship On Me is Cheating

So yeah. First off, I guess I owe quite a few people an apology. The soundtrack is taking way longer than it should have due to situations out of our control. While -that- may not have been directly my fault, what -was- my fault was being overly optimistic in how much time we could tackle our goals with the soundtrack in.

Sonic BTS and ATS have been a little bit of an anomaly in fan gaming (and the game industry in general) just by how much resources are put into the soundtrack compared to the rest of the game. For all of us working on it, it's portfolio work - something to be able to show off, for posterity, etc. We all knew that it was pretty disproportionate going in - One guy doing an entire fan-game, then 4 or 7 people working on the soundtrack? Not to mention we're applying a whole slew of different modern genres to what's essentially a 16-bit retro throwback of a game.

LakeFeperd has every right to be upset with how far this has been pushed back. Although there's been a lot of hype around ATS and its soundtrack both individually and in tandem, I'd have to admit in a moment of sheer humility that he'd probably have been able to release the game as-is, with all the temporary music like in the SAGE demo, and it'd have been an absolute blast (and it is; I've played it, obviously).

Having his work (which has been pretty much done for months now) held back by us bozos is pretty much something I have to apologize for. Don't get me wrong; this kind of delay obviously wouldn't happen if this had been a commercial undertaking (e.g. we weren't doing this in our free time while finishing college/moving/getting married/dying/whatever) and I'd been able to schedule things a lot more generously, but that being said I guess what I -did- do wrong was, like I said, underestimate the time to pull everything that we'd planned off properly and set up false expectations for not only LakeFeperd, fans looking forward to the game, but myself and the rest of the team.

I do feel that sticking by our guns and seeing this through would be the best course of action. We're in the final lap now, and as much as I am scared of throwing deadlines out now, I daresay we'll be completely wrapped up within the next two weeks, plus a few days for polish/testing and the fangame would be released.

Soapbox aside, here's Storm Station 1. You might recognize the lick at the start - it was part of Arcane Altitude 2, and is my little throwback to the final zone of the previous game.



No Longer Alone - For Storm Station Act 1

Memories - For Horizon Heights Act 3

This is the finished version of Sugar Splash Zone Act 2 for LakeFeperd's fangame Sonic After the Sequel. This song was a collaborative effort. Credit goes to Falk for added instrumentation and rearrangement.

Carbohydration - Sugar Splash Zone Act 2 (Feat. Falk)

Original Song by DJ Max-E Productions 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_M5hwUFptDc
https://soundcloud.com/djmaxeofficial

Guitar Solo - Andre Vasconcelos

Neon Paradise (ATS Version) - For Parhelion Peak Act 2



Original Song by DJ Max-E Productions
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-nsw0jYNK0
@soundcloud.com/djmaxeofficial

Guitar Solo - Andre Vasconcelos


Combat Night (ATS Version) - For Parhelion Peak Act 1

Sugar Splash Zone's special act. This is a 16-bit rendition of acts 1 and 2, and is also an expansion of the original version.

For LakeFeperd's fangame Sonic After the Sequel.

Sugar Splash Zone - Special Act

Pomp and Circumstance

ft. Andre Vasconcelos on guitars. And me on the pogo stick.

If you hopped on during ATS and missed out on BTS this is what people are referring to: 
https://soundcloud.com/falk-2/worlds-largest-unicycle

World's Largest Pogo Stick - For Redhot Ride Boss Act

Intro music.

ATS Intro: "A Matter of Pomp"
BTS Intro: "Circumstance"

Remix/Mashup: Pomp and Circumstance

I'M A GENIUS THANKS FOR PLAYING

Special thanks to Andre and KgZ.

A Matter of Pomp

ATS Prologue. Inspired by SebastiAn's "Embody".

Bandcamp

Prologue

Falk is a home-grown musician with a skillset just about as diverse as his interests. Hailing from Malaysia, he jumped with both feet into audio for games right out of college and spent a few years as Audio Lead at a rhythm game publisher. After having travelled to Boston to attend the prestigious Berklee College of Music, Falk has been involved in countless fan productions and remixes, original compositions, arrangements, and orchestrations.

Falk, through his affiliation with the Video Game Orchestra, has had the privilege to work in the presence of industry veterans such as Hitoshi Sakimoto of Basiscape, Masashi Hamauzu, and Go Shiina of Namco Bandai, amongst others, in the capacity of recording and mix engineer for their various projects in ensembles varying from simple instrumental overdubs to full orchestral/choir recordings.