There were a few drafts for the music, the initial being an unfinished low fidelity piano construction used for mostly exploration into how I would go about making the music that I initially went for but was eventually replaced. However, i used this same structure and idea to construct the second in terms of using a midi chord pack and a sampler to place down the instrumentation using a phone app called Oval Synth.
I use instrumentation from oval synth and used the EXS24 sampler within logic to create something closer to Mort Garsons Plantasia which was the main inspiration i was given for the music.
(Mother Earth’s) Plantasia — Mort Garson (1976) Full Album – YouTube
As someone who is not really musically inclined the music was one of the challenges, I faced as I took on the task. I realised how complex it was to score music for a game, however by the end I felt accomplished with what I came up with. I feel as if the continual trial and error – especially as it was my first time doing something for VR – allowed me to gain a further understanding of the challenges and hurdles for a task like this and by the end made me a lot more technically able.
There were a few things I wanted to consider for the creation of the forest music. 1) I wanted to capture the mystery and enigma of the forest 2) I wanted to encourage exploration 3) I wanted to consider the other sounds that would be at play during gameplay.
capturing the mystery and enigma of the forest:
I think from the jump I had a clear idea of the type of music that would fit – airy, ethereal, magical, dense yet simple. The inspiration we were given gave us a more focused idea and helped me narrow in on the sounds I wanted to use. After exploring what type of synths I wanted to use, I came across oval synth which allowed me to create really vibrant, enigmatic sounds. To create the arrangement I sampled each note into Logic and used a MIDI chord pack to help me arrange the piece. I mostly only used one instrument in the forefront to keep the sound minimal and more immersive.
2) Encourage exploration:
I think by making the music more mysterious it would inspire the player to want to explore the entire forest as a whole. The gameplay is quite linear, the player goes to a certain place and unlocks another, however in between that, there is a form of non-linear exploration and tribulation the player must undergo before seeing the next level. The player does not initially know what is where, especially with the dense and rich environment of the forest – the music should match.
3) I wanted to consider the other sounds that would be at play during gameplay:
With such a vibrant and dynamic environment, there would a large soundscape separate from the music. I had to think about the way in which the other sounds would interact with each other as well as the way in which the music would interact with the foley. I tried to keep the music very minimal and harmonise with the background and environment so as not to disrupt the dynamism of the overall soundscape.