Spooky Tune Jam 2023 🎵

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A jam submission

Masked ElderwoodView project page

For Spooky Tune Jam 2023. A Dark Souls inspired boss fight theme.

Submitted by PerLonn — 4 days, 3 hours before the deadline

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Masked Elderwood's itch.io page

Results

Criteria	Rank	Score*	Raw Score
Accompaniment	#6	4.333	4.333
Overall	#10	4.028	4.028
Melody	#13	3.833	3.833
Jam Theme	#17	3.917	3.917

Ranked from 12 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

Explicit Content

No

Methodology
Masked Elderwood is a Dark Souls/Bloodborne-inspired boss fight theme with a try to make it sound more Halloween-like. The piece is structured in three different sections, each representing a different phase of the fight.

The main idea was to make it as "evil-sounding" as possible. To do this I tried not to think of harmony in a traditional sense or using a specific key. Also a lot of dissonances, clusters, glissandos, and hard percussion. Though not wanting to have a distinctive key center G minor ended up as my starting point while composing. The base sits on a low D to establish some sense of center/security meanwhile there are a lot of textural things going on (harmonics, tremolos, harp effects, waterphone, cluster voices, etc.). The first phase accumulates and in the aftermath, a solo cello introduces the melody.

Here in the second phase, I wanted to capture some kind of haunting beauty and a freer atmosphere, similar to Dancer of The Boreal Valley or Daughter of Chaos. The tempo is now slower and the melody rarely lands on a beat, and with no accompaniment to establish the pulse the piece feels more free/floaty (some of the few rhythmical elements in this section are quintuplets which again help disorient the listener).

The last section, the third phase combines the melody from the second phase with the rhythmical and percussive aspect of the first phase. The melody is in the front and later a countermelody is added. The biggest difference between the third and first sections, not counting the melody, is the harmony. In this third phase, there is a clear chord progression that revolves and resolves in G minor.

This is the first time doing something in this style so if you listening and have any feedback or comments I'd love to hear them.

Thanks for listening!

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Comments

Andtech StudiosHost1 year ago(+1)

Wow! I really enjoyed how this piece develops (with the 3 movement structure). The cello motif in section 2 and 3 adds some interesting dramatic contrast to the otherwise evil sounding accompaniment.

If this were in a real video game, it would be cool if that cello line had actual significance to the player. Making it’s appearance in the boss fight that much more emotional.

Also I love how well the first section with the percussion/piano hits captures that impending death aesthetic!

SelkioneSubmitted1 year ago(+1)

What an intro!

I love the vocal pad with its slightly varying pitch. It creates an instability counterbalanced by the solidity of the rhythm and the D that doesn't move. You've added lots of little sounds to enrich it, it's a real work of sound design and it's magnificently well executed.

This whole first part is clearly a boss of a souls-like.

The second part, on the other hand, may have a well-written melody, but it breaks up the boss-fighting aspect.

Nevertheless, it's an excellent composition that I'm going to study carefully to understand how you made your great intro/1st part.

Submitted

Tune Jam Album 🎵 - Ineluctable Singularity

Sean CSubmitted1 year ago(+1)

That was really well composed. The percussiveness at the beginning was pretty intense and creates a nice buildup! For the rest of the song, I kind of feel like it's the music that's kind of leading up to the battle.

All of the melodies sound really good and sort of give that sort of that dark army invasion feeling. Like, it's all leading up to a fight and it's going to be awesome, lol!

Submitted

PerLonnDeveloper1 year ago

I do agree this almost feels more like a buildup to the boss than a "pure boss fight theme", but it turned out better than I thought it would.

Thank you for listening and giving time to comment. I'm glad you liked it!

briisuSubmitted1 year ago(+1)

This was great! Definitely nailed the "Souls-like" sound you were going for, and glad someone turned in a track that was inspired by that sound, as I love all the themes in that series. For me, my favorite part is literally the buildup in the beginning, with the dissonant vocals going on in the background, really felt the most souls-like and gives the buildup more weight. Awesome work on this!

Submitted

"Unending Nightmare"

PerLonnDeveloper1 year ago

Thank you!

It was very fun to get creative in regards with dissonances, timbre, and not using functional harmony.

Blue LavaSubmitted1 year ago(+1)

Wow this feels BIG! I read your description while listening and it was really cool that the music seemed to line up exactly when I was reading about each section. The drone and hard percussion give this a march-like quality that feels like we are marching into battle. The wailing and creaking sounds add a ton to the creepy atmosphere and definitely give the evil vibe you were going for. The solo string and flute with the male voice chorus and wind sounds give a very ominous and foreboding sound which, to me, sounds like it would fit in a section immediately prior to a battle when the player lands in the fight area, but they haven’t yet encountered the boss. The last section feels like the battle itself and is a really great culmination of all that came before it. I wonder if increasing the tempo in the last section would add a little bit more adrenaline to the battle and get me, the listener, sweating a little more? You definitely nailed the evil theme for sure! And musically, you accomplished exactly what your description describes- great job! Great work and thank you for sharing!

Submitted

The Hallowed Showdown

PerLonnDeveloper1 year ago

Thank you for listening and your feedback!

I was a bit unsure how this would really fit a boss fight but after listening to some different tracks from Dark Souls I noticed many of them were focused on atmosphere, timbre, and mood instead of a more typical high energy-intense boss theme. For example, Moonlight Butterfly, Pinwheel and Bed of Chaos to me have a different vibe compared to something like Asylum Demon or Bell Gargoyles. Also, I think I went with a more DS 1 (Sakuraba) kind of vibe compared to DS 2/3 (Kitamura) vibe. Next time I'll for sure try to have a section that makes the listener sweat a bit more and a bit less march-like. One step at a time I guess :P

Bela BitbopSubmitted1 year ago(+1)

Wow, just wow. Hounting and beautiful. Nice touch with the video too. If I heard this track in the cinema, I'd be pleasantly surprised by the creativeness and quality.

Submitted

Break a Leg (from "Skulljogger")

PerLonnDeveloper1 year ago

Thanks, really appreciate your kind words!

DuncanHigginsSubmitted1 year ago(+1)

This is so good! Everything you mentioned about tonality is on full display and works really well to create a sinister aura.

The sections being phases works really well and I can definitely imagine this in a souls-like boss fight that has multiple phases.

The orchestration is fantastic and reminds me of the folk horror of Midsommar (especially the cluster voices).

The contrast between sections A and B is really nice and allows the listener to ponder the lore behind the boss (very souls-like).

I did like the overall dynamic curve of the track but I would have liked to hear a bit more of a ramp up in intensity towards the end with maybe some faster lines underneath the main melody.

Overall amazing job you absolutely aced this style!

Submitted

A Dance With Death

PerLonnDeveloper1 year ago

Thank you for listening and the feedback.

I think you are right that I should have upped the intensity towards the end, instead, I chose to go for a more chorale idea but adding some faster lines would probably have been a better choice. Learned a lot while making this piece and from the feedback. I haven't seen or listened to the Midsommar OST (since I am weak to horror movies) but now'll definitely have a listen!

BuscadonSubmitted1 year ago(+1)

I was listening to this and I couldn't help but under my breath go "buh, buh, buh buh" listening to the percussion. This is great, and totally feels dark souls-ish! I really appreciate how much effort and thought you put into this, as well as the detailed description you gave us of how you made it.

I honestly wish I had some constructive criticism, but honestly this is just amazing to me. Great job!

Submitted

Chaos in the Pumpkin Patch

PerLonnDeveloper1 year ago(+1)

Thank you! I'm glad I managed to capture atleast some parts of the dark souls-ish feeling.

BuscadonSubmitted1 year ago

If you told me this was in Dark Souls I would believe you (I've watched a lot of people play it but I haven't myself).

AustinSladeSubmitted1 year ago(+1)

I liked your entry a lot! I get the feeling that the two of us come from similar musical backgrounds! Are you classically trained? I think you absolutely nailed the dark souls/bloodbourne vibe you were going for. It, at times, felt almost atonal but when I sat down with my own piano/keyboard I was able to get a better idea of the tonality. I love me some sophisticated harmony;)

Great submission!

Submitted

Midnight Mayhem: Boss Battle on Halloween Night

PerLonnDeveloper1 year ago(+1)

Thanks, I also liked your entry a lot. Maybe we do have similar backgrounds :P

I have studied composition in modern contemporary music for a while while also trying to mix/blend with video game music concepts. When I started composing this piece I tried to not focus on any kind of functional harmony and only see chords as clusters and/or dissonances. Then I wanted to contrast the first section's cluster based harmony with triad-based chords in the last section. Was pleasantly surprised by how well the harmony in the end worked with the chromaticsim in the melody.