Happy Friday Party Members!
So recently in the discord server, one of our resident Warriors Daniel (aka UPRC) shared a short video of his game, where he used one of my songs in a swamp area. The song was an unexpected choice but it ended up working pretty well. This got me thinking though: I hadn't done a swamp track yet! :O
Naturally I had to fix this. I gotta say, I'm reaaally happy with the results!
As for the video, the conversation our heroes get into isn't quite wh...
2021-06-04 14:16:00 +0000 UTC
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Hey Party Members!
Sometimes it just dawns on me that I don't have certain styles of songs available in the archives. This happened to me the other day when I realized I don't really have any Sea Shanties for you guys!
Well naturally I had to remedy that. So I reached for a nice sounding accordion patch and went to town...a shanty town to be exact. The hand drums, dulcimers and pan flutes layered over top of the aforementioned accordion make for a nice little pirate like tune. A...
2021-06-01 14:00:09 +0000 UTC
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Happy Friday Party Members!
This week we have a bit of a crossover episode! I realized that there are a couple of characters who have never had an interaction, so I remedied that to a degree here. Once again our troupe of villains makes their presence known, as they try to get back in to the swing of things after being sidelined so long.
This weeks song began as an homage to the Wall Market theme from FF7, but quickly took on a life of it's own. It ended up being a lot spookier ...
2021-05-29 14:08:00 +0000 UTC
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Happy Tuesday Party Members!
Today's song is a bit regal in nature. Somber yet triumphant. Thus I dubbed it Holy Knight! As I usually say, it can be used it a lot of different scenarios.
As peaceful of a tune as it is, it fought me a bit in the writing process. Mainly the looping portion. I was just having a hard time getting it to sound natural and seamless. But I think I managed to finally make it happen through some careful volume automation. :D
I had thoughts of...
2021-05-25 15:34:48 +0000 UTC
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Happy Friday Party Members!
The long anticipated (or possibly forgotten) return of our favorite villains is here!
Honestly I've been wanting to bring this crew back for a while, but things just got away from me. It actually worked out quite well, because their last appearance teased that they would be back in 3 months. And well, unintentionally, that was pretty accurate!
Naturally the song accompanying them is an ominous evil tune, the kind of thing you would hear whi...
2021-05-21 14:15:12 +0000 UTC
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Hey hey there Party Members!
I figured we were about due for a peaceful village tune. You can never have too many of those for RPGs, right?
This was one of those songs that just sort of wrote itself, which I love! I also found myself humming and whistling the melody for hours after I was done working on it, which is another good sign.
I know I don't usually ask questions in posts like this, but I'm curious: Are you more interested in peaceful village tunes like this, or ...
2021-05-18 14:20:27 +0000 UTC
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Happy Friday Party Members!
You know how it goes, sometimes you have something planned, and then something unexpected happens and you have to change course. That's what happened for me this week.
I initially planned to have an old character make a devious comeback, but in order to do it justice I need a bit more time than I was going to have, so I started over and got this little gem.
It actually worked out pretty well, because honestly, I love making this style of video....
2021-05-14 14:15:01 +0000 UTC
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Hey Party Members!
Had to "sad it up" a bit this week in case you have some heavy scenes in your games. It's been a while since I wrote a tune like this. Guess I've just been in good spirits for a while now haha!
As the name implies, this song could work well for really run down locations, whether they are dungeons or towns. Of course it could also work well if a character is divulging a tragic backstory. My favorite application would have to be if this song played after someone...
2021-05-11 14:13:08 +0000 UTC
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Happy Friday Party Members!
Thought I would try to do something a little bit different today, so I wrote a futuristic style theme closer to something you would hear in Mega Man X or Super Metroid.
That doesn't mean they won't fit in an RPG though! As always, with the proper setting any song can fit. I can envision this tune working for different style dungeons, as a character theme, or even a good old fashioned tournament arc!
The song is in 7/8 timing, so the rhythm ...
2021-05-07 14:11:00 +0000 UTC
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Hey Party Members!
Yesterday, while brainstorming on what kind of song to write for you this week, I realized there was a severe lack of nautical themed tune in my archives. And so, "Undertide" was born!
While it may be kind of niche, it's still a fun scenario that we see every so often. The Serpent Trench in FFVI and the submarine section in FFVII come to mind, but I know there are more!
It took me 4 attempts to get an idea that I really liked, but it was definitely worth...
2021-05-04 14:00:27 +0000 UTC
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Hey Party Members, Happy Friday!
Today's entry wraps up the unofficial origin series where I dove into how Indigo and friends came together. Our subject for today is everyone's favorite Healer, Lukas. Although perhaps not as deluxe as say, Miranda's story, my grand vision for his involvement in the overall plot of this fictional game would come into play later on. Really you can see what I mean by reviewing the "World History" video I did a while back.
But anyway, you guys ...
2021-04-30 14:16:00 +0000 UTC
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Hey Party Members!
"A Sphinx says what?"
If you don't understand that joke then either the pun doesn't work as well as I was hoping or I am truly getting old....or perhaps, it's a little of both?
At any rate, today's song has a bit of Middle Eastern flair to it thanks to one of my favorite musical scales, Phrygian Dominant...don't worry, a lot of musicians don't know what that means either.
If your game has some sort of ancient temple location, this track could work re...
2021-04-27 14:04:31 +0000 UTC
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Happy Friday Part Members!
Got a fun one for ya today. I feel like a broken record sometimes, but I think this track could work well in multiple scenarios. My first thoughts would be to use it as a character or cutscene theme. But the more I listened to it, I think it could even work well for a mini game, or even on the title screen!
This week the party encounters something they are unfamiliar with: a celebrity. There are a couple bits I am happy with on this video.
On...
2021-04-23 14:16:00 +0000 UTC
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Hey Party Members!
Whew, it feels weird posting one of these without a video to accompany it! I'll have to get used to that. :D
This is a somber little tune, great for important moments or scenes in your game. The song found it's legs when I started playing the Cello line that opens things up. While I usually try to have really strong and prominent melodies in my songs, I tried to hold back a little on this one, and just let the music breathe a bit. Overall I think it worked pret...
2021-04-20 14:27:04 +0000 UTC
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Hey Party Members, sorry for the double post today, but I just wanted to let you guys know I've been thinking about dropping the Patreon exclusive videos. It takes a lot of time to get 2 videos a week together and truth be told, the Patreon vids just aren't being watched.
To be clear, I'll still be releasing new songs for you guys on Tuesdays, but they just won't have a video to go with them. I suspect that by dropping the extra video, I may...
2021-04-16 20:08:45 +0000 UTC
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Hey Party Members, happy Friday!
So as usual, I could see this weeks song working in multiple scenarios, like cutscenes or battles. I even can imagine it working well in a Tactical RPG game, like Ogre Battle or FF Tactics. It was for these reasons I thought it would be best for me to use it in a comedic scene this week. Cuz you know, that's what I do...
Indigo has unleashed a fury that the party isn't ready for. No amount of level grinding or equipment upgrades could prepar...
2021-04-16 14:15:01 +0000 UTC
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Hey Party Members!
Got a pleasant little tune for ya this week! I thought I would add on to the exclusive village tunes for you guys since most of the ones I have written are available on YouTube. This is one of those songs that just kind of wrote itself (gotta love those). Nothing too over the top or fancy, just a pleasant and relaxing song.
Our heroes find themselves at a crossroads, and are somewhat at odds about which direction to head. The best way to go is a pretty obvious ...
2021-04-13 14:00:05 +0000 UTC
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Happy Friday Party Members!
The character origin series continues today as we take a look at Garai and how he came to join our group. The plot thickens!
Since this weeks story is revolving around our favorite Knight, I thought it would be fitting to write a militant style march. The song overall is very serious, though there is a glimmer of hope and justice at the end to really accent Garai's character.
All we have left is good ol' Lukas, and then we'll have motivatio...
2021-04-09 14:15:59 +0000 UTC
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Hey Party Members!
Today the Indigo and Friends find themselves with their heads in the clouds. Not like their usual head in the clouds moments, but literally.
Like many of my songs, this weeks tune is a bit ambiguous, and could be applied in many situations. I opted to go for a Sky City aesthetic based upon the motion of the opening strings. They conjured up an ethereal and atmospheric feeling to me.
None of my recent story lines really complimented this, however, so...
2021-04-06 14:00:04 +0000 UTC
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Hey Part Members! It's Friday again, you know what that means!
This week I've got a simple, but effective track called Ruins. It was inspired by a song from a famous game about a spiky haired hero (does that narrow it down even a little?), but I made it my own by using different instruments and changing the motion of the chords and melody.
The plot from the "History Lesson" video is expanded upon slightly, as the party finds themselves outside the tomb of High Priest Benkei...
2021-04-02 14:15:01 +0000 UTC
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Hey Party Members!
I know I say this all the time, but I'm really excited to share this track with you. :D
Often times when asked about my inspirations, two of the top names that I drop are Nobuo Uematsu (Final Fantasy) and Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails).
Stylistically, the two are pretty far apart from each other. But there is no doubt to me that they have had some of the strongest impact on me and my musical identity.
Why am I telling you all this? Well it's becaus...
2021-03-30 14:01:01 +0000 UTC
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Hey Party Members!
My newest video is live on the YouTubes. This weeks song/video is a bit more lighthearted than some of my other recent tracks.
The party finds themselves outside of a new city. But before they can enter, a 'traveling' merchant approaches them with an offer.
If any of you are fans of the classic RPG The Legend of Dragoon, you may get a similar vibe from this track as I do. As the song began taking shape, it started to remind me of the song that ...
2021-03-26 14:16:00 +0000 UTC
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Hey Party Members!
I just wanted to get your feedback on something so I thought I would do a quick poll.
Q: How important are the videos that I do to you?
If you'd like to elaborate on your thoughts in the comments (or via a DM) please feel free.
Thanks, and TTYL!
-Bert
2021-03-25 21:02:29 +0000 UTC
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Hey Party Members!
Time for a Lore Dump!
You may have noticed I've been trying to flesh out the story for my little fictitious game by adding backstory for Indi and Miranda.
Well today I'm going further with that by diving into some world history for our characters. I've got an idea for a loose thread that can connect everything. It's nothing ground breaking or revolutionary, just something basic for a little more cohesion between scenes. (Bear with me, I'm a m...
2021-03-23 14:01:01 +0000 UTC
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Happy Friday Party Members!
Got an extra special video today! Very excited to share it with you.
For starters, it's my longest video to date (a whopping 7 minutes, whoo!), but also it travels back in time to reveal Miranda's backstory, her motivations, and how she joined up with our bumbling Hero Indigo. I really hope you like it!
The video also features 3 songs, though 2 of them are already available in the archive. I just wanted to go for a more authentic approach when ...
2021-03-19 14:06:00 +0000 UTC
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Hey Party Members!
Surprise! Early upload!
I thought I would change things up a bit. To spread the content out across the week, I'm now going to upload the exclusive videos (Warriors and up) on Tuesdays, while the Youtube vids are going to stay on Friday (for the Healers crew).
This may be a bit easier for me, rather than scrambling to get 2 videos done on Thursday. We'll test it out for a while and see how things go!
I realized that I hadn't done any kind of vi...
2021-03-16 14:00:04 +0000 UTC
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Hey Party Members, it's that time again!
This week's song was a bit of a mystery, as far as placement goes. I'm really satisfied with how the piece turned out, but when I went to script a scene, I wasn't totally sure how I should use the tune.
I opted to go for an "Underworld" theme. Basically like an alternative world map theme if your party goes to a dark world or something in your game (kinda like they did in FFIV, or even how Chrono Trigger had multiple world map themes...
2021-03-12 15:00:06 +0000 UTC
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Hey Party Members!
Got a special bonus reward for my Warriors! You can now download my 16-Bit Song Starter Pack.
This pack contains 10 SNES style songs. It features a nice variety of songs for different situations, like dungeons, a character theme, a castle theme and even a great overworld map theme.
I decided to offer this pack to you guys just as an extra thank you for yo...
2021-03-09 15:00:05 +0000 UTC
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Hey Party Members!
So I was thinking about it, and I figured I may as well write posts for my Youtube vids here, and not just the Patreon exclusive ones. I think I will schedule these for Saturdays though, just so you don't get 2 notifications on Friday. Any thoughts on this??
Not sure if you noticed, but recently I decided that my Youtube videos will no longer be free for everyone to download. They are open to be viewed by anyone, but only 1 song a month will have the free downlo...
2021-03-06 15:01:01 +0000 UTC
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Hey Party Members!
In celebration of reaching 11 Patrons, I thought I would write a new battle theme! These tend to be a bit more time consuming for me, I think it's mainly because they are generally higher energy. Plus, players hear them a LOT throughout RPGs, so you want them to be great, but not too fatiguing.
Anyway, the song was sporting some strong Mega Man X vibes, so I decided to dub it "Thems Fightin' Robots." If that title is confusing to you, just remember I'm from the ...
2021-03-05 15:00:05 +0000 UTC
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