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FamiTracker
Hey, I had a question that I'm not sure where to go to get answered. Sorry if its a bit off topic. Weeell, I have an interest in making video game music, so I would like to start making music for video games. I guess what I am trying to ask is how would I go about that? could I use famitracker? is there anybody out there that has made music specifically for a game? would I have to know anything special? like codes? what I have to put it in a special format?
so again kinda off topic but I would appreciate any help if I could get it.
I'm not to sure how musicians get hired in the game industry. I am just starting out learning how to make tracker music, but primarily I am a programmer. I know that XBOX 360 doesn't support any type of tracker music, but the style can still be used if it is converted to a WMA. Pixel Boarder on the XBL arcade is a good example of tracker music on a modern console. The Nintendo DS on the other hand has more limited memory space. The price of each card increases depending on how much space is allowed. So the developers look toward creative solutions to keep the size of the music down. IE Tracker music. I've heard of musicians using Nitro Tracker. If you’re a good with one tracker you’re a good with any tracker.
If your looking for a noncommercial project I am currently working on a River City Ransom style game made in Game Maker which uses NSF files for the music. I’m only about one month in and making great progress.
If your interested shoot me an e-mail: vonzippenstein@aol.com
There are four main jobs needed to make noncommercial games: Designer, Programmer, Artist, and Sound. If you want your music in games you either have to be able to do all these jobs or collaborate. Here is a good place to find people and start collaborating. Another is the yoyogames forums.
Cleanairisgreat; Sorry for the delay. It happens quite a bit on this forum.
Anyways, there are many methods to create video game music. if you're interested in creating retro video game music that can be loaded onto NES cartridges (or played through NES emulators,) then FamiTracker is a good program (there's also other programs like NerdTracker & MCK, but FamiTracker is, I find it, simple to use).
All you need is a little musical talent, some knowledge of the physics behind sound & a good understanding of how to use FamiTracker. It's a tracker; a type of program that generates musical notes through keyboard or MIDI piano input. It visually outputs the notes in alphanumerical notation, but it also lets you play music on the fly as you edit.
I've made my own music for what I imagine could be a pretty good NES game, if it were made:
However, if you want to actually create your own game & incorporate the music you create with FamiTracker, you'd have to know how to program games. If you're programming for the NES, you need to know assembly language for the 2A03/6502 microprocessor. If you're interested in programming games for Windows or other platforms, you can use different programming languages, as long as you convert the music into a proper format (like WAV, WMA, MP3, etc.).
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Technology: the one thing that's hated & cursed at by all engineers, technologists, scientists & technicians!
I contacted Nintendo and Rare but they may have too many musicians. As for using Famitracker, that's a big NO. There's other programs you have to use like Sonar or CuBase. I don't think a game company will take kindly to 8-bit music in their video games but maybe, just maybe they will.
vonzippenstein: I will do music and/or sound effects. I don't need to be paid though and I don't know if you'd be willing to be hiring a 16-year old but I compose lots of music.
Basically I'd think you'd want to have written some other music as an example of your abilities. If you're good, or people like your stuff, you'll probably get contacted if you let people know that you want to make music for games.
I use PPMCK to write music, and I'm currently making music for an iPhone game that will be coming out at some point. It is possible to write 8-bit music for modern, commercial games, assuming that it's what the developer wants, whether for nostalgia or because they like the sound of it-- look at Anamanaguchi and the Scott Pilgrim game.
Awesome Doommaster
Here is a demo of the engine I'm building: http://www.seanrowan.com/famitracker/rcrdemo.zip
It uses a winamp wrapper to play NSF files through an extension called festalon. So theres no need to convert to wav.
The pixel art is pieced together from a project called Brass Knuckles and Belt Buckles by Colin Slick and Pulp London. About two years ago they released the project's art to anyone who wanted to work on it.
Controls: Arrow Keys to move, double tap to run, Z - Punch, X - Kick, Z+X - Jump, X while jumping - Jumpkick, Enter - Pause, Esc - Quit
Publishers aren't necessary for startup now. There is always the indie route. Make a good game in Flash, Game Maker, Multimedia Fusion, Unity, Unreal Dev Kit, from the ground up in C, or as a MOD. If it is popular port it to XBL arcade or the Playstation Network. There’s also the app store for the iPhone and Droid. Wiiware is a bit trickier from what I've heard, but these sort of things snowball once they are started. After that publishers might come to you. The prime indie example of course being Behemoth. Also, coming to Wiiware is a game that went the indie route and was contacted by Nintendo publisher. It's called Super Meat Boy. It started as a flash game and snowballed. I met these guys at E3 and been pimping their name to anyone who will listen. http://supermeatboy.com
Skills in FamiTracker don't apply very well to general game music skills. Any general principles of composition you learn in FamiTracker can be applied to anything, of course, but making professional game music -- and making it actually sound good -- is a whole 'nother ball game. I'd like to think I'm good enough with FamiTracker that I could get a job doing it if it were still the NES era. (I'm by no means an NES music god, I'm just good enough to be a professional, I think.) However, I cannot for the life of me make modern professional-quality game music. It takes more time, money, and patience than I have. I can [i]compose[/i] it, probably, but I'd need the help of somebody else to actually bring that music to life. And, realistically, a game company would just hire that "somebody else" in the first place and skip me.
There are only two ways I can think of to really break into the game industry as a composer:
1. Be PHENOMENAL. You seriously have to be one of the best composers you know. You have to be able to give, say, Nobuo Uematsu a run for his money. (But don't copy Uematsu -- because if a company wants music like Uematsu, they'll hire Uematsu.) If you're not, you'll have too much competition.
2. Have something to offer besides just your composition skills. For instance, if you're a programmer, develop an interesting music technology.
In either case, you basically have to offer a company something that few other people can offer them. That's the only way you can stand out from the crowd.
Sometimes, improvising your own songs into something large is the only way to go; that, my friend, is true talent. Keep on improvising until you come with something epic.
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Technology: the one thing that's hated & cursed at by all engineers, technologists, scientists & technicians!
Thanks. Unfortunately I never record the stuff so I never remember what notes I play. Fortunately, a friend of mine is 'hiring' me to write the music and sound to an NES game he's going to make.
Good old times, when ~15 y.o. boys with some talent and no musical education had chances to get hired by large company, are over 20 years ago.
Today there are way too many musicians around than the industry needs. You may have chances to occasionally make music for some indie freeware or low-budget game, maybe even make a little money from it, but chances you can make game music for living are close to zero.
I am new to the tracker but I am a regular musician; I play guitar and the keyboard
TechEmporium- I actually have my own 8-bit music project. Its all done on a keyboard but with the discovery of the famitacker I'll most likely do everything on that now, especially since it takes me very little time to to finish a song now. but I also want to explore it a bit more and maybe put some real instruments in there once in a while. my ultimate goal for it would be to make it sound like Emerson Lake and Palmer meets Pokemon.
but anyway getting back to the original post, thanks for replying to my post. all of you have been a big help.
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