r/GameMusicComposition

I'm new to making video game style music but I have been composing pieces for about a year now. I like to make ambient, atmospheric music which can range from classical to other experimental genres. If you'd like to check out my work please DM and ill send you some of my unreleased work. I also don't expect pay as I'm trying to still build up a portfolio, all I want is credits!!

I’m asking a variety of smaller questions with this overarching one, so feel free to drop any info.

I’m looking into what makes Toby Fox’s music so good, and something I constantly hear about is that he shifts the semitones of a song and/or instruments.

Upon watching some “tutorials” on what semitones are, all they state is that they’re the individual keys on the piano, so I’m assuming changing the semitone shifts what key the melody is in.

So how do you use this coherently?

Is this used to change a melody that was out of key into the key you wanna use? Is this how the Once Upon a Time motif fits into multiple keys?

Some of the instruments in Toby’s songs are pitched down, while others are pitched up. Why? And how do you know when the pitched-up instrument works with the pitched-down?

I could go on and on, but I won’t bore you with all that.

Edit: So apparently semitones aren’t what I’m looking for, at least not entirely. What I’m actually trying to look into is microtones and how much cents an instrument is altered by.

I've been writing music for over 25 years and for the last few I've leaned heavily on composition using digital software and I'd really love to write music for any small video game devs or fan projects. For example, I'm working on an entire DOOM ost in hopes of sharing it with devs who make classic DOOM maps or fan games. My stuff ranges from atmospheric to heavy with my influences being the likes of Bobby Prince, Sean Beanland, and Mick Gordon, to any and every composer for each and every Mega Man and Castlevania game (too many to name 😵‍💫) to Nine Inch Nails, Slayer, and The Melvins.

Just wondering if someone can point me in the right direction. A forum or something where I can simply go "Hey, check out these tracks I wrote. Anyone need a composer?" 🤷‍♂️ Sorry if this seems like rambling, but I hope it still makes enough sense to maybe get some input.

I’ve been composing orchestral music for indie games for a while now, and something has been bugging me.
Most game soundtracks sound fine. Well produced, fit the mood. But they have no connection to the story. You could swap them out for stock music or AI and nobody would notice. That’s a problem.
In this video I break down how themes and motivic development can turn a score into actual storytelling. I demonstrated it with a project I recently scored called Lost Key.
Would love to hear your thoughts!