Feedback Examples
Since your submissions are all different with individual strengths and weaknesses and it can vary a bit from judge to judge, we can not guarantee an exact length of the feedback.
However, the judges will take the same amount of time for each one, it will include specific points for you to improve on and it won’t differ much from these examples.
Example Feedback:
Overall Thoughts: Really cool compositions, I like how your pieces are more textural and go for the minimalistic approach. I think the standout piece was the battle track, I really enjoyed the mood of the track.
0:06: I like the depth of your orchestra, it feels very full. I think something that can assist you here is the utilization of space and rests in your music. I feel like sitting on a drone for the open world is a nice thought, but I think it\’s better to play around more with various harmonies and giving breathing room in your composition. I\’m hearing that we\’re going back and forth between I and IV. Nothing wrong with pedal tones, but I think there needs to be a bit more space and harmonic variety here to allow the sound design and music shine together.
1:03: I actually really love the music for the town, it feels like home and feels very warm like returning to something comforting and safe. I think the transition could have been an added layer rather than a cross fade, as I hear the music dipping out and coming in. I think because you\’re in the same key here, I think adding the woodwind and other elements could have faded into the field/exploration piece that you had prior.
1:18: I think this spot could have been the perfect opportunity to introduce some form of Tavern music, like maybe a small ensemble that feels like there is a performance happening inside. I think there needs to be some sort of change at this spot.
1:27: Good idea bringing the music down at this spot where the player opens the menu to decide to rest. I\’m glad you identified that and it sounds great here.
1:31: I really like the choir here, gives a more foreboding feeling for night exploration and I think a little more of a drone actually works for this.
1:40: I like how you introduce the percussion at this section and increase the intensity in the piece. I actually like the pizz at the high end, maybe you could play around with moving this on other notes, but otherwise, I think it\’s a really interesting texture. I also think that you could play around with change the harmonies for the battle theme.
2:47: Honestly, I really love that you go up to flat 2 major 7 here (you went up a half step), sounds super cool, but I\’m not sure if this is the right chord that I would use to signify a major battle has ended. I actually think overall in the battle composition and the transition out, the use of dissonance and tension could have aided your composition a lot. However, the battle composition is super cool but I think a little more harmonic variety and dissonance would create tension as well as rhythmic variety.
Additional Comments: Overall, I really like the pieces that you wrote for this project and I am glad that you enjoyed this process! I think if you could play around with harmonic changes, rhythmic changes, and overall using MIDI CC Change data a bit more that could drastically take some of these compositions to the next level. Great work though!
Example Feedback:
“Overall really great job! Even though it unfortunately did not win, please be encouraged that it was near the top with a very high score.
The menu music is nice with a tension free atmosphere and a bit of a quirky attitude which is perfect for a game like this.
The start of the game is excellent! Immediately I felt drawn into the tension ticking time bomb that is this game (trying to survive against the clock). The semitone oscillating motif is extremely effective, and even though it’s extremely simple, what you do to vary it and keep the listener off-balance and unsettled is extremely effective in a game like this. In other words, the repeating semi tone oscillation holds everything together very nicely, while all the variations keep the momentum moving forward. I especially like that the phrase length keeps changing, and on first and second listen, I can’t really find the exact pattern too easily (still not sure if there is any exact repetition to the phrase lengths and chord progressions). Not knowing where the music is going next keeps me on edge in a great way! The percussive bed works beautifully with the melody. I love how I can feel the downbeats (in the melody), and you use the percussion to emphasize off beats (especially 16ths), which again, is an atypical arrangement that is a bit unsettling and tense. When you add even more syncopations in the snare for Level 2, again, not in an easily recognizable pattern, it does a great job of escalating the tension.
@0:52 I felt the music go a little awry. Overall it got simpler and the percussion (which I felt was expertly done in the previous section) starts to settle into a more regular groove with regular downbeat emphasis. You still do a good job of keeping a little off-kilter with the chords, but overall it sounds more stagnant than the highly fluid opening section. For a game like this where surviving against the ticking clock, the general shape of increasing tension throughout would be best. If this new material acted a short interlude before returning to the main material, then I would’ve felt better about it, but as it continues to go on I felt the energy and tension lessening more and more. Furthermore, there isn’t a dramatic reason for this shift to the new section (such as starting a new level). It’s fine for it to happen organically as part of a bigger loop, without a trigger, but it would need to be more clear that that is what’s happening.
@1:00 The jump cut to Level 4 two minutes later into the game. I would expect to the tension to be higher than where we left it in Level 2, and to be fair, it is a bit more involved with some cool high synth sounds, but this isn’t much of a step forward from where the music left off two minutes ago, so it seems as if the same low-tension music has been playing consistently. (Perhaps in between we went back to the A material from the beginning, but that would have needed to be explained in the Comments).
The simplest fix for all of this might have been to start with the B material that I think is less tense, and later move into the A material which is amazing, then there would be a clear escalation in the tension of the game.
The added layer when the Saws start is well done. Sounds very appropriate and intensifies the situation, making me feel nervous about getting cut by the saws.
@1:24 The shift back to the A section is a little bumpy and could have been smoother and more elegant. I would have liked to hear the saw motif continue while the saws were still engaged, and feel like the shift back to the A section was more closely tied to the gameplay with a clear trigger. Is the return of this material a verbatim replica from earlier in the game? If it isn’t, then it’s extremely close and does not feel to me like an escalation. We are only 4 minutes into the game, so no need to have some dramatic variation, but adding a little twist to music we’re already familiar with would be another level of sophistication that you can aim for.
The cut to Level 44 definitely shows that you’re on the right track, that you’re thinking about how you can make the music bigger for the ending. I wish you had been able to make it feel more tense and dramatic as we get close to the end, something that creates more anxiety as the clock ticks down. Especially in the last 10 seconds, I would have liked to hear a clear push of tension towards the end, but you have this cross fade a few seconds before the end that, to me, takes away from the drama of reaching the end.
I do want to reiterate how impressed I was with how this score started back at Level 1, and I was really into it. Going forward, work on how you develop your initial great ideas so you are able to build up steam and not let the listener off the hook.”
Example Feedback:
Really nice work on your contest submission; I enjoyed your unique approach to scoring this fantasy RPG! I was a little concerned when I read that you were using inspiration from French composers, as I thought this might clash with the setting and aesthetic of the game, but I’m happy to say that you used those influences in a very effective way that served the game well!
I like your opening exploration music. It’s peaceful and serene. I think it could do a bit more to evoke a sense of wonder and magic that one would associate with this type of fantasy game. This could be in the form of harmonic choices and/or instrumentation.
I like that you have a lot of melodic lines, but it feels like it lacks a thematic melody, one that would be memorable and give the score more of a sense of cohesion.
One thing I really love about this sequence is the lack of obvious tempo and meter, and the sort of through-written feel to it. I think this works really nicely for the wandering that the character is doing, and makes it feel like there’s this endless world to explore.
0:56 Here’s a good example of a wonderful start to a melodic line (in the cello) but it never really goes anywhere and I don’t think I hear this developed into a theme that comes back later. So there’s an opportunity here, for sure.
1:06 I like this shift as we approach the town. It’s lighter and more energetic, as you said, and I think this is a great decision to help draw the player into this new location. I wouldn’t do the accelerando. This can make the music very difficult to implement in the game, as the various transitions can end up happening at different times musically depending on how slow or fast the player moves through the different areas.
1:18 This music feels a little odd for the town, because it feels a little bit mischievous and quirky to me. Yes, we can get lighter here, but at the same time I think the overall tone of the game needs to remain somewhat serious (which is something the dev specifically mentioned in the notes).
1:37 I would maybe argue that the encounter with the enemy has not begun at the beginning of this clip, and we should probably still be in exploration music. I do like the idea of bringing in this drum as we approach the enemy, but I would wait a little longer until we’re close enough that an actual interaction is certain to happen.
1:46 When the mage fires his spell, this is when the actual battle starts, so it would be nice to shift into full-blown combat music by this point. Right now it feels like the music is really lagging in energy and intensity, as if we’re still waiting for the battle to happen.
1:50 This swell and transition into more energetic score is great, so just move that back to trigger when the fight first starts and you’ll be good.
In the main part of the combat, I love what you’re doing with the strings and brass, but it feels like it’s missing a lot of energy from a lack of percussion and/or other driving/intense elements.
2:11 I love these smooth, melodic planing ideas you’re putting over the top of the action with strings and woodwinds! Really cool writing, and a great way to keep things fresh in what could be a long extended fight sequence.
2:30 Again, great job switching things up a lot, and creating just the right amount of chaos. Great use of orchestral colors and different melodic and textural ideas.
2:40 This section is really great too, but it feels like too big a change in energy/emotion, as if you’re playing something specific that’s happening, like scoring a movie scene instead of a game. There won’t be any way to predict exactly how these fights will unfold, so we can’t get too specific in how we score them. There can be different energy levels, yes, but I wouldn’t do such a change in emotion (ie: from tension to heroism).
I could see both these approaches to the battle working well, as they’re both great pieces of music! So I would just choose one and stick to it rather than having a specific transition in the middle which may or may not line up with how the fight is unfolding.
Overall, you’ve done great work on this, and particularly when looked at as individual pieces of music, your various cues are working really well! One thing I would work on is trying to tie things together more coherently so it all feels like one score. You mentioned in your comment that you brought back your earlier theme in the battle in a more epic setting, and I went back and listened multiple times and couldn’t pick it out, which means that whatever you did melodically was too subtle for the player to actually latch onto. When you’re doing thematic development in games or film, you need to be pretty obvious and clear with it if you want the audience to connect the dots.
I really enjoyed evaluating your work, and I hope these comments give you some things to work on as you continue improving your composing skills. Best of luck to you!
Example Feedback:
Thanks for a great submission here congratulations. I wanna first warn you that I am using voice to text for these comments. I will be proofreading these but please excuse any sentences that don\’t make any sense 🙂
I like the ambient music in the opening. After a little while it became a little bit monotonous. I don\’t know if that\’s a bad thing or a good thing but it\’s just something to be aware of. Ambient music like that will eventually be pushed to the players background. Kind of like the air conditioner in a room that you don\’t hear anymore. Again, not necessarily bad. But I do think this opening sequence is an opportunity to introduce players to some of the main themes of the game. I do like how the music changed as we approach the village but I think that change could have been a little more subtle. When implementing this type of change in a game engine you might have that flute part fade in in relation to the distance to the village. Entering the battle mode, the music started off very strong giving an ominous sense of what was coming. After a little while the rhythmic low strings and drums gave way to more sustained cellos or violas. Those sustained notes lost some of the sense of energy. I would have liked to hear those sustained notes much quieter and under the rhythmic elements. They could also probably be more sparse. The music also doesn\’t need to be as dense as it is. It\’s OK to leave a little bit of air to let the sound design shine through. However we do need a clearer sense of our main themes during all of this.
The production and overall composition was excellent. I applaud your inventiveness during the battle scene and I loved the ambience and relaxing feel to the opening sequence. And independently these tracks would make incredible portfolio items. But I\’m afraid that together they are not as coherent as they could be. In future projects try to take some melodic elements from your first cue and keep that constant through the 2nd and subsequent cues..
Thank you for the submission I truly enjoyed listening to this one period I wish you the best of luck on all your future projects although I don\’t believe you will need any luck. Great work!
Example Feedback:
Concept: You did a good job in making use of the limited opportunities this gamepaly footage offers by adding a bunch of layers/branches w/o making it become too complex for no reason.
Overworld Theme: Creates a great mood right at the start, w/o being too dominant. I probably would have reduced the dominant melodic elements a bit more, to make the music act even more from the background. The instrumentation is already pretty complex with a lot of instruments used, that way you maybe missed out on connecting specific instruemtns to ingame happenings or important locations, by already using them (can\\\’t be exclusive anymore)
You have to keep in mind that you never know how long a player will stay in a specific area. There might be people who simply walk around for an hour or so and they still shouldn’t be annoyed by the music after a while. So especially basic overworld music should often be as reduced as possible and only support the visual/narrative layer in a very subtile & passive way. Often it’s a great opportunity to connect instrument groups to areas/cahracters/states of the game. For example: Flutes only when you arrive at a lake (whenever you reach a lake in the game the current OW theme has some flutes joining). By randomly using such a big amount of instruments, instrumental leitmotifs aren’t possible anymore. Anotger example: Connect the whole Brass section to story relevant locations/happenings in the game. There’s an endless amount of possibilities: of course it shouzld never become too complex. Most of the time i try to establish 3-6 good instrumental motifs and 1-3 good main melodic leitmotifs (and a fes smaller ones
When increasing the amount of instruments and the amount of \\\””energy\\\”” there often should be a reason, and by giving the main instrumentation such a big amount of complexity and layers, there\\\’s not much playroom for “reacting” to ingame happenings anymore.
Another approach would be to make such dominant elements, or any location bound instrument, appear for a short while based on a randomizer, in case there\\\’s no benefit in connecting it to something.
Transition to town:
The transition to the town happens bit too early + in this case i\\\’d probably pick a crossfade transition amde possible by a parallel arrangement of the 2 location themes, for a smoother transition. The theme itself sounds nice, even though i think it\’s a bit too energetic for what i see on screen. It doesn\’t really look like the happy/festive mood you created and creates a little contrast for no reason.
The transition to the tavern was also a little bit stumbling. If you want to go for a tempo change, you should probably go for tansitional layer/branch changes and not via direct switch (in that case you\’d need to utilize parallel composing, as described above)
Battle theme:
The battle theme works good. You create a good feeling of a dangerous situation that needs your attention, w/o overloading the battle theme & w/o leaving no space for further increasing the intensity (for example during boss fights/unique enemies etc). I\’m not sure if every battle themes needs these big orchestral stacc/spicc patterns though, in this case i probably would\’ve aimed for an even more reduced approach to leave even more space for later improvements. I could imagine that this theme could become a bit annoying with that much things going on after the 3rd or 4th battle during that night.
Overall instrumentation:
The instrumentation you chose is pretty straight forward and does its job. It’s always a safe bet to go with already established instrumentations & in the case of fantasy scenarios there’s actually not that much obvious playroom for more “tailored and experimental” stuff. So overall it was a choice i understand. This instrumentation still won\’t stand out in a very memorable way. (and often it\’s ok to go the safe way – it\’s always worth it to at least experiment with one or two \””unexpected\”” elements. If it doesn’t work, you can still return to the 100% established things.)
Example Feedback:
00:00 – 1:17 – This is a very fun mystical type vibe. I really enjoyed how sparse it is and how it lets the world atmosphere breathe, and blends with it, as well. Nice job! Not too dense, not too busy.
1:17 Tavern – Fun sounding tavern music in there. Random production nitpick: it would\’ve been really neat to \””set\”” the music in the tavern (reverb, distance, etc). This is a very minor nitpick, however!
1:31 Combat – The brass at the beginning is a little intense/constant. I do like the choir in the background setting the tension.
1:57 – Nice! Feels like we settle into the combat/tension well starting here. It\’s not too busy or trying to do too much for a chance combat encounter in the middle of a field. Could be cool to mix up the brass line in the background with some other instruments.
2:47 – End of combat stinger/transition feels a little abrupt. It also feels kind of open ending in a bit of an odd way – not that I was looking for a victorious fanfare or anything like that, but something with a little more sense of resolution could have been cool.
Overall, well done! I think the opening section was my favorite bit, for my reasons stated above. It set the general environmental/exploration atmosphere quite well. The combat started a little intense but then settled into a pretty good place.