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MUSIC IN THE RIOT UNIVERSE

Riot Games, for a long time, has understood that music not only enhances the player experience, but massively increases community engagement. Whether they’re designing their own virtual bands, or collaborating with well-known established artists, their primary goal has always been:

connecting with the players.

The ability of music to establish emotional ties is vast. Within Riot’s games, music aids an immersive gameplay experience, while also functioning as an artistic language to convey character traits, motivations, and environmental detail. But Riot goes further. Music means more to Riot than a mere marketing strategy. It extends their community beyond the boundaries of code, opening up the Riot universe to welcome new audiences and content creators across the world…

IMAGINE DRAGONS

Pop-rock band Imagine Dragons has a long collaborative history with Riot. They were the studios first band collaboration and struck a pivotal moment for the future of Riot’s Musical endeavours. Imagine Dragons frontman, Dan Reynolds, talks in an interview with NME about how the game became an obsession for the band prior to working with the studio. Reynolds mentions that they’ve even been late to the stage because they were finishing up games in League of Legends, and wanted to steer clear of a ban for dropping out early! Their collaborations came about from a chance encounter when Reynold’s brother happened to meet a Riot employee while at church. Their conversation organically flowed about how his brother would play League, and how he was also the lead singer from the acclaimed group of musicians known as Imagine Dragons. This seemingly intwined the band and Riot together by fate as they were soon invited for a tour of the Riot Games studio. Both creative forces found themselves to be inspired by each others company, staying in contact with studio leads by playing the game, and reportedly “nerding out” over D&D through occasional house visits.

ID: WORLDS 2014 - WARRIORS & Arcane

In 2014, Riot held their fourth World Championship for League of Legends. It was here that Imagine Dragons would work with Riot to create the event’s first anthem, as well as perform live on stage at the Grand Finals held in Seoul, South Korea.

The rousing music was written specifically to initiate excitement, with Riot aiming for a war cry-like sound for players to rally behind. It was created in close collaboration with composer Christian Linke in an iterative process, where Christian would send them drafts of scored music, and the band would return song ideas based on that music, to which Linke would write more orchestral layers. They ended up with a successful hybrid fusion of a typical Imagine Dragons song and epic-orchestral fantasy music. The live performance matched the tracks energy and exceeded it with the help of over 100 live musicians on stage, including a traditional Korean drum ensemble and live orchestra. Imagine Dragons would be the first in a long list of established artists from a wide range of popular styles such as singer and rapper Lil Nas X to EDM artist Zedd working with Riot to make ‘Star Walkin’ (2022) and ‘Ignite’ (2016) respectively. All of these collaborations resulted in anthemic tracks for their annual world championship events, with the latest being ‘Gods’ (2023) from the supercharged K-Pop Girl Group ‘NewJeans’. In 2021, Imagine Dragons would eventually return to the League of Legends universe to write the song ‘Enemy’ featuring rapper J.I.D. It was used as the theme for Riot’s hit animated Netflix series ‘Arcane’ based on the lore of the games. The show was a signal that Riot were keen to expand further into multimedia territory, and give the fans more ways to engage with the games ever expanding content.

Unfortunately plans for the 2021 live show plans had to change quickly… as that years’ Worlds event would have to go audience-less and become a completely live-streamed show. It did, however, have Imagine Dragons return to a Worlds event alongside J.I.D and PVRIS with whom Riot collaborated with on that years anthem ‘Burn It All Down’. Each performance would have a bespoke music video filmed on a real world recreation of sets from the Arcane show.

STEVE AOKI

Another artist that has worked with the Riot Music Team in recent times is DJ Steve Aoki. He produced a track for the cinematic release video from Set 10 of TeamFight Tactics named Remix Rumble. TFT is essentially an auto-battler which is set in an alternate timeline featuring League Champions that have forgone a different destiny. Aoki’s contributions to TFT meant working closely with Riot composer Kole Hicks. They started with multiple genres, with Hicks sending Aoki audio files from various songs in the TFT soundtrack with widely differing styles, including classical, hip hop, jazz, and metal music. Aoki would then pick and choose a few elements based on the concept they were both working to. The idea was that that differing musical styles should be weaving together to work as a strong musical reflection of the game, as well as working as a stand-alone piece of music that they could release to streaming services like Spotify, and Apple Music. This concept was important to the gameplay of Set 10 Remix Rumble, as the update would allow the player to recruit champions that are related to the different styles of music intending for the player to build a genre-bending super-group. After Aoki built his remix, Hicks went on to edit and add a couple more elements to streamline the track for the cinematic. As well as being involved with the music, Aoki also added a range of Team Fight Tactics themed merchandise to his clothing brand ‘Dim Mak’.

Like Imagine Dragons, Steve Aoki also has a gaming history. In 2016 he became a co-owner of an esports team that played competitive Counterstrike and Overwatch, known as ‘Rogue’. The team came first in League European Championships in Spring 2022, and ended up finishing 5th overall in the Worlds event of the same year. More recently, after undergoing multiple rebrands, they have reestablished their team under the tagline ‘Hood Up’ with plans to return to the LEC this year.

CONCLUSION

Riot has a reputation for being committed to its players first and foremost. It’s evident that they are eager to work with creative people who have a passion for their games, and for the industry. Imagine Dragons, with their love for League, and Aoki’s own foray into esports made it a no brainer collaboration. All of this considered, it’s easy to see that Riot’s music is more than just video game music. Over time they have learned that if the music speaks, the players will listen!

References on request

#content writing #script #music and riot #riot games

Product Copy Examples

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Sine Drop

Intro -> WHAT The ‘sine drop’ is a classic sound, typically used in synth based music, or as sound design in sci-fi games, or films. It’s a great effect when used subtly, adding flavour and movement to the music, commonly creating a dropping feeling, as if you’re falling into something, or even for horror, as when used in a specific manner, the effect can replicate a sense of dread.

If you don’t know what a sine wave is, it’s basically a fundamental pitch, with no distortions or harmonic layers. Unlike when you press one key on a piano, where many different pitches in the harmonic series will sound to create the tone that you hear, a sine wave is a smooth sound with just the fundamental frequency. It is also represented as a smooth line, in a regular wave fashion. The reason we use a sine wave for this technique is because of its smooth nature. It is easy to blend into your music, while still having the same effect. Regardless of that, you can add plugins to stylise, and add nuances to the sound if that is the desired effect!

Middle -> EXAMPLES

My absolute favourite use of this effect is in Joe Hisaishi’s score for Princess Mononoke. This was my main inspiration for writing this article, and adding it to a hybrid orchestral production of my own. In the track ‘ The Legend of Ashitaka ‘ It adds SO much drama and tension to the music that when it drops, the release is just ethereal bliss. Breaking through is a lush string melody that soars, giving me chills every single time. If you want to check it out, it is the first track on the official soundtrack release, and difficult to find on YouTube. EDIT: It’s the first track on this upload of the OST! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpoXo5bA8YI&t=4s

Middle -> HOW TO

You can make a similar basic sound using any Sine on a soft-synth. In this case, I’m using Logic Pro’s stock synth ES2. A good starting point is to use the preset Sine Bass, but I like to start from scratch, as this is where interesting things/happy accidents can happen! -> Make a 100% sine wave by choosing Sine on oscillator 1 and switching off oscillators 2 + 3. Move the triangular oscillator blend to only sound oscillator 1. It also doesn’t hurt to turn up the sine level dial on the right hand side of ES2.

-> Ensure that the synth is playing a mono-voice mode (Legato is even better). Sliding the glide up to ~around~ 1800ms.

-> Head down to the ADSR settings, and increase the attack so the notes start smoothly, and don’t suddenly cut in. Also pull back the sustain by about half.

-> Add some distortion in ES2 or with a plugin to beef up the sound. You want the distortion to be bright, if you can, but it’s down to personal taste. Some chorus works really nicely to smooth out the distortion too!

-> Now we’re going to assign LPF FM [Low Pass Filter Frequency Modulation] to the MIDI-Modulation control for some automation later on. Turn the blend fader in the big round filter section in the middle of ES2 all the way to the right (and increase the cutoff on the right while you’re there..). This is because we need to use the FM dial for the modulation. Then, go to the dark blue router panel and on the first set, click the box, and on the dropdown choose LPF FM. The middle box should be set to off, and choose ModWhl for the lower. Then slide the little green arrow to the side all the way down. This step allows us to control the filter setting with your modulation wheel, or just the modulation channel in Logic (CC1), which you can draw automation with!

-> Then for some extra movement, you can add a really slight pitch vibrato to the synth sound we created. A similar method to the previous step with some differences. Choose Pitch 1 for the first box, then the middle “via” box, choose LFO2, and the last box choose LFO1. Then make a tiny space between the two arrows that appear to the right, so the depth isn’t too noticeable. Also, you might want to adjust the LFO2 rate below, to about 1/8.

-> Then to execute the sine drop, choose a note in the high/mid range, and let that gliiiiiiide down to a note in the low range. A cool effect can be made when you swell the modulation once it hits the low note. Also, I add a light echo and reverb to create space. -> To add impact and a ‘destination reached’ feeling, you can add a low impact, or boom noise. I used some of the impact sounds from this great free library https://www.boomlibrary.com/sound-effects/free-sounds-cinematic-series/

Conc -> USES/CREATIVITY

These steps are just a guide and I wholeheartedly hope you manage to get something useful out of them! It’s a good position to branch out and try your own things with this particular sound, whether you’re adding this to for drama to an orchestral track, or doing some badass sci-fi sound design. Happy creating!

#howto #musicproduction #tutorial #contentwriting

Elden Ring Will Rock the Games Industry Yet Again in 2024 [Article]

Elden Ring’s success over the last two years has been yet another boost in From Software’s overwhelmingly positive run in the last decade. An upcoming stint of orchestral concerts, and player reception to the DLC trailer forebodes that this storm shows no sign of slowing down.

Shadows of the Erdtree is due to release on 21st of June 2024, and much like the anticipation of the game, players have been eagerly awaiting any news or updates on the title. While it’s been only less than a month since the studio independently released footage of the trailer, this has only added more fuel to fans of From’s work. It’s critical success gave the studio more public attention than any of their previous games, gathering brand new fans, as well as serving even the most die hard Dark Souls players.

The trailer has given players hope that From Software’s run in making high quality DLC’s will continue in June. Previously, their DLC’s have been some of the most well received parts of the games, including The Old Hunters from Bloodborne, and the flashy finale’s of Ashes of Ariandel and The Ringed City from Dark Souls 3, which have all been heralded as the best parts of their respective games. Shadows of the Erdtree should provide nothing less. It promises to expand the map of The Lands Between massively, with extremely contrasting areas evoking the bleak atmosphere of Bloodborne, and even showcasing movesets that look like they’ve been pulled from the Senpou Temple area of Sekiro.

As Elden Ring makes its way back into the mainstream focus of the gaming industry (did it ever leave?) in its run-up to the release, its official concert debut has already taken place in Paris and soon to show in London’s prestigious Royal Albert Hall. Recently adding an extra performance onto the same day, due to being a quick sellout. It is making true on its announcement in 2021 that Elden Ring will eventually be a multi-medium story. The concerts will feature live screen video of scenes from the game, with live instrumentalists playing portions of the original soundtrack. The information website for Elden Ring Symphonic Adventure also boasts that;

“…the concert will express the full narrative sense of ELDEN RING from the beginning of the Tarnished’s quest, to the final encounter with the Elden Beast.”

This means a retelling of the story presented within the game to a live audience, some of whom might be brand new to The Lands Between. Promising to be an astounding audiovisual video game concert like no other, the show is bound to generate more critical credibility for the studio, and more anticipation for the DLC release.

The critical acclaim has put a lot of pressure on From for this DLC to be remarkable, and players are very confident that From Software will fulfil on their expectations and beyond. Falling short on their typical mark of quality could be disastrous for the studio, but all signs are pointing to more innovation, detail, and the best boss fights that this series has seen.

#elden ring #content writing #article #elden ring shadow of the erdtree #game music #video games

Breath of the Wild - Kass’ Theme [Blog Article]

The upcoming release of the latest instalment of The Legend of Zelda series, ‘Tears of the Kingdom’ is causing excitement to tremble once again for one of Nintendo’s most secretly developed games. What’s more exciting for some, is that the new release will bring about a whole new soundtrack to indulge in, and will no doubt inspire a new wave of covers, including guitar versions of the most beautiful tunes. For any budding guitarist who is also a video game enthusiast, the thought of brand new video game guitar tabs will be enthralling. So, to celebrate Jone Ruiz’ release of the Kass Theme guitar tab, this article will revisit the music of Breath of the Wild, specifically the Kass theme on guitar!

Breath of the Wild: A New Musical Direction

Manaka Kataoka, Yasuaki Iwata, and Soshi Abe created the music for Breath of the Wild. This seems to be a momentous and high pressure task when considering the striking aesthetic departure from earlier Zelda titles. They wanted to match the style of the Ghibli-esque art, whilst staying true to the heroic and whimsical nature of the series. The main addition to this game was the free-roaming open world which was wider and much more relaxed in terms of guiding the player on a specific path. This caused a problem for the composers. However, what do musicians do when they come across a problem? Solve it through practice! The sound team working on the game tried using different pieces of music from old Zelda games and they found that the typical heroic overworld music just doesn’t work for what the game designers had in mind for the open world. The focus on nature was paramount as Link explores the various regions and different biomes of the ruined ‘Kingdom of Hyrule’. The survival aspect in the exploration sections of the game was something the composers were keen to portray, and they would do this with silence, at least, on part of the music.

History of Kass’ Theme in the Game

Sound Designer for Breath of the Wild, Hajime Wakai, said in an interview that he tried placing some of the exploration music from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, in the field music system for Breath of the Wild during the early stages of development. He said that the heroic music drowned out a lot of the opportunities for more interesting musical mechanics and discoverable items hinted at through sound design. He even went as far to say that it “forced undesired intensity onto the players” and complained that the “stirring and dramatic music” would be conflicting when the player just “threw away a mushroom…” They ended up with very sparse, piano-centric, and fluttering phrases of music which play periodically throughout exploration. This creative musical decision was key to making objects and characters in the field, like the character of Kass, to stand out. The silence made it so that the music accompanying Kass within the game stuck out to any exploring player, and signified a point of interest. The music for Kass is used as a tool by the game designers to point out this interesting development, and designed by the composers to fit the style of the character, and genre of the game. The manner in which the wonderful tune is presented within the relatively calm, quiet, and ambient open world makes it it so memorable that musicians, and music lovers would create, watch, or learn from, renditions of this tune in its various formats. Particularly the guitar covers, as they are often coupled with the game tabs. The busker, or bard type character that Kass is almost lends itself wholeheartedly to the creations of all of these fan versions of the tune, and is almost adding to the trail of stories being told, that guitarists especially can share with the Kass theme tab.

Why Does Kass’ Theme Work So Well?!

In addition to the ties of accordion music to folk music, the actual content of the music is dripping with historical influences and distinct flavours that make it work so well. For example the theme is in a Waltz rhythm, emphasising the 3-beats in a bar timefeel, and sounds extremely similar to anyone familiar with traditional French musette music. Associated commonly with dances, this is effective in the gameplay as it is very distinctively human. Now, I know it’s an Rito playing here, but it clearly distinguishes music that’s being played from a character within the game, as opposed to soundtrack music that is just accompanying the journey. The same can be said for the very loose, and expressive tempo.

Which Came First, the Accordion, or the Music?

While writing this tune, it was evident that the theme was written with the means to be appointed to the eagle-eyed travelling bard character, Kass. His travelling instrument: an accordion. This instrument is widely associated with folk traditions in music, and it makes a lot of sense that the game designers would choose an accordion to accompany this character. Folk music, and utilising folk traditions is a great way of emphasising the sense of locality, and local culture within a game world, this is especially the case of a game with a large open world like Breath of the Wild. It just so happens that the guitar also works as a fantastic medium, and the playing of the games music through the use of the Kass Theme tab can extend this traditional feel beyond the game, providing a deeper sense of meaning while in play. While it’s truly unknown which actually came first, it’s likely that the game designers and character artists designed Kass to play with an accordion first, and the composers were tasked with writing the accordion tune. It’s also not unthinkable that Kass had many iterations beforehand and it isn’t unreasonable to assume that there was almost a Kass theme on guitar!

References: Interview from:

https://nintendoeverything.com/breath-of-the-wild-composers-on-changingup-zeldas-music-formula-and-more/ http:///www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFxZ15xXVRk

#music #gaming #content writing #zelda #kass theme

Review of “We Bow” - Gungor [Music Review Commission]

“We Bow” is a wondrous dive into folk/pop fusion, with sentimental spiritual lyricism which flows with an effortless uplifting melodic intuitiveness throughout the trio of harmonising vocals.

The song feels as if its harking back to Christian folk hymns such as ‘Will the Circle be Unbroken’, and embodies these emotive beats in its opening. The voice of Gungor enters the iconic, and stripped back arrangement, which evidently doesn’t need too much complication in order to convey its message. This is when the song takes on its role of being a modern production, highlighting its pop elements through its pulsing bass drum, and the euphoric synth and vocal breakdown towards the end of the track.

The theme of the music is reflecting the act of bowing. Gungor’s trip to Japan supposedly influences the motivations behind the songwriting here, and the act of respect that bowing symbolises. The songwriting aims to convey this in its chorus, with its ascending main melody line guiding the listener to feel as if they themselves are being towered over by a majestic force, successfully bringing into frame the hypothetical size of the force that demands the respectful bow. This theme is, however, clouded by the heavy Christian overtones of the song. Gungor’s lyrics are strongly referencing the traditional Christmas story by alluding to shepherds, mangers, and God Himself. The contradictory efforts to describe the influences of the respect that run through the veins of Japan’s hierarchical society by writing about Western Christian values make this message unclear. This is further clouded by the apparent references to the ‘mystery of existence’, whereas the song is very evidently pushing creation theory, detracting from the sense of mystery. Saying that, it IS fitting in terms of a typical Christian Christmas song, and the harmonies are fitting in terms of creating an atmosphere of mysticism.

The production of this track is excellent. It’s an absolute joy to listen to, with the panned vocal harmonies feeling as though the three voices are destined to be joined together. The soft breathy vocals of Gungor being paired with the dynamic ranges of Isa Ma, and Astyn Turr cutting through the mix of instruments as though they were a hot knife through butter. Their distinct, yet complementary vocal styles generously add interest to the entirety of the song. Hearing the layers of strummed strings throughout never gets boring, with the large range of dynamics and fading different stringed instruments throughout to increase and decrease intensity. It’s also worth noting the interspersed piano, giving the chorus a distinctive ‘lo-fi’ feeling, when paired with the percussion, and it’s certainly worth mentioning the strings that lift this grounded folk sound into a strong sense of ‘majesty’ that Gungor is contemplating. Its folk influences and pop elements combine in a way to create a distinctive atmosphere of high listenability, mysticism, and subdued awe.

You should certainly give this track a listen, and bathe yourself in the cathartic sounds of Gungor’s latest music. Although thematically flawed, it doesn’t detract from fundamental reflections and their atmospheric results.

#music #review #content writing

Every Cancelled Crash Bandicoot Game [YT Script]

Crash Bandicoot Worlds

Crash Bandicoot Worlds was the working title for a game that was early in its development in 2009. The only surviving proof-of-concepts we have are sketches of the proposed title-screen. Game designer Mark Cerny also gave us an account of his first hand experience in fleshing out this cancelled title. Mark stated that open-world exploration would have been the main feature that would separate it from the classic linear ‘rails’ type of gameplay in the originals. Although it was set to be developed by Crash creators Naughty Dog, it was eventually halted due to Universal Interactive scrapping their contract with Naughty Dog. Deteriorating relationships between the creative teams were rumoured to be a cause. This cued Universal to ask Travellers Tales to develop the next Crash game, but not without caution. Universal were reportedly cautious about sending the development of Crash to a new studio, scrapping the idea of open world gameplay in order to stay true to the formula. Travellers Tales had only been given 12 months to develop this game to make up for lost time deliberating over contracts. Naughty Dog’s cancelled concept for Crash Bandicoot Worlds ended up releasing by Travellers Tales as the Wrath of Cortex for the PS2.

Crash Evolution

Did you know that Crash Twinsanity, the first dive into open-world gameplay for the Crash series is actually a reimagining of a cancelled game called Crash Evolution? Evolution’s original concepts are so different to what it would become. The cancelled game would have combined the classic platforming in a science-fiction setting, while even incorporating RPG elements. The story for Evolution involved Crash teaming up with Cortex to tackle evil Twins that are taking over an alien world. It’s clear to see that this gameplay concept carried over to Twinsanity. Crash Evolution’s original gameplay and story were scrapped due to the purely coincidental similarities to the story of 2002’s Ratchet & Clank. This meant that they had to change much of the planned setting. Like leaning further into the cartoonish comedic style of classic Crash.

Crash Nitro Kart (Travellers Tales Version)

Travellers Tales kept up momentum on their recent Wrath of Cortex release in 2001, and began working on the first racing game in the Crash series. Eventually, it was handed to Vicarious Visions to complete, but there are numerous changes that happened once this deal went through. For example, the character ‘Nina Cortex’ was originally going to debut in the Travellers Tales version, but TT withheld the character from Vicarious Visions so that they could use debut her in their own game in the future. The concept art for Nina and her Kart displays quite a different art direction than what we actually got with the release.

Cortex Chaos

Also known as ‘The All New Cortex Show’, this game had been pitched a few times by Travellers Tales’ Oxford studio after Twinsanity released. Keith Webb, a concept artist most notably for his work on Twinsanity, told Community fan site, Crash Mania about a few of these proposals that he worked on.

Keith said that one proposal would feature Cortex in a Pikmin style game, where he would control a multitude of small clones to perform small communal tasks. A second concept was a take on the Megaman style of game. In this proposal, Cortex is rejected from his communal group of evil scientists. He then has to fight his way back by through platforming and ‘Run ’N’ Gun’ style gameplay. Keith even mentioned that a third concept wold involve Nina, but couldn’t recall much of that one. Each of these proposals has a piece of concept art by Keith attached to it. He suggested that the final design, if it went ahead, would likely have involved elements from each of the proposals in one way or another! Sounds Chaotic!

Crush Bandicoot

Crash’s evil twin, Crush Bandicoot could have gotten his own game in this 2004 proposal by Magenta Software. The pitch involved war-propaganda related concept art with Cortex recruiting soldiers. He would also have retained his rightful position as the main antagonist. Crush, the player character, was designed to be able to drive vehicles to explore a sci fi themed open-world. One environment was created to test the game before Sony Computer Entertainment would decline their pitch. Crash Mania reports Andy J. Davis as one of the lead artists at the time, and thanks him for revealing this information. Along with this, concept art and screenshots of the prototypes were made publicly available.

Crash Clash Racing

Once more, after the release of Crash Twinsanity, Traveller’s Tales Oxford Studio began working on yet another Crash Racing title. Its concept based itself within Crash Bandicoot’s imagination. Race tracks were bing based on his dreams and thoughts. Paul Gardner was a writer and designer for Twinsanity. He said that despite the racing game concept, the development plan was to actually have the game be a direct continuation from the story of Twinsanity. It featured personalised cars, with a fusion mechanic that would later be utilised in Crash Tag Team Racing by Radical Entertainment. It seems like TT just couldn’t catch their “brake” with a Crash Racing game!

Crash Tag Team Racing (Nintendo DS)

The studio Sensory Sweep Entertainment did a lot of work on Nintendo handhelds like the DS, and Gameboy Advance. In 2005, they were working on a Nintendo DS version of Crash Tag Team Racing. However, unlike the Playstation Portable’s port of Tag Team Racing, the limitations in the DS hardware meant that the game had to be built differently with far fewer polygons and lower resolution textures. Their aim was to keep it as similar as possible to all other versions. Radical Entertainment, the developer behind the original versions of Tag Team Racing, sent Sensory the required character models for the game. But, during the process of reducing the models’ polygons, the team at Sensory decided it would look better if they just made their own from scratch. The game was cancelled just a couple months before its due date, with official announcements saying that the release of Mario Kart DS would affect their sales. This was met with distrust. Stories began to circulate about failing leadership at Sensory. An exposé about the poor management even came to light in a blog post by an ex-Sensory employee. This mis-management led towards the ports cancellation.

Crash Landed and Crash Team Racing (2010)

Also known as ‘I Am Crash Bandicoot’, this game was slated for release in 2010 as a reboot to the entire Crash Bandicoot mainline series. Radical Entertainment worked on it for a while… that is until their parent company, Activision, had begun to layoff much of its staff in its subsidiary studios. Many of the concepts that Radical originally made are available to see. Despite all the concepts, Radical still didn’t have much gameplay to show off, which contributed to its cancellation when they had to show it off to their publisher. The gameplay was going to be linearly focussed in an open-world environment similar to Twinsanity. Crash would be tasked with collecting parts to create wacky gadgets as he progresses. Sort of like the powerups that he wins in the original three games. Crash Landed’s story was going to revolve around the origins of the Bandicoot himself, focussing on his original mutation by Cortex. Dingodile was also going to have a star role too, returning as a major antagonist. The game was going to release simultaneously with yet another cancelled racing game titled Crash Team Racing. This was to be developed by a separate studio, High Impact Games. The racing spinoff was in the same style, and setting as Crash Landed, but it also never came to fruition. Gabriel Mann and Rebecca Kneubuhl were set to be the composers for both of these unreleased games. CTR would have had a huge cast of Crash-related characters with up to 16 racers on one track at a given time. Each character had their own special move, as well as each kart having a customisation mechanic with up to 64 possible combinations. It’s easy to see how large the scope was for the cancelled Crash Team Racing. By the time the development had cut short, the team only worked on one completed track, titled Happy Woods. It had music which reused musical themes from Twinsanity and was later placed on Nitro Kart 2’s Bandicoot Beach track. There is quite a bit of evidence and screenshots regarding this duo of cancellations!

Crash N’ Burn

Bob Rafei was an art director who worked on the original Crash trilogy. Bob founded his own studio in 2007 named Big Red Button Entertainment, who were responsible for Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric. Big Red had a habit of uploading previous projects to their website, including a vault section for old demos and prototypes. One of these uploads is a prototype of a Crash game they had pitched in 2014. A beach themed jungle level, similar to the opening of the original Crash Game is shown in the demo video. Fellow gaming channel DestinationMarc contacted Bob Rafei to get some more information about their pitch. Bob replied that Crash N’ Burn was intended to persuade Activision to give Big Red a contract to develop the 20th anniversary series reboot for the Bandicoots. Activision eventually handed the responsibility to Vicarious Visions who developed the N. Sane Trilogy.

Crash Bandicoot (PS4 Launch Title)

Shuhei Yoshida, who used to be the president for Sony Interactive told Edge in an interview that a Crash Bandicoot game could have been on the roster of launch titles with the PS4. He said that the plan was to demonstrate the PS4 being about diverse ‘experiences’ rather than cutting edge graphics. The idea of doing a Crash game was thrown in by Mark Cerny. The existing ‘crashlike’ game ‘Knack’ was the result of these meetings.

Nothing else is known about this possible direction, but it’s sure that their marketing message was clear!

Unreleased Vicarious Visions Game

In 2012, some concept art of Crash Bandicoot surfaced with a new design. The leaker had taken a photo of a poster inside the Vicarious Visions studio. The cancelled game was confirmed by Activision game designer Mike Stout, who said that: “the art was from a cancelled Crash game from a long time ago”, but no other details have ever emerged!

Twinsanity Sequel

In an interview, Keith Webb mentioned some ideas that they’d had in developer meeting rooms regarding a Twinsanity sequel. He’d said that they’d had an idea for levels to take place across various television programs. Crash would be sucked into each level by a portal disguised as a TV gifted to the Bandicoots by Cortex. Keith said that one of the most fleshed out ideas was the “Medical Drama” level, with enemies chasing Crash with big needles. The sequel to Twinsanity never reached an opportunity for full development!

Toys For Bob Pitch

Hardly anything is known about this pitch. An editor at CrashyNews, another Crash fansite said that Anthony Hon, an artist at Toys for Bob around 2008 which never materialised. All that is known, likely due to NDA’s and legal reasons, is a short sketch of a few Crash characters.

[27 References Available on Request] Content Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLYw0-yTWUA

#gaming #crash bandicoot #content writing

Every Cancelled Megaman Game [YT Script]

INTRO

Today we’re going to be looking into the cancelled games of Megaman, we’ll explore the Megaman MMO that almost came to fruition, or the long awaited fourth sequel in the Legends series.. but first, we’ll start with a brawler that never came to be…

Capcom Super League Online

Capcom Super League Online, known as Capsule for short, was a mobile game set to be developed by the Korean studio Kakao Games. It’s reported to have had a similar basis to Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros’, in that the game would feature a bunch of different iconic characters from Capcom’s various franchises. Some of these franchises included Street Fighter, Ace Attorney, Resident Evil, and of course, Megaman. From the Megaman games, players would have been able to assemble Megaman, Rush, Roll, Forte, Blues, Sigma, AND! Zero as part of their hero ensemble.

Rather than being side-on fighter like Smash Bros’, Super League was described as being a ‘hero strategy RPG’ with others comparing the style closer to a tactical action RPG. It was based on a grid-like movement system with turn based combat that was typical of the genre, but would also include breakaway mini-games when not in the midst of action.

The game would enter four days of Beta testing in October of 2018, but unfortunately was cancelled six months later.

Maverick Hunter

Maverick Hunter was set to dive into a darker perspective within the Megaman X series. The project was codenamed Maverick Hunter during its six month stint in development until it was cancelled in 2010. Megaman fans didn’t even know of its existence until three years later, in April 2013, when Polygon posted a lengthy article on the cancelled game.

In development with Armature Studio, Maverick Hunter was going to be a modern take on the tried and true series. It was being developed as a first person shooter, while retaining the qualities, and concepts of the Megaman X series. It’s reported that the classic traversal mechanics in the platformer was going to be reimagined, including the dash, wall jump, and combat mechanics, like the arm cannon.

Story-wise, the game was planned to be a trilogy, with the trio of games encompassing a continuous story of a playable Zero who would be forced to destroy X, who had amassed significant power, and intelligence by the end of the games. Since its cancellations, various art pieces have been leaked by team members from its short time in development, including a metallic character design by Adi Granov.

Megaman Legends 3 - Rockman Dash 3

The sequel to Megaman Legends 2 was tragically, and mysteriously cancelled when a message in the summer of 2011 was posted by the dev team told fans of its fate.

The team had created a website, called the Devroom, in order to keep Megaman fans updated, and also involved throughout the development process of Legends 3. On the website, the devs held various community art competitions, polls, and idea suggestion events. This led to the news of the cancellation hitting the Megaman community with much disappointment, not least because of other Megaman cancellations also happening not long before. This led to fans voicing their opinions with an organised campaign in an attempt to persuade Capcom to continue development, but in a bittersweet twist, the 3DS would only be graced with the prototype version that Capcom released in order to generate hype for the game. Some details from Capcom have hinted at why the cancellation happened, with the European Capcom Twitter claiming that not as many people took part in the devroom website, leading the devs to believe that there wasn’t much interest in the game.

Many Megaman fans still after all this time haven’t given up hope, and are hoping for a sequel to the Legends series in the future.

Megaman Mania

In 2004, around the time of the release of Megaman’s Anniversary Collection, a gameboy advance game was set to be released alongside it. Reported to be a compilation of the five gameboy exclusive Megaman World games, it would have been re-colourised for the gameboy advance, and had added features, on top of all the content of the originals.

Some rumours came up about this games cancellation, and it was thought that Capcom had lost some of the source code from the original games, and what would have been a relatively simple job meant that the teams were having to redo assets and animations from scratch, yet others say it was cancelled for reasons far more “stupid” than that. Though much of this is speculation, it was suggested that Capcom had internally planned it to be released for the DS instead, but eventually it was confirmed to be 100% cancelled. Just a few screenshots and early advertisements for the game are all that remains.

Megaman Star Force 4

Capcom didn’t do as well as they had hoped after the release of Star Force 3, which led to the unfortunate cancellation of its sequel. Its story was going to focus on an older version of the main protagonist of the series Geo Stelar, alongside a brand new character named Kazuma. They would become outlaws after some hacking exploits where they end up being wanted by Satella police for 8 million Zenny for each of them respectively.

Hacking mechanics would have taken a large role in the games mechanics, similar to the way Noise worked in Star Force 3.

More mature in tone, Megaman Star Force 4 was due to be aimed at older audiences, and was only discovered to have been in development in 2019, when an old piece of concept art by team member Shinsuke Komaki depicted Geo, and Kazuma standing side by side. It surfaced on Rockman Corner, one of the detailed Megaman archival fansites.

Megaman Universe

There’s a reason as to why many Megaman games were cancelled around 2010, and many nail it down to Keiji Inafune announcing his departure at Capcom. He started out as an artist and illustrator on the first Megaman game, and many subsequent instalments in the franchise. He also ended up in more senior roles acting as a producer. After 23 years, he left Capcom, and with that came some game cancellations, including Megaman Universe.

It was going to be based on the gamplay of Megaman 2, but would involve players being able to construct their own Megaman suit by assembling his various parts. The game was shown to keen eyes at PAX in 2010, and was going to release on the Playstation 3, and Xbox 360. It demonstrated the various characters that players could utilise, even hinting that Ryu from Street Fighter might make a crossover appearance. Another standout feature from this game would have made use of the consoles’ online networks at the time, and had a level editor for users to create their own levels and share them online. Along with the departure of Inafune, the Capcom and Megaman mainstay, Japan also experienced a terrible earthquake and tsunami prior to release, and its speculated that this may have cause irreparable damage to development of the game. It was officially cancelled on March 31st 2011.

Megaman ZXC

A third release in the Megaman ZX series was unknown until a panel of former Capcom employees who worked for studio called Inti Creates, the developer of the ZX Megaman series, discussed that ZXC was in development. The team were talking whilst playing through Megaman 9 when they mentioned that the player character gameplay felt so smooth, and that they had actually used the character assets from ZXC and ported them for Megaman 9 halfway through development on ZXC. After this, they suddenly went quiet on the topic and agreed that it’s likely not their place to talk about the cancelled games, while comedically mentioning that those who cancelled the game likely don’t even work at Capcom anymore, saying to complain to Capcom about the cancellation and not them, just after namedropping Inafune-san. Prior to this, in Japan, there HAD actually been rumours of another ZX game titled ZX Cradle with the conversation on stream seeming to confirm these rumours.

Rockman Online

Back to Korea, and this co-developed project by Capcom, and studio Neowiz Games was going to be an MMORPG set in the Megaman world.

The story was set several years after the X series of games, with its plot being summarised in two released animated story trailers. In the years after being cancelled, Rockman Online would see a barrage of leaked art, and designs from the team as far back as 2007, four whole years before the games announcement in 2010.

The game would feature two factions, and numerous playable characters, among four classes that would offer differing playstyles. Players would take part in battles in a large military facility named Fortress Gaia which was home to different environments like forest, and cityscapes.

The game was going to release a beta test to a competition winner as a marketing campaign to get players excited for release, but the winner of the competition sadly never received a reply from Capcom, or NeoWiz, which subsequently ended up undergoing an employee restructure, and so Rockman online was officially axed in 2013.

RockmanX Interactive

It’s the mid 90s… and Capcom begin work on a Megaman X spinoff, which is now known as Rockman X Interactive, going by Megaman’s Japanese name.

According to documents put up for auction in 2018, the designs were for the interactive movie Super Rockman Adventure, that released in 1988 for Playstation and Sega Saturn. What was interesting however, was the document depicting another interactive movie, named Rockman X Interactive. This led to speculation that the game was going to obviously be set in the X universe, and would have been a follow up to the 1988 movie-game.

Research conducted on Rockman Corner shows that strangely, work on the unreleased title had actually commenced a few years before Super Rockman Adventure had released. The documents detailed the plot, but nothing about why it may have been cancelled.

Rockman XZ Time Rift

Rockman ZX Time Rift was set to be developed by Chinese Studio NebulaJoy who had completed previous work localising the global version of Rockman X DiVE. If released, fans would have been treated to a crossover of the X and Zero series’ in the Megaman universe. Rockman Corner reported on a 19 second advertisement clip for the game which showed X and Zero commencing battle in what looks like a storage facility.

Only a single screenshot was leaked, and it showed classic sidescroller Megaman gameplay. The developers were releasing this for mobile platforms, and aimed for quality to be high, ambitiously aiming to match what would be out on consoles for the time of release around 2022.

An anonymous source told Rockman Corner that Capcom pulled the plug on this project due to the Devil May Cry: Pillars of Combat, also for mobile, underperformed to expectations. Although it doesn’t seem like we’ll be getting a release, more info may be coming soon according to Rockman Corner.

Wily & Right’s Rockboard: That’s Paradise Gameboy Port Wily & Right’s Rockboard is a business board game simulator that was released for the Famicom in 1993. It came out only in Japan, and featured gameplay similar to Monopoly, but utilising all things Rockman. It turned out that a port of this game was in development for release on the Game Boy. The port would have been like-for-like, intended to play exactly as it did on the Famicom, but would have no colour, and would be reduced in its resolution.

Japanese company Dual were the developers on this project, but their work was shut down when Nintendo found that it did not conform to their strict guidelines that they place on 3rd party developments. Nintendo would perform checks known as “lotchecks” and halted Rockboard’s progress. Information about this port was found in Nintendo’s gigaleak in 2020. [31 References Available on Request]

Content Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1nreGK6Yn8&t=14s

#gaming #megaman #content writing

Is Logic Pro Good for Classical Music? 6 Reasons Why [Blog Article]

The term ‘classical music’ has shifted in meaning over the years, from its traditional definition, Classical music (with a capital C!) referring to a time period, and the modern definition of classical music (small c!), describing music in orchestral settings, which does include some soundtrack music that typically use orchestral instruments, like violins, trumpets, and flutes. This means that modern composers need a solution for recording, editing, and mixing their classical music… in comes Logic Pro!

So is Logic Pro good for classical music? Yes, Logic Pro is good for classical music because its user interface and layout are focussed on helping music producers and composers efficiently reach their creative goals. For classical music, many different details need to be accounted for, and whether you are working with sampled instruments, or orchestral session recordings, then Logic Pro will suit your needs.

Reason 1: Logic Pro’s Track Stacks Help to Keep Things Organised

Organising multiple instruments under one track is known as a ‘track stack’, and ‘track folder’. Track stacks offer much more control than folders, and is very useful for managing sections of the orchestra. It would be a good idea to have all of your string instruments, brass instruments, percussion, and wind instruments within their own track stacks. Here, you can apply effects, volume changes, and various controls to the section as a whole, enhancing the cohesiveness of your compositions. This is especially useful for the complex, and sheer amount of instruments in a classical orchestra.

Reason 2: You Can Access Music Notation, and Import or Export Music Notation Data with MIDI

While its not totally necessary to be well-versed in notating music these days, if you are sending your work off to be recorded, or creating a demo of some music that you might have had orchestrated professionally, then its good to know that you can import MIDI data into Logic, which then translates into empty, or automatically designated tracks. If you had an entire section of the orchestra written, you can then put each part with its respective instrument within tracks in Logic Pro.

Also, it works the other way, if you have written all of the music in the piano roll, then you can export it into MIDI to work in music notation, though, this often comes with glitches, and needs editing in the notation software, and can be alleviated by all notes in the piano roll to be timed exactly to the grid, which can reduce realism in the actual audio.

Reason 3: Simple Auxiliary Tracks and Bussing System Make it Easy to Control Reverb and Effects Logic has a simple ‘bussing’ system where you can add effects to certain buss channels, and then send that effect to any instrument, and adjust the amount of signal that gets sent. This is especially useful for adding reverb at the mixing stage, giving control of where the group of instruments are placed within the virtual room, and mix.

Reason 4: MIDI Transform Options Are Instant Solutions to Making Performances Sound More Human

One feature that is ideal for working with sampled instruments is the MIDI Transform menu. If you just clicked in a steady rhythm of short string notes for example, its not natural to hear them sound at exactly the same rhythmic intervals, instead, there should be lots of tiny variations, and imperfections. Logic can help with this realism, with its humanise feature in this dropdown menu. It also has an option to randomise the velocities of the notes, to simulate the small variations in force that players will have. Reason 6: Viewing Piano Roll Notes by Region Colours to Identify Instrument Lines

If you are writing for an ensemble, changing the note colour settings in the piano roll to ‘colour by region’, will allow you to select all the parts, and view all the individual lines as a whole. This will help immensely at making sure your written instrument parts are headed in the right direction, and there are no unintentional doublings of notes, or excessive leaps. A great feature for ensuring your classical music has good voice leading, especially in grouped sections.

Alternatives:

Cubase - This one is popular with media composers. It’s not as easy to use as Logic Pro, but has good velocity control options for MIDI data, and has a great system for controlling

different techniques that come with sampled instruments (expression maps).

Pro Tools - Popular with recording studios, Pro Tools isn’t really designed for the composer, but you will definitely come across it in orchestral recording sessions.

Digital Performer - Digital Performer (often referred to as DP) is an older DAW popular with media composers. Praised for its notation system, and MIDI sequencing tools.

Studio One - A very steep learning curve, and a design that is seemingly much more complex, and counterintuitive in its design than Logic Pro, but a good DAW with powerful effects processing.

MuseScore - FREE notation software, which is fantastic for learning notation, and exporting MIDI data, but the stock instruments don’t sound great, and lacks features of its paid rivals, Dorico and Sibelius! Completely lacks any audio editing features.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which DAW is best for classical music? Whichever has the features that you like the most, all DAWs mentioned are very capable, but it just depends on your style. I would say that Logic Pro would be a good choice for the beginner, because of its clear layout, and is used by many professionals. Digital Performer is another DAW that is praised for its ‘chunk’ system (read about this here: https://www.admiralbumblebee.com/music/2019/11/23/DP-Chunks-Blow-Your-Mind.html#what-is-a-chunk )

What composers use Logic Pro? John Powell (How to Train Your Dragon), Christian Henson (Spitfire Audio/Alien Isolation).

Is Logic Pro a professional DAW? It’s safe to say that Logic Pro is a very professional DAW. For classical music production, Logic Pro is one of the top professional DAWs you can use. Although, its worth noting that a lot of studios are kitted out with Pro Tools, so if you are planning to be present at a lot of orchestral recording sessions, then this is something to keep in mind, and might be worth learning,

What DAW do composers use? Composers typically use whatever they feel comfortable with! Whether its the one they first learned music production in, or a new one that they’re learning to stay inspired. In my experience, a lot of media composers use Logic Pro, Cubase, and Digital Performer for composing and mixing, while Pro Tools will likely be used when recording orchestral instruments in a studio, like the one at AIR studios in London.

Final Thoughts Logic Pro is terrific for writing and producing classical music, its editing tools and organisation capabilities will have you up and running in no time. Although it does have some great stock sounds, you will eventually want to invest in some better sounding orchestral sample libraries to enhance the overall sound of your compositions, enhancing realism, and playable techniques, thankfully, Logic Pro is very accommodating of 3rd party instruments! All in all, the choice of DAW is up to you, but Logic Pro is definitely not the wrong choice.

Reference 1:

Pentreath, R. (2021) “Why do we call classical music ‘classical music’?” Classic FM. Accessed from:https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/music-theory/why-do-we-call-it-classical-music/

Reference 2: studio equipment and software Air Studios. (2022) “Studios & Gear” Accessed from: https://www.airstudios.com/studios/

Reference 3: DP Chunks

Admiralbumblebee. (2019) “Digital Performer's Chunks Will Blow Your Mind” Accessed from: https://www.admiralbumblebee.com/music/2019/11/23/DP-Chunks-Blow-Your-Mind.html#what-is-a-chunk

#music production #logic pro #content writing

Parent's Guide to Guitar Strings for Your Child [Blog Article]

1. The Best Strings for Children’s Guitars

If you have recently purchased a guitar for your child, then you might be wondering “when is the best time to change its strings?”. Whether they have been there since you purchased the instrument, or maybe a string has snapped during a practice session, then you might be feeling lost about where to look for the right types of strings and how to replace them. Fret not, as you aren’t alone! This is something that every beginner guitarist must go through, and an important musical skill that you can pass onto your child.

In this article, we will guide you through everything you need to know… from the ideal brands, the different string types, and in depth instructions on restringing the guitar.

2. Our Recommendation

Our overall recommendation is that kids learn best with nylon strings, which are typically found on classical guitars. These softer nylon strings are much easier on the fingertips than the steel string alternatives. Here, we’ll list our top product choices for each type of guitar strings:

Nylon: D’addario Classic Nylon

Steel: Ernie Ball Earthwood Extra Light .010 - .050 Gauge

Electric: Ernie Ball Super Slinky

3. Why You Might Need to Change Strings

One of the main reasons that you’ll end up having to change strings is when one of them inevitably snaps. This could be due to over tightening of the tuning peg, overly intensive playing, or perhaps the strings are losing strength because of their age. When one breaks, it is usually best to replace the whole set in order to maintain consistency with the overall sound, and condition. Although, if your set of strings are new, then you will be fine with just replacing that one broken string.

One clear sign of aging is rust. Rusting strings will appear as a discoloration along the strings. In this state, they will be much more likely to snap and leave a musty metallic odor on the players hands after practicing. There is also a possibility that the rusted strings can affect the fingerboard with discoloration too, so be sure to change them before this happens.

The sound of the strings also degrade over time. They will become dull, sound bland, and lifeless. Depending on how well trained your ears are, this sound degradation will generally be the first sign of aging strings. They will be okay to play for sometime after this, but it’s a sure sign that they’re getting old, and may start going rusty. If you hear this drop in sound quality, then you might want to think about preparing some new strings.

Comfort is an important factor for a beginner. It can be extremely discouraging for kids to practice on strings which cause blisters. If the guitar you bought is causing them pain, then it’s worth changing the strings to something lighter, or even a different material in order for them to continue.

4. Factors to Consider When Choosing Strings

One of the most important factors to consider is that your child’s hands will be more sensitive than an adults. Professional players end up building hardened skin, also known as “calluses”. This allows for extended periods of playing with steel strings, however, these are built up over time and they usually start as painful blisters. If you bought your child a guitar, then it’s certain that you will want to do all you can to support their practice. Nylon strings will still cause calluses to develop, but at a much slower rate, and it may even be unnoticeable depending on how much practice your child gets.

While kids hands are more sensitive, they also have less strength. Thankfully, there are variations in thickness which can help train your young guitarists hands. These differences are labeled on guitar packets as ‘gauge’ (pronunciation: ’gage’). The gauge of the strings is noted by numbers after a decimal point, like .010, which would be a light gauge for the high E string. You don’t need to know the exact gauge numbers for each string, but the lower the number, then the lighter the strings will be. There will usually be handy labels saying whether they’re ‘light’ or ‘heavy’. Bear in mind that string gauges are only applicable for steel, and electric strings, so you won’t find this information on the packets of nylon strings.

Guitar size should also be a consideration. There are smaller sizes of guitar, with the quarter sized (1/4) being the smallest, up to the 7/8 guitar which is just smaller than a full size. It is typically recommended for small children to begin learning the guitar on these smaller sizes, like the 3/4. If you have gone down this route of a smaller guitar, then you should be aware that normal strings will sound a bit wrong, and feel much looser than they should. This is why we would recommend a higher tension set of strings. They are built from stronger material, and tend to be a thicker gauge in order to maintain the tensions needed on the smaller guitars. The strings will clearly state ‘high tension’ or ‘normal tension’ on the packet, and if not, then assume that they are normal tension strings.

**DIAGRAM FOR GUITAR SIZES WOULD BE GOOD HERE**

5. Difference Between Guitar Types and Their Strings

Classical, or ‘Spanish’ guitars are most commonly strung with nylon strings. These are the types of strings that would be most comfortable for your child learning to play, and so might be a good purchase for you. Nylon strings can be found on some dual functionality acoustic-electric guitars, but these would still be considered to be a ‘classical’ style. From our experience, the classical guitar is a very popular choice among beginners.

The typical acoustic guitar will use steel strings. These are much harder, and coarser than nylon strings, yet they also produce a much brighter sound. This will likely be the sound that you think of when you conjure up an image of an acoustic guitar, but its good to know that for a beginner, the strings can be difficult to get used to. The coarse outer layer can cause blistering after just one practice session. While this is normal it can be quite disheartening for a kid that just picked up their instrument for the first time.

Electric strings are similar to acoustic strings, but built quite differently. They are coated in a conductive metal, in order for the pickups to better capture the vibrations of the strings. Electric strings are also thinner than acoustics, but you will also have to buy an amplifier, and you are also only really able to practice properly whilst plugged in.

6. A Warning!

It’s important to remember not to mix up guitar strings on your instrument. For example, the classical guitar is built in a different way and cannot sustain the tensions that steel strings have, which could result in breakages. You can make sure you’re buying the right ones by looking closely at the packet, or asking a store employee.

7. Our Recommendations:

Nylon Strings

D’addario Classic Nylon:

D’addario are a very well known brand, and their strings come with a high reputation among beginners, and professionals alike. They make it very clear on the packet whether they are for a normal guitar, or any other sizes.

Spock Colorful Strings for Classical Guitar:

If you want some extra encouragement for your kids practice sessions, then these colorful strings might be for you. With a sound that won’t be as favorable as the D’addario’s, they will help in learning the names of the strings.

Steel

Ernie Ball Earthwood Extra Light .010 - .050 Gauge

These light, and inexpensive acoustic strings will be the ideal match for kids that don’t want to play a classical guitar. These strings will be bright sounding, whilst also giving a light touch to them. Do be aware, however, that the blistering will still occur from practice with these.

D’addario Bronze Acoustic Strings, Super Light, .009 - .045 Gauge

Going even lighter this time with the D’addario’s. Again, you get a great set of strings from a highly reputable seller, but they are slightly more expensive. The ever-so-slightly lower gauge will make them easier to play.

Electric

Ernie Ball Super Slinky

Ernie Ball’s quirky take on displaying the gauge of their electric guitar strings are described by how ‘slinky’ they are. From ‘Mammoth Slinky’ to ‘Zippy Slinky,' covering a wide range of different gauges. The lighter you go, the more ‘twangy’ the sound might be, which is sometimes desired by professionals. This is why we opted for their medium-light Super Slinky set which will keep the strings sounding decent during practice, while still being light on the fingers.

D’addario Pro Steels Electric Guitar Strings, Extra Super Light

D’addario’s Pro Steels sets are marketed as a much more professional grade string and go for a higher price tag. With that said, it might be worth it for their build quality and their long resonant sustains if your child wants to learn electric styles with ease.

8. Replacing the Strings

Here’s a step by step guide on string replacement! If you’re not too confident doing it on your own for the first time, then you should ask a guitar technician at a store, or someone with experience to show you how.

Step 1:

Turn the tuning pegs towards the body of the guitar until the strings are loose and have zero tension. You should pluck the string to ensure they’ve been wound the right way. If the pitch drops, then they are loosening.

Step 2:

Now keep loosening up the strings them until you are able to unwind them from the tuning pegs. To speed up this process, you can cut them in the middle with a pair of wire cutters once they are no longer taut.

Step 3:

Dispose of the old strings properly, you can wind them up in themselves so they don’t flail about and cause an injury. Note! If you’re putting steel strings on an acoustic guitar then you will have to remove the string pegs at the bridge using a pair of pliers. Then it is safe to pull the string anchors out.

Step 4: Now prepare your brand new set. Starting with the thickest string, slot one end through the bridge. - For an acoustic, place the peg back on once the ball end is through the right hole, ensuring that the ridge on the peg is placed with the string inside. - For a classical, you will need to tie a strong, specific knot: Insert the string through the hole in the bridge, then wrap the string back up around the post, creating a loop. You should then get about an inch of the end of the string, pull it through the loop, and give it a tug. It will tighten fully when you tune the strings.

Step 5:

Now you will want to run each string through their corresponding tuning peg holes, as shown in the picture. **PICTURE OF STRUNG TUNING PEGS** Once you have a couple of inches through the right hole, then turn the corresponding peg away from the body of the guitar until they start to tighten.

You want to try and make sure the string is wound neatly around the peg. You can take it slow, and gently nudge the string so it winds neatly in a spiral downwards from the hole. Try to avoid overlapping the string. Also, be aware of the ridges at the bridge, and the nut. The string should fall into their corresponding ridge as you tighten it up. Note! Before turning the peg, you might want to bend the excess string so that it doesn’t get caught in other parts of the guitar’s headstock. It’s possible to bend the excess at a right angle to get it out of the way, and this also has another benefit of keeping the string in place while you tune. Now do this for every one!

Step 6:

Grab yourself a tuner, and pluck one note at a time, while adjusting the tuning pegs to get them all roughly in tune. From the lowest note, they should read:

E. A. D. G. B. E.

Finally, cut your excess ends at the tuning peg (and at the bridge if it’s a classical) and voila! You now have a freshly strung guitar!

Note!

The tuning may be unstable for a couple of hours while the new strings settle in. You might want to continuously play for a while, or a gentle tug at the 12th fret, and then retuning the string will help speed up the process.

Now we’ve been through the best string types, gauges, and even how to restring your guitar. Your child will be acquiring the techniques of a pro in no time. Thanks for reading! [6 links for products used]

#music #how to #strings #content writing

Recording 101 [Blog Tutorial]

RECORDING 101: Recording Your First Song!

Hello again! If you’re reading this, then you should have your basic recording setup for beginners running and ready. So, get your DAW primed because in this article we are going to be showing you how to record your first acoustic song.

If you’re new here and still need help with getting the best beginner recording equipment for guitar, then we’d recommend that you head back to RECORDING 100and go through our guide to getting the right gear for setting up your first guitar recording session. There you’ll find everything you need to begin your journey. If you’ve done that, then read on as we go through a step-by-step guide to recording your first song!

STEP 1: SONGWRITING!

The ideal situation for recording your first song is that you have at least some idea of what you want to record. If not, that’s okay, just treat it as experimentation and practice. It’s important to get into a good workflow for recording early so that you don’t develop some bad habits. If you already have a song, great. If not, then try this process: 1. Think of a concept, idea, or mood. 2. Improvise, or jam out some ideas on your instrument based around this! You can record some ideas on your phone if you think you’ll forget. 3. Take your ideas, and try think of them as segments of your whole song. This is where musical arrangement can help speed up the recording process: When you hear people talk about song structure, like verse, chorus, bridge, this is exactly what they’re referring to. You want some rough idea of the structure that your music will take. If it helps, you can assign letters to certain parts, like section A, section B etc.

A common structure (also called form) in music is known as ternary form, which has a repeating A section and would be typed as: A B A. You can use this to keep things simple at first, but consider using the popular song format of Intro, Verse, Chorus, Bridge, Verse, Chorus, Outro. If you were using letters to label these sections then it would look like: Intro, A, B, C, A, B, Outro.

QUICK NOTE! Most DAWs will have a marker system where you can mark out the structure of your music before you even record a note, this can help things move quicker.

Simple as that!

STEP 2: SETUP

Now you’re going to want to prepare your gear for recording. Plug in your audio interface, and load up your DAW. Once that’s done, get your microphone(s) and lock them into your stands. Decide whether you want to record mono (with one microphone) or stereo (with two microphones). If you’re recording solo guitar, then stereo would be recommended for a fuller sound. If you only have one microphone you can always record the same part twice (double tracking), but the performance needs to be pretty accurate for this to be effective. Another issue you should be aware of if you’re recording stereo is phasing which is an audio effect that occurs when identical waveforms layer each other. We’ll go into how to avoid this in stereo recordings below! If you’re recording:

Mono: Point the one microphone around, but no lower, than the 12th fret of the guitar. Putting it further down can result in a thin sound. Also, placing the mic too close to the sound hole will give you a muddy and boomy recording. You can experiment with this range to see what you like. The microphones should be around 6-12 inches away from the guitar too, again, experiment and try to reference recordings you like.

Stereo: Have the left microphone around the 12th fret like above, and the right either pointing above or below the sound hole, ideally, not right over. Both microphones should be around 6-12 inches away for a rounded sound. You will also want to point them in a slight V formation to avoid phasing issues as much as possible. Finally, you’ll want to add audio tracks in your DAW. You should be able to find out how to do this in the User Manual, but essentially you want to add a mono track if you’re recording mono, or stereo if you’re recording stereo. Pro Tip: You can have two mono tracks for both microphones, if you’re recording stereo, to give you more control over both channels, but as a beginner this isn’t necessary, but might be fun to experiment with.

STEP 3: ESSENTIAL RECORDING TIPS FOR BEGINNERS

Now you have things set up, we’re going to give you some quick-fire tips for successful recording sessions…

You don’t have to play the whole thing perfectly all at once! Remember that you can record individual sections at a time.

DAWs have looping record functionalities, and can allow you to continuously record multiple takes of the same part. Look up in the manual on how to record continuous takes in your DAW.

Wear closed headphones, or in-earbuds when listening to yourself while recording. You don’t want sound leaking from your headphones into your microphone.

Listen to a click track! Play alongside a metronome that will be inside your DAW to stay in time.

DON’T GET FRUSTRATED! If you are struggling with a part, or find that hitting record makes you play worse, then don’t worry, we’ve all been there… it even has a name ‘Red Light Fever’. The trick is not to fall into a habit of letting it bother you. Take a deep breath, and take a break if you need to.

Add a bit of reverb onto your recording tracks if you need a bit of inspiration for your part. It can keep things sounding fresh when recording takes.

Remember to record somewhere quiet. Ideally you want well padded room, but different locations can provide different characteristics. Because your setup is portable, why not experiment with this!

STEP 4: RECORDING AND BEYOND

So now you’ve got your recording. Make sure to have a good labelling system for your audio files. Lets say you’ve got a first draft of your song called ‘Rain’. You export your high quality 44.1KHz 24bit .Wav file. You should use the name, a description, and then a version number… like this:

RainDraft_Acoustic_Ver1

This will mean that you’ll know exactly what it is. If you need to export stems (individual instrument parts) then you can even add that:

RainDraft_Stem_AcousticGuitar_Ver2

Trust us… its much better than having multiple copies of your song called something like:

Rain_final_final_complete

STEP 4.5: PLUG-INS

You might also want to experiment with the various effects that come with your DAW. Plug-ins are software based tools that can manipulate the audio you record. Reverb makes it sound like the recording is coming from a different space. EQ can cut or boost different parts of the frequency spectrum, and it often used to correct harsh, boomy, or unwanted noises.

There are many different free plugins, and paid ones too. Be sure to experiment with the default ones in your DAW before looking at buying new ones. These tools are often used in combination for mixing, and post-processing of song recordings.

STEP 5: YOU’RE DONE!

Congratulations! You’ve now got all the info you need to start recording. We hope that this guide succinctly demystified some of the recording process for you. These tips are still applicable to professional level recordings, and provides a great foundation to the start of this journey for you as a musician… don’t fret and get recording!

#music production #content writing

Recording 100 [Blog Tutorial]

RECORDING 100: Getting Ready!

Hello, and welcome! If you are reading this, then you’re likely a budding musician that is eager to record their own music. This article will be a beginners guide to setup your own recording rig at home. To do this, we will focus on first time guitar recording tips, as well as simple guitar recording techniques to make it as easy and simple as possible, which it is! Our first step will be to understand acoustic guitar recording equipment. You can’t record without the gear, and fortunately it’s possible to record your songs on a pretty tight budget. For this article, we will describe how you, as a beginner, can have a professional guitar recording setup. Let’s get into it!

What Equipment Do I Need to Record My Music? - Computer -

The first thing you will need is a computer to record your music on. The computer specifications you need will depend on the type of music you want to make. For easy acoustic guitar recording for beginners, we would recommend getting a laptop with these specifications:

At least 4GB of RAM

At least 256GB of SSD storage

An i5 CPU Processor

USB-C Ports (for modern audio interfaces!)

External Hard Drive (for backing up your masterpieces!)

This is a good starting place for beginner recording setups, and the specs will future-proof the machine for you, even more so if you have the budget for higher RAM, or storage. Just note, that if you want to use Garageband, or Logic Pro X, then you will have to buy a Mac. This can be done cheaper by buying second hand, just make sure you follow the specs above and you’ll be ok!

- Audio Interface -

The second bit of gear you need will be your audio interface. This will be your connection between the outside and the digital worlds. With this device and a couple of different cables like the jack cable, and XLR cable, you can record electric and acoustic guitars respectively! It can be overwhelming, as there are many different audio interfaces that you can purchase, but one of the best beginner friendly interfaces is the Focusrite Scarlett. These have fantastic and easy to use settings for recording, with our highest recommendation being the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 3rd Gen. If you want to shop around for a different interface then we have to recommend a few things:

Ensure the interface has a phantom power (48v) switch. This means that you can power the active circuitry in condenser microphones, commonly used for recording acoustic guitars (more on that in a sec!)

2 XLR and Jack inputs. You want the option to record in stereo. That’s being able to record the left and right channels with separate microphones at the same time. Although recording in mono (with one microphone) will suit you most of the time, you absolutely will want the option to record in stereo.

USB-C connectivity. An interface with USB-C will be fast for transmitting data, but will also power the interface without you having to plug it into the mains power, meaning that you’ll have portable guitar recording equipment!

You shouldn’t have to worry about buying studio monitors yet. Feel free to get a cheap pair of headphones, or use a set that you have lying around.

- Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) -

Thirdly, you will need software to record your music. A digital audio workstation, known as a DAW, is a program that has everything you need. There are multiple DAWs with some of the most well-known being Logic Pro (Mac Only), Cubase, FL Studio, or Audacity. Honestly, it doesn’t really matter which one you pick, but they all come with the same basic functionalities, just with various drawbacks or limitations. For example Audacity, a totally free and open-source option, isn’t very user friendly, and doesn’t have a very pleasant user interface. Logic Pro on the other hand is cheap, and very easy to use, but it is locked to Mac hardware, which comes at a premium price.

We recommend Cubase LE. This is a free learners edition of their software, and comes with a limited range of great features, including a16 track audio capacity, which is more than enough to get you started. If you like using LE, then you can upgrade to Elements for a relatively cheap price too, which makes the Learners Edition even more appealing. When you set up your DAW, ensure the audio routing is correct. The DAW will have a settings panel where you can set you input/output destination. Ensure that both of these say your Audio Interface.

- Microphones -

OK! The last thing you need on this list will be microphones and stands for this basic recording setup. For recording various music genres on acoustic guitar, you will ideally want two of the same condenser microphones, as these are better for picking up delicate high frequencies that the guitar offers. It’ll also be beneficial to have two microphones, in case you would like to experiment with stereo recordings.

We would recommend the Rode M5 matched pair of microphones as a starting place. These will give you a very high quality sound, with the added option of recording a stereo pair.

We can also recommend the Audio Technica AT2020, if you would like to keep things simple, and keep it to one mic, but you will be limited to making mono recordings.

If you have the budget, and want to learn to record acoustic guitar with vocals, then purchasing all three would give you an ideal set. Honestly, this section is just down to your goals and budget constraints. DON’T FORGET! You will need microphone stands for your new recording mics. These can be found in a range for just about every budget. If you’re recording vocals too, consider getting a pop-shield to cover those harsh syllables!

Summary

So now you have everything you need to begin your recording journey. Whether you’re aiming to write your own songs for release, or if you just want to record your creative expressions then check back for the next article… RECORDING 101 where we will take you through the steps that you need to do just that!

#music production #content writing #recording

Every Cancelled Zelda Game [YT Script]

INTRO

Ever wanted to learn about canceled games in the Legend of Zelda series? Find out in this episode where we will discuss Every Canceled Zelda Game: Game Facts Special!

We’ve got info on 2 cancelled Wind Waker Sequels, a “terrifying” Tingle horror game, and a bunch of cancelled spin off titles. If you are looking for your cancelled Zelda fix, then we’ve got you covered in this episode!

Wind Waker Sequel for Gameboy Advance

To start us off, we were almost graced with a Windwaker remake for the Gameboy Advance. Two talented Ubisoft developers Davide Soliani (who was working as a game designer at the time) and game artist Fabio Pagetti both designed a working prototype of Wind Waker to pitch to Nintendo. A tweet by Soliani details that the videos of the demo were completed and ready to be pitched in 2003, but while ambitious, the pair’s plans were halted by their managing director. Although the GBA Wind Waker never came to fruition, fans were treated to some of the concept art that was made. David Soliani went on to direct ‘Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle’.

The Wind Waker 2

Another Wind Waker project, this time coming from Nintendo itself! At the Game Developers Conference in 2004, the project manager of the Zelda series, Eiji Aonuma, included in his presentation, a tease for a new mainline Zelda game! With an expected release date, and a promise of more information to be expected at that year's E3 expo.

Not much was leaked about the canceled sequel, but it was said to have taken place on land with extensive horseback exploration and combat.

During E3 2004 fans were treated to a realistic trailer, with visuals far from those seen in the original Wind Waker. Eventually this game would be titled Twilight Princess and a proper console sequel to Wind Waker never materialized. The decision to replace Wind Waker 2 with Twilight Princess was influenced by the popularity of big budget fantasy at the box offices with productions such as The Lord of the Rings. Unfortunately the fact sales figures were not as high as the team hoped for the original Wind Waker, with Nintendo of America telling the Zelda team that the ‘cartoonish’ look alienated older players and led to low sales in America.

In many ways Twilight Princess carries the legacy of the Wind Waker 2 project. It also takes place on land and features extensive horseback riding and horse based combat. It's easy to see how the company efficiently transformed Wind Waker 2 into Twilight Princess.

Four Swords DS

After the popularity of the previous Four Swords titles, the Nintendo DS was bound to get one, with its wireless connection, allowing for multiplayer. Game designers Hiromasa Shikata and Shiro Mouri were pushing hard to get a multiplayer title for the DS, however, these efforts were stifled by Shigeru Miyamoto as he said that the ideas ‘felt too stale’, perhaps feeling that the games had been done, wanting to move onto more original projects. They eventually made their multiplayer debut with Tri-Force Heroes on the 3DS! Which offered a totally new take on multiplayer Zelda.

Retro’s Sheik Spinoff

Did you know that Retro Studios almost made a game solely about the Sheikah tribe? Said to be a much darker iteration in the series, the game was to be based on the last male Sheik after the bad ending concluded in Ocarina of Time. What remains are some stunning pieces of concept art from artist Sammy Hall’s now deleted artstation. With themes of ethnic cleansing and genocide, it certainly would have expanded upon a darker side in the Zelda lore. The concept did not get very far in development and was canceled around the time many of Retro’s Leaders left the company in 2006.

Twilight Princess Side Story

Twilight Princess was a staggering success, and it was a no brainer for the team to begin development on a sequel. For reference, it sold almost 15,000 copies during its first two days of release in Japan, and 240,000 copies in its opening weekend in Europe. It had critics gushing over the title in reviews, and after 9 million copies in worldwide sales, it definitely warranted another story with this iteration of Link. Development on such a game was originally to be similar to what Majora’s Mask was to Ocarina of Time. To many fans' disappointment, it was canned by Miyamoto early on, who began to complain that the scope of the game ended up become too wide. In the end the game was replaced by Link’s Crossbow Training, which utilized the Wii’s Zapper peripheral.

A Sequel to Link’s Crossbow Training

Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma was so keen on the idea of utilizing the Wii zapper peripheral that he wanted to make another game based around this mechanic, this time, in multiplayer. It would have been a First Person Shooter (FPS) with a much stronger emphasis on multiplayer gameplay using the Wii’s built in Wifi. Eventually the game was rejected by Nintendo executives.

Third Oracle Gameboy Color Game

The duo of the Oracle games on the Game Boy Color were originally intended as a trilogy, reflecting the 3 sections of the tri-force; power, wisdom, and courage. During planning, the developers found it difficult to link all three games using the password system. This led to the cancellation of the third game, due to be titled ‘Mystical Seed of Courage’, and subsequently renamed the Oracle games to what we know them to be today. Information is limited, but it would have involved the Oracle Farore, who was featured in both games.

The Adventure of Link SNES Remake

The Nintendo Gigaleak gave fans a plethora of tidbits for unreleased games, and information about their productions. This included sprites for what could have been for a remake that was planned on the SNES for The Adventure of Link, the second game in the series. The sprites are characteristic of the SNES.

There were also 3D models designed to work with the FX Chip for the SNES. These models are confirmed to be from a potential Zelda 2 remake. Eventually the Zelda 2 Remake was canceled but it did inform the development of Ocarina of Time for the Nintendo 64.

Ura Zelda

This game was planned as an ‘additional content’ patch for a new piece of Nintendo hardware named the Nintendo 64 Dynamic Drive or Disk Drive, which would have held an additional disk, expanding the memory of the Nintendo 64, and altering the Ocarina of Time. The cartridge would have added new dungeons, altered existing ones, and even included new enemies. Ura Zelda is likely to have eventually been ported onto a bonus disc included with Wind Waker. This bonus was called ‘The Master Quest’, but likely didn’t include the full scope of the original expansion, and didn’t include any new enemies.

Because of Nintendo Gigaleak we have even more information about the development of Ocarina of Time which included some work for Ura Zelda. You can see even more of that in our Zelda Gigaleak Episode!

Zelda 3 Alternative

While not exactly canceled, we know that Zelda 3 could have turned out very differently. Concept art from the planning stage of the third Zelda game shows Zelda in a futuristic style of armor, showing that a sci-fi Zelda game could have been a reality. The game would have had a futuristic backdrop and taken a different design by having a hub world, and a multiworld structure with time traveling elements in its gameplay and story, not dissimilar to the later Crash Bandicoot games. Early on Miyamoto wanted the game to have a Final Fantasy-like party structure with a magic user, and a fairy character. The game might have ended up more open ended like the original Legend of Zelda with multiple ways to complete the game.

Heroes of Hyrule

This spinoff was going to be similar to Final Fantasy Tactics, or Fire Emblem, but set in the Zelda universe. It would have featured Goron, Zora, and Rito as playable heroes set 100 years in the past. It would have also featured a boy in the present named Kori who was also playable. and the game would have involved our band of heroes adventuring to save Link from Ganon.

Being developed by Retro Studios the game had been fairly fleshed out in terms of narrative, but ended up being canceled in the concept design phase. In an interview with one of the Retro Studio Developers, we found out that the main game mechanics would involve exploration and puzzle solving.

The existence of this game was revealed through the youtube channel Did You Know Gaming. Unfortunately that video is no longer available as it was taken down by Nintendo’s Copyright Ninjas allegedly.

3D Classics: The Legend of Zelda

This remake was teased at E3 in 2010 as part of Nintendo’s 3D Classics line by Shigeru Miyamoto. Unfortunately even with excitement from fans it never came out.

Tingle Horror Game

Japanese development studio Vanpool, is best known to have developed Ripened Tingle's Balloon Trip of Love and Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland with the Majora’s Mask’s Tingle character.

They were also developing a horror game with the jovial, and let's face it, incredibly creepy guy. Nintendo producer Kensuke Tanabe dropped casually in an interview that the studio they had worked with on other games were developing a Tingle Horror game, but mentioned that they eventually canceled it for more than a few reasons.

A Rolling Game Starring A Goron

Vanpool weren’t just working on Tingle’s debut horror experience, but also a rolling game for the Nintendo DS. Its gameplay would be similar to the Goron minigame from Ocarina of Time, but it would utilize the touch screen of the DS. Nintendo eventually rejected their pitch for this game, but the concept helped Nintendo develop their touch-screen rolling mechanic for a new IP called Dillon's Rolling Western.

We could have also mentioned the Zelda Tech Demos for Game Cube or Wii U that never became games. But we’re saving those for an episode on Tech Demos that never became games.

Which of these Canceled Zelda games do you want to play the most? What canceled mechanics do you think made it to the latest Tears of the Kingdom? Let us know in the comments below.

Make sure to checkout our episodes on Zelda Gigaleak finds and Every Canceled Dragon Ball games!

Voice Actor Say Goodbye

Thanks for watching!

This has been a Game Facts Special [20 References Available on Request]

Content Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-TE_36qtZs

#gaming #zelda #content writing

Is Logic Pro Good for Voice Over? [Blog Article]

The last decade has seen an explosive rise in the demand for online content involving voice overs, such as, YouTube videos, podcasts, and even e-books. The accessibility to professional standard software means that it has never been easier to produce your own high quality content from home or in the studio, with Logic Pro being a top choice for both amateurs, and full-time professionals alike.

So is Logic Pro good for voice over? In short… YES! Logic Pro is a fantastic piece of software for recording and producing voice overs. Its combination of stock plug-ins, editing tools, and easy to use layout make it an ideal choice of DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) for anyone wanting to create a professional sounding product. In this article, I will describe 7 reasons why Logic Pro is good for voice overs, and how it stands out in the crowd of free, and more expensive DAWs.

Reason 1: Clean Layout = Easy Navigation!

One of the most prominent reasons that raise Logic Pro above the rest has to be its accessibility options, and ease of use. Apple’s signature ‘clutter-free’ design continues into their music software, meaning that it is gloriously clean, especially when comparing it to other options like Audacity, or Pro Tools. It doesn’t overwhelm the user with a barrage of technical terms, neither does it crowd up the digital workspace with unnecessary options, allowing productivity to be a priority.

Reason 2: Professional Standard Stock Plug-ins

The second fundamental reason is that Logic Pro’s stock plug-ins (production effects that come free within the software) are of a highly professional standard. It would be unnecessary to purchase digital equipment to produce your voice overs when Logic Pro’s stock plug-ins are available to you. The Compressor, EQ, and Noise Gate plug-ins would be especially useful. The combination of the 7 different circuit options in the compressor, and frequency analysis in the stock EQ give a powerful toolset to shape the sound of the voice that you’re producing. Going deeper than this, Logic’s reverb plug-in ‘Space Designer’ serves as the perfect tool for setting your voice in different realistic sounding spaces, giving you freedom to create dramatic effects, or simulate the sound of a different recording environment, with presets such as cave, swimming pool, or jazz lounge reverb.

Reason 3: Editing Tools: Marquee

Logic Pro is packed with intuitive editing tools which will end up becoming essential to your workflow while producing voice over content. In particular, the marquee tool can separate specific sections of your voice over with one simple move. This will allow you to single out any part of your recording and edit from there, be it a mispronunciation, background noise or long sections of silence.

There are numerous ways in which the marquee tool can be utilised in order to speed up your workflow. One such method is by going to Logic Pro Preferences, and then activating the marquee tool click zones, giving you access to the tool just by hovering over the bottom half of the track. This lets you use the clicker and marquee tools simultaneously, resulting in lightning fast edits, and cuts!

Reason 4: Intuitive Key Commands

Logic Pro’s interface can be navigated through a huge number of simple key commands. Just hitting the ’T’ key will give you a dropdown menu of all the mouse tools and their associated keys to select them with. These are also customisable for the more advanced user, but is ultimately unnecessary as the standard commands are very intuitive, such as activating the record function with the ‘R’ key.

Reason 5: Backups, Backups, Backups!!

Logic Pro’s automatic backup system is a very welcome feature, and one that has saved many users a number of times! It saves backups of your project in the background, allowing you to revert to a previous automatically saved state, saving any recent edits made in the result of a system crash. Although this adds an extra safety feature.. please still remember to manually save your projects!

On top of this, Logic provides non-destructive editing, in that it has a storage solution for the original audio files, allowing you to pull from these in the event that you made some edits that you decided against later on. Reason 6: Take Folders The recording workflow in Logic allows you to record multiple takes within the same track. The audio files are then neatly stacked into what Logic calls a ‘Take Folder’, allowing you to be able to quickly listen to, and audition any of the takes you made. You can even re-record lines over the existing audio if you find a mistake, or if you find any unwanted background noise later on, which can save a lot of time in the editing process if you make a mistake during the first full recording.

Reason 7: Video Import and Sync Functions

You can import videos that you might be recording, or producing a voice over for, and Logic will allow you to watch the video as you record, and allow you to easily keep the audio in sync with the video through a lock feature.

Alternatives:

Garageband - A free option for Mac users, but lacks many of the features that Logic Pro has.

Audacity - Audacity is free and available on both Windows and Mac, but lacks real time effects processing, and the plug-in effects aren’t great.

OBS - A good free option if you are wanting to record voice over at the same time as your desktop screen, or a webcam capture, but lacks any audio editing features.

Ableton Live - Allows you to work on both Windows and Mac, but has a less appealing design, and is more than double the price of Logic Pro.

Adobe Audition - Has a great creative community behind it, and works on both Mac and Windows, but also has a steep learning curve, and an undesirable subscription fee.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which software is best for voice over? Logic Pro is best for recording and producing voice overs, but Adobe Audition would also be a safe and cheaper bet for those without access to a Mac but you’ll have to decide whether the subscription style pricing is for you.

Does Logic Pro have vocal samples? Yes, Apple Loops are accessible from within Logic Pro, and come with a wide variety of vocal samples.

Where can I get free vocal samples? SampleFocus.com allows you to create a free account and download content from their site.

Do you need a plugin for voice overs in Logic Pro? You do not need to buy any extra plug-ins if you’re producing voice overs in Logic Pro, as the compressor, Space Designer (reverb), EQ, and Noise Gate are more than enough.

Final Thoughts

If you are needing to record, edit, and finalise your voice overs, then Logic Pro would be a fantastic choice for your DAW, however, if you want to record desktop or webcam video while recording a voice over at the same time then OBS will also be a good all-in-one solution. That said, Logic Pro would still be a great editing option for that audio recorded in OBS!

BIO

Ciarán Jai Cosway is a music composer and producer with a particular interest in the field of games. He enjoys creating orchestral, and acoustic music, but is also known for writing in retro and electronic styles. Graduating with a First Class Bachelor’s degree in music, he wishes to share his knowledge of composition, and music technology in order to help those going in a similar direction. To hear his music, or to get in touch, then visit his website at: https://www.ciarancosway.com/ Content Link: https://homestudioexpert.com/is-logic-pro-good-for-voice-over-yes-7-reasons-why/

#music production #logic pro #voice over #content writing

How to Make a Sine Drop in Music Production [Blog Tutorial]

What's a Sine Drop? The ‘sine drop’ is a classic sound, typically used in synth based music, or as sound design in sci-fi games, or films. It’s a great effect when used subtly, adding flavour and movement to the music, commonly creating a dropping feeling, as if you’re falling into something, or even for horror, as when used in a specific manner, the effect can replicate a sense of dread.

Examples

-> Ensure that the synth is playing a mono-voice mode (Legato is even better). Sliding the glide up to ~around~ 1800ms.

-> Head down to the ADSR settings, and increase the attack so the notes start smoothly, and don’t suddenly cut in. Also pull back the sustain by about half.

#music production #how to #content writing

Every Cancelled Call of Duty Game [YT Script]

Call of Duty: Real Time Card Game

In 2008, a company based in California primarily known for producing trading cards named Upper Deck Entertainment were set to release a real time card game based on the Call of Duty franchise. Ben Chichoski, the lead developer on the card game working for Upper Deck at the time, worked closely with Activision in order to bring the chaotic feeling of the games to the table. The game had been fully planned, and two player would pit themselves against each other on a 5 by 5 grid, winning by achieving set numbers of points based on “kills”, which would have depended on strategy, planning ahead, and tactical speed.

Different game modes were planned, just like in the main video game franchise, including various game objectives, such as a capture the flag mode.

Less like the Pokémon trading card game, the Call of Duty cards served no benefit from trading, or collecting, with just one of the standard release packs, named “squad decks”, being enough to play on equal footing against someone who may have purchased more cards. This aligned the proposed card game with a more traditional tabletop boardgame-like framework, however, the focus here was on speed, and fast paced card-slapping action.

Unfortunately, this never entered the production phase, so no cards were made, but archived websites detail the rules of this lost Call of Duty game, showing how much work went into pre-production. We can only speculate Activision’s motives here, as not much alludes to the reasons of why this game was cut from the ranks.

Call of Duty Tactics

The studio Vicarious Visions was acquired by Activision in 2005. It already had experience in making spinoff titles for various company IP’s ranging from various Disney releases, to making Crash Bandicoot, and Spyro games for the Gameboy Advance. It was some time after this, around 2009, that Activision had tasked them with creating a Call of Duty game that was likely to be intended as a downloadable-only release to keep hardcore fans occupied between Modern Warfare 3, and Black Ops 2.

The only real piece of evidence from this tactics-style spinoff is some short footage that animator, Steve Nelson, released on his website portfolio. The video displays untextured character models in an untextured environment, engaging in battle. The camera, typical of isometric tactics, or simulation games seems to snap into a third person view when giving actions to a specific troop, but also is able to float around to spectate the battlefield, and presumably to give directions to a whole squad. This game was eventually cancelled, with again not much information surrounding as to why, perhaps the slower paced, tactical action didn’t quite line up with the frantic gameplay that the series is known for. Fortunately they did end up releasing their own Call of Duty game with Infinite Warfare in 2016.

Call of Duty: Combined Forces

Visiting now yet another studio who worked on the Call of Duty series, ‘Spark Unlimited’ is a studio which had a contact with Activision to make Call of Duty: Finest Hour. Although the game released to high reviews, the studio was encumbered by lawsuits, and legal complications regarding their previous involvement with Electronic Arts. Essentially their first lawsuit began when Spark formed from around 20 EA employees, where they accused the newly appointed Spark members of helping to start up the new company while still receiving wage slips from Electronic Arts. EA further investigated and accused Spark of stealing trade secrets, and copying their internally made development software.

Things were looking ugly from the beginning for Spark Unlimited, but their legal battle didn’t stop there.

Spark’s saving grace this time was their contract with Activision. They helped pay for their legal fees, and eventually released Finest Hour, with a steep budget excess of $6million due to the court battles. Craig Allen, founder of Spark went on to describe the companies disorganisation during development, and cited the fact that the Spark team continued with an ‘EA way of working’, and was not up to expectations with Activision.

Combined Forces would also have been set in World War II, acting as more of an expansion to its predecessor, coming as no surprise that Spark’s pitch for the sequel was rejected, considering the their declining relationship, eventually leading Activision to cut ties with the studio.

The two companies are now embroiled in the bitter legal battlefield of their own, after they both sued each other once Spark’s contract was terminated.

Call of Duty: Devil’s Brigade

Devil’s Brigade was being developed by a studio named ‘Underground Development’, a few months prior to the release of the original Modern Warfare game. The studio, owned by Activision at the time of development, announced their closure in 2010 with lead designer, Kyle Brink, suggesting that the merger of Vivendi and Blizzard made Activision cut them from the company. Things may have panned out differently if they managed to make Devil’s Brigade. The talented team working on this game decided that its setting would be in Italy during the second World War. This was intended to be a tactics style title, with less focus on chaotic, frenetic decision making, and more calculated planning. Details emerging from the cancelled game showed that the D-pad on the controller could be used to give orders to the players own squad. With each command being along the lines of battle orders such as ‘Barrage, Assault, Holding the Line, and Regroup’.

Various screenshots were released detailing some of the items that would have been found in the game. The leaked documents also revealed that it would have third person viewpoints, unlike the isometric style tactics game Combined Forces, that would later be cancelled too.

The cancellation, according to developer Jason VandenBerghe, was due to developer Infinity Ward requesting more control over the Call of Duty brand.

Call of Duty: Roman Wars

With possibly what would have been the most left-field for the series, Call of Duty: Roman Wars would have retained an element of the bloody gameplay we all know and love from Call of Duty, but it would have been set in the Roman era. The player would take on the role of a member in Julius Caesar’s Tenth Legion, a famous historical army most trusted by Caesar himself.

Already involved in the cancelled Call of Duty scene, Vicarious Visions were responsible for the conception of this title. They pitched this game to Activision after they had requested more experimental ideas for the series.

Vicarious Visions created a level based on the historical battle of Alesia, yet plans were made to have the game take place across a variety of regions, like forests, oceans, and desert plains. Footage obtained by GamesRader displays third and first person views, including direct melee combat, or ranged by the use of bow and arrows. IGN reports that the game would utilise catapults as a further ranged option, and that the Call of Duty equivalent of tanks would be translated to ridable elephants for this historical epic.

On the cancellation, a spokesperson for Activision said that the game was never seriously considered as an addition for the COD franchise, and was never asked to even move to a prototype phase. The amount of work done on the game already meant that Vicarious Visions instead dropped the Call of Duty name, and attempted to pitch it to Ubisoft under just ‘Roman Wars’, which again ended up eventually being rejected.

Call of Duty: Vietnam

We now come to Sledgehammer Games’ third person story set in wartime Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos over the 60s and 70s.

The game would have most certainly included a large single-player campaign section, with developer Brett Robbins sharing details about the axed game in an interview with MinnMax.

He said the plan was the make a COD game with the adventurous and linear style similar to the Uncharted games with a much more brutal edge. Game artist Glen Schofield highlighted that the harshness of the sci-fi game Dead Space was an influence in the kind of atmosphere they wanted to convey.

Development never got too far, and only a 15 minute demo was made, with Robbins describing the work they did up to that point as an experiment in how they wanted to make their mark on a title of their own. Call of Duty: Vietnam would have been Sledgehammer Games’ first full title in the series, but once their 15 minute demo was made, development was quickly put on hold due to issues at Infinity Ward, one of Activisions Studio’s primarily working on Call of Duty. Developers at Sledgehammer were asked to help out and pick up slack on the development of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, likely leading to the delay of their gritty title. This eventually led to more delays, and inevitably its cancellation. This was unfortunate as executives appeared to like the game, but they never found the time to complete the work, as Sledgehammer ended up being tasked with making Call of Duty: WWII, and are now rumoured to be working on a new Modern Warfare title, so all ended well for the studio. It seems that Activision has a history of cancelling games that would introduce new, experimental elements to their hit series, perhaps not wanting to spoil their run of best selling games.

[19 References Available on Request]

#gaming #call of duty #content writing

The Upcoming Year for Pokémon (From 2018) [Opinion Piece]

The fairly recent successes of certain remastered and remade titles, such as Skyrim: Special Edition, Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy, and Dark Souls (well, people still bought it!), has shown that nostalgia has a big market. Nintendo’s remake library mainly consists of updates to older generation Pokémon games (Fire Red, Soul Silver, etc), and the question stands whether ‘Pokémon Let’s Go’ should be classed under these labels. The simple answer is no! Pokémon Let’s Go is looking more like it’s going to get a Breath of the Wild-esque treatment, where the core values and locations of the game are still there, yet certain mechanics and specific details will get a re-work to send the franchise in a fresh, new direction. For example, revisiting the original Kanto region with all original 151 Pokémon taps into the established nostalgia market, perhaps pulling in older players, while having reworked mechanics more akin to Pokémon Go which attracts the newer players, or players that have entered the world of Pokémon through the easy, global access of the different App Stores. For me personally, the return to Kanto (and the switch release) is something which interests me greatly, as my ‘Pokémon journey’ ended in Sinnoh in Pokémon Diamond. I have been looking for an opportunity to jump back in! This new direction that Pokémon seems to be taking could be a run up to their secretive upcoming main series Pokémon RPG which should be released sometime in 2019 for the Nintendo Switch. Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee may very well be a pre-release to get long-time players accustomed to new features that may be present in the new main series title. The vague “2019” release date may be giving the developers of ‘Let’s Go’ a large enough window to change features in the game based on opinions of players who play Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee. This would be to perfect the new direction that the franchise is wanting to explore. For some perspective, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was initially intended to be released in 2015, yet ended up seeing the light of day in 2017. Perhaps The Pokémon Company and Game Freak want to avoid large scale delays by releasing a smaller title first.

The much anticipated Pokémon Let’s Go will be a Switch release, and a very welcome fresh take on the franchise, something which is clearly needed and what Game Freak are intending to explore after the abolition of the ‘Gym’ system in Pokémon Sun and Moon’s Alola region. Here are a couple of tweets demonstrating the longing that fans of the series had for just some simple features for the latest Pokémon generations. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Not bringing Pokemon following you in 2019 back into the mix would be insane.</p>— Let's Go! Nidoking! (@King_Nido17) <a href="https://twitter.com/King_Nido17/status/1019011128939118598?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 17, 2018</a></blockquote>

This is what seems to be the general expectation for the upcoming games: <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Wow its nice to see people hype for the game and not just a lot of gen1 haters, cant wait for lets go and even more hype for the 2019 game!</p>— Sparks (@BetrayalsIF) <a href="https://twitter.com/BetrayalsIF/status/1017401884498386944?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 12, 2018</a></blockquote>

While a few others still seem to be skeptical about the return to Kanto, yet can be won over by a few of the new simpler features: <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Me: Pokemon Let's Go looks like an easier version of an already easy game. Kanto as a region is a tired-<br>Nintendo: You can give Pikachu a haircut.<br>Me: Okay, here's my card. <a href="https://t.co/OAejgwDJoq">pic.twitter.com/OAejgwDJoq</a></p>— Cowboy Sean (@CaptainToney) <a href="https://twitter.com/CaptainToney/status/1017411802844487683?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 12, 2018</a></blockquote>

All in all, fans are excited. Even if hardcore fans might be tired of the Kanto region, the promise of an upcoming RPG with new features and direction is winning people over. We shall have to wait and see!

#gaming #pokemon #content writing

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