Saturday Update! (Patreon)

Hi guys! The weekend is here and it's time for more updates!

I'm gonna start with a couple things right off the bat so I don't forget again:

My store is open again! [ https://gatobob.etsy.com/ ] I was so busy with the music and stuff that I completely forgot to mention it in my last update ^^;

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I've gotten through the initial burst of waiting orders and things are running smoothly again! I am still waiting on feedback from my first wave of customers to determine what the tariff/customs situation is with the USA [ I think the orders should be arriving any day now, but at the time of writing this, I haven't been contacted or gotten any new reviews that would indicate anything has changed ]. I THINK that my USA customers won't be charged any extra by their government yet [ 25% blanket tariffs on all Canadian products was postponed to March 1st, or maybe never, it is literally impossible to tell, ha ha. ] but there are a few other factors at play and I just can't know for sure until I get a bit of feedback from customers. [ I've explained the situation in more detail on my personal website - https://www.dirtymurdergames.com/ ]

The second things I want to say is a huge thank you to you guys for being so kind and so encouraging on my previous update. I couldn't believe how supportive the comments were, and how much time and thought you all put into giving me feedback about my beginner attempts at music. It really fuelled my motivation to keep working at it and to try my hardest!

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Last week I asked you guys to vote on a loop for me to expand into a full track. Number 1 was the most common choice- and I admit I was pretty happy with that! It was secretly my favourite too.

So, I took the loop and arranged it into a full song. I also experimented with a few other things over the week. I have 4 things to show you guys! So I think I'll explain each below. [ every track mentioned can be found at the bottom of this post to download! ]

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Experiment 1 - Full Song [ experiment1_song.mp3 ]

Like I mentioned above- this is the extended version of the loop that was voted for the most! I think I'm actually going to hold back on mentioning my own opinions on these, because I don't want to influence your guys' thoughts/feedback.

A song like this could be used in a few places in the game, but I think I was mostly imagining this one as a possible Main Menu song?

Bar Music - [ barmusic_try1.mp3 ]

As you can probably guess from the title, this one is a first attempt at some music to play in the beginning of the game during the bar scene. This one is rendered as a loop because it would be meant for gameplay. In general, I was trying to practice making something pleasant and relaxing. I need to practice different styles if I want to get better overall! [ although there is a deliberately little fucked up part in there LMAO ]

Experiment 4 - [ experiment4_mp3 ]

This one is structured as a full song [ I guess I was in a full song mood this week LMAO ]. The idea behind this one is just that I wanted to see if I could make a song that was mostly samples. I have a year membership at Envato so I can download and license as many samples as I want- I got on there and grabbed a ton of 'workshop' sort of noises. This one was especially challenging. I do enjoy this method though, and I'll probably experiment with sample heavy music more in the future.

Experiment 5/Death - [ experiment5_death.mp3 ]

Another full song- This one was a focus on creating lead melodies. I feel like that's the hardest part for me, so I need to practice it more. The reason it's temporarily titled with 'death' is to remind myself that this is one I'm considering for the 'You Died' screen. I want the 'You Died' screen to have something people can really jam to, because I really don't want players to feel like dying is 'losing'. My games are structured in a way that collecting deaths is one of the main tracks of progress/reward- so it's gotta feel good.

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Overall, I'm really happy with what I accomplished last week! It feels like the first time in a long time that I've been really productive with the game all week ^o^

It really was an emotional roller coaster though. I find it very funny and maybe a bit nostalgic, how working on these songs makes me feel. I often felt like how I used to feel when I started creating TINR, when I just couldn't make my art look like how I wanted, or when I worked on BTD1, and I couldn't get the code to work or make the features I really wanted to make.

You'd think after all these years learning skills and experiencing the frustration of inexperience, I would be immune to it- but oh my, I am not. I had to constantly remind myself that I am not going to come out the gate making Rhythm and Balance by Fumie Kumatani or Legend of the Black Shawarma by Infected Mushroom.

YKMET: Strade will not have perfect music in it, because I'm new to this. But I made my decision to create the music myself, and in that decision, I have to accept that it will simply be the best I can do right now. Like all of my art.

At least after all this time I have learned to make peace with imperfection. It's the only way to keep moving forward.

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I think I've rambled enough! Next week I think I'll try to focus on more gameplay loops, and I'll try to create a basic list of exactly what songs/loops I will need for the game.

Take it easy, find peace where you can find it, and stay safe guys.

I'll see you next week!