Today's chunk of work on Rktcr included the creation of four more challenge levels (two in the impossible category!); updates to path drawing; the inevitable bugfixes; and -- what I'm actually going to talk about in this post -- some updates to the soundtrack.

Rktcr's soundtrack is largely drawn from my (quite large) collection of Reason noodlings. (Many of which are entirely unsuitable for game music.)

What I Added

Today, I set out to finding and/or build music for the challenge levels and the passages. I wanted contemplative tracks, uncomplicated, but with a bit of motion. I think I dug up a few good ones.

Here are two of them:

Elevatored Chimes is probably the mellowest piece of music I've ever created. It was sitting around mostly complete but unmixed, and seemed perfect for the beginner challenge levels in Rktcr. After a bit of EQ-ing to integrate the oboe and chimes (and knock some sharp corners off the strums and drums), the resulting track is a calming blur.

Evidence of Motion is a track that I started earlier this week as... well, something different than this. But I found a nice hats loop which pushed it into what it is now: calm, with a bit more motion than Elevatored Chimes. As such, I think it makes sense as the background for the intermediate challenge levels.

Other Tracks

A few other tracks, which aren't uploaded to Soundcloud:

I unearthed and recut an old track called "Rktcr Background Mockup" (which, perhaps startlingly, wasn't in the game yet); I haven't decided if the resulting "Mockup" will get used for impossible challenge levels or for world levels without gems.

The other contender for the background of impossible challenge levels is a track called "Piano Figure" which I spent some quality time reworking and extending today. It has some a-freaking-mazing drums in it (bordering on too big for game music), and a cello top line which is perhaps a bit grating; but the track has a good heart. (It's also 6/4 time with drums on the 1's and 3.5's -- I love that syncopation energy.)