I've written a pair of blog
posts for www.bioniccommando.com in the capacity of creative director
for Bionic Commando Rearmed, but today I get to write in the capacity
of music composer.
I've been playing both roles during the
development of BCR and I've enjoyed them both immensely. Bionic
Commando was one of my favorite NES games partly because of the
gameplay but also because of the fantastic music!
It's been a
huge thing for me to be responsible for two such important elements in
the remake. Not only have I designed boss attack patterns, decided how
the weapons should behave and developed the concept of challenge rooms
- I have had the honorable task of reinterpreting the NES soundtrack as
well!
I've grinded, filtered and mixed - I've done a lot to
these primitive NES sounds - but I haven't altered them beyond
recognition. It's still the same formula - because it works.
Although
the sound of the NES audio chip may be unsophisticated, the harmonies
and melodies that the composers of the NES era squeezed out of it were
quite the opposite. It's great music, quite timeless - and if I dare
say so I think these updated tracks only prove that point. I think
these remixes can please not only fans of the NES game, but anyone who
enjoys some hard-hitting electronica.
The initial feedback on
the music has been quite positive and that really warms my heart. If
you have a question regarding the music (or anything else that I might
be the right person with an answer to) feel free to ask away in the
comments section of this blog.
Comments
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word!
"It's still the same formula - because it works." amen...Simon,
I've played around with some remixes back in the day. Did lots of stuff with Megaman game music from the original NES. If it's not a secret, what software, synths, arrangers etc did you use in the composing process? Logic? Reason?
thanks,
Mike
At last...
...I have a face to put to my new god. I have had the Soundtrack on constant repeat since last Wednesday and keep telling friends to go buy it. Most have no idea what I am talking about, but this is the best soundtrack I have heard in Ages.At last...
...I have a face to put to my new god. I have had the Soundtrack on constant repeat since last Wednesday and keep telling friends to go buy it. Most have no idea what I am talking about, but this is the best soundtrack I have heard in Ages.The original was loved for a reason
I've never played the original game, I just saw the video on XBLA and loved the mixing of the NES music (I'm a huge fan of NES & 8-Bit music) into a new track that was based upon the original. Last week I streamed the tracks multiple times per day. I love that original NES flair in the remakes. My favorite tracks are (roughly in order): Leap of Faith, Heat Wave and Main Theme. I love the chords, I love the high energy techno drive they have.I won't lie in saying it was the music that perked my interest and will probably lead to me buying the game on XBLA. I'm glad you guys were open minded enough to allow the tracks for sale too, video game music is such a niche genre in America, commercially speaking.
Responses
"What software, synths, arrangers etc did you use in the composing process?"It might surprise you that I use a normal PC, the freeware tracker program Buzz (!) and a library of individual drum hits that I piece together to make loops. Read about Buzz at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeskola_Buzz and download it at www.buzzmachines.com. It's a bit like a less visually appealing Reason, with user developed effects of varying quality. It's flawed, but it you learn to work around these flaws it's quite a powerful tool to make electronic music! All bass lines, pads and melody noises in the BCR soundtrack are created by software synths in Buzz. With a basic Buzz synth and a chain of distortions and other effects, Buzz can help you create pretty much any cool "Prodigy" type noise you can dream up. The drums, however, are much more dependent on what samples you use - it's impossible to create the "big beat" sound with TR-808 drum samples, so to speak. The drums are pieced together in samplers inside Buzz (the work like trackers from the olden days) and the music is then exported as a wav file and the last touches of mastering is done in Sony Sound Forge 8.
@Phillthethrill: Don't give me megalomania now, haha! You're breaking the first commandment too! I'm glad you like the music though. =D Also, keep spreading the word!
Great Job Simon!!!
Knowing that we both spent a lot of time when we were younger getting our ass handed to us by this game gives you all the respect you have earned. This was a game that was loved and loathed by everyone who played it. The music was so cool that it might have been the key to me not throwing my NES out the window a couple of times. Just bought the whole album and the NES-stalgia is unbearable. Thanks man!!!!Just one more thing
I wouldn't be surprised if Mr. Bungle and Skinny Puppy got their hands on these and did some sick stuff with it. Again, great music and GREAT drum sounds/loops.The highlight of my entire life.
This soundtrack kicks my ass off the server. I listen to it and I literally have more fun than I've ever had. I would kill everyone I know just to keep listening to this soundtrack. Seriously it's that good, and frankly video game music is the only outlet for a classical feeling type of sound. I swear I would cut my own throat if I ever lost this soundtrack.Give the gift of audio awesome
Hyakitaki, well-worded comment! We wouldn't want you to cut out your own throat for losing the soundtrack when you could just download it again!Speaking of which, why not give the gift of Bionic Commando Rearmed to your loved ones via the iTunes gift music function!? Certainly your parents, friends, and girlfriends would love grooving to the thumping back-beat of "Power Plant", "Heat Wave", and "Go Go Bionic!" (<-- Sorry I had to throw that one in)
Ok. Enough of the high-level sell. We will have a nice music update for you soon so keep visiting the site!
Ben
Kill everyone you know???
>> I would kill everyone I know just to keep listening to this soundtrack.No wonder the uninformed public mistakenly believes video game violence leads to real violence.
Great Job!
Do you have any idea how great it would be to hear Simon re-make the music for Mega Man 2? DO YOU!!?!?!After BC:R outsells every other downloadable game for consoles in the first two weeks you guys will have a lot of pull. Do us all a favor and make Mega Man 2 your next project!
Agreed!
Megaman 2 would be a great one. Probably the best megaman game ever made.Simon, I checked out buzzmachines.com and WOW! I had no idea this community existed. I was blown away! I have downloaded Buzz and am playing around with it in my free time!
just throwing this out there
Im linking a site to the NESkimos music. they have covered video game music and i rather enjoy there cover of bionic commando.http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=91259
This is the right one!
quoted from the wrong place:First off, I'd like to say that this drum shit is FAT. Censor that if you want to. :P
Secondly(and more importantly) what kind of compression are you doing on the drums? Sounds like you are doing some sidechain stuff, but the compression is really heavy. I know you have SOMETHING going on processing the whole mix. Be as detailed as you can! :D
-A
Mega Man2....
...Definitely the best game in the whole series! Please remake! U guyz rule!The sound of war
The theme from the original BC,was great.It had a military kinda vibe to it.Will the music in the new game give you a new atmosphere, or will it stick to the old military vibe?
Awesome music!
I love your mix of the Power Plant song. That was one of my favorites in the original for some reason. Simon, I'm not sure how, but you need to be put on remixing for Mega Man Powered Up 2.Amoungst Allies
All the tracks are great, but I've got to say from the Radiohead/Skinny Puppy fan standpoint that the above mentioned tune is fantastic. I know all y'all need to do what you need to do, but I'm dying to get my digits on this f'n game. If the game is half as tits as this soundtrack then y'all can probably retire after this. Thanks guys.Late response...
Ok, so here's a late response in this "thread". (I wonder if anyone still reads the comments this far back in the blog list...)Again, thanks everybody for the nice comments and positive feedback!
Everybody knows that the MM2 music is the best game soundtrack ever. I wonder if *anyone* could do it justice! Regardless, there's no doubt that the music should have less electronic elements than the BCR soundtrack and loads of 80's electric guitars! Ooh, I can hear it inside my head... and it's awesome!
@captinsquash
I think the Bionic Commando soundtrack will be released in a similar manner, yes. Ben could probably answer that with more certainty, though. Or, more probably, a "definite maybe"... haha.
@Hyakitaki
Haha, that post made me laugh out loud. Obviously you're being sarcastic and mocking fanboyism (fanboyism that this time around was directed towards me, so I really enjoyed it) but it was HILARIOUS!
@TOPMO3
Glad you liked Buzz. It's not overly friendly and it crashes from time to time (mostly because of errors in the additional machines you install), but once you learn how it works you can do pretty neat stuff with it. It's like a blend between Reason and a classic tracker. Make sure you download buzzfix.exe.
@A_Rival
I always use limiters in combination with side-chaining - I actually never use compressors, except some normalization once the song is exported as a wave-file (that's pretty much all the mastering I do). My favourite limiter in Buzz is "Joachim's Limiter" (http://www.buzzmachines.com/machineinfo.php?id=365). As far as I know there's only one side-chain effect for Buzz and that's BGTech Sidechain Dynamics: http://www.buzzmachines.com/machineinfo.php?id=767
Yes we do, dude.
You have some hardcore gamers (old and new) looking at all of these posts. I played all the NES Megaman games as a kid and loved the music. Even with all of this, I know that I'll be in the minority when I say that Bionic Commando and Trojan of all the old Capcom games stuck their music into my dome more than most. I know the latter wasn't as popular as other titles, but as a kid in a small town with those crazy "10 different games in one" NES arcade machines as my only option, I loved all that pre-NES Capcom music and games. I've said this on another thread, but posting+whiskey shouldn't happen. Thanks again Simon for a kick ass soundtrack. It warms my heart that there are other 8 bit dorks out there like myself.Trojan!
Man, that was the first game I bought for my down money back when I was a little kid. Saved my weekly pocket money for months to buy it and then played it like there was no tomorrow. Eventually I could beat it without taking damage in like 12 minutes. That game had some eerie, memorable music! Definitely a favourite!YES TROJAN! (the game, not the birth control).
Man!!! the first time I played that game, I loved the atmosphere and the dank and nasty post a-bomb knights and swords that seemed so different and ahead of it's time. I'm sure the whole shtick of the game was borrowed from something else, but this was the first video game I saw or played that used it. I'm glad that I'm not the only guy out here who enjoyed this stuff. Capcom has done nothing but make kick ass games for years (decades). The $ risk of bringing back an un-dead title like Trojan would probably be business suicide. Damn it though, it would be amazing to behold on a next gen system. Again, the soundtrack for Rearmed is (I'll be nice with the language here) very enjoyable to listen to. I play drums in five different (fiddlesticks) metal and psychedelic rock bands, and after all the gigs and practicing 6 nights a week, I go home and crank up "Heat Wave" and "Amongst Allies" before going to bed. Thanks again Simon. Keep it rockin' my brother."Now try the next stage..."
Trojan was based off of some cartoon license, it's not a pure Capcom brand, so that game would probably not be brought back even if it DID have a large following (which it doesn't have, it's probably just you and me Typhon). I loved how the moved jump to the D-pad and used the A button for the shield instead - really cool! You could even angle the shield and raise it above your head to block attacks from above (very useful against the crossbow enemies on the desert level). Did you ever discover how effective that was against that jumping, shuriken-throwing goblin boss? You made him jump towards you and then you just raised your shield above your head and as he landed on it he took several rapid hits and died, just like that! Remember how the boss just before the last boss came out of the brick wall with his morning star? Epic! Also, the music when you complete the game (that is a continuation of the song that is played during the fight against the last boss) is the best! Great game though, great memories.Buzz Tracker
Nice to hear that you used Buzz Tracker for the soundtrack. Buzz is also my music software of choice - it's extremely versatile!Do you have an alias in the Buzz community? Hit me up on buzz church (buzzchurch.com) or my site (hamsteralliance.com). :)