Dead State Kickstarter Project Update #5, $147,000 and Counting
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When Brian first sent me some information about Dead State, its core concepts, and some initial musical inspirations to consider, one thing struck me about the design: the concept of (noise). The concept that, as you explore the world, the actions you take generate noise, and that's what attracts the shambling masses. Because of this design, I knew that the score had to reflect this.
I would, ultimately, categorize the sounds I use as falling into one of two camps: humanity, and the other. In defense of humanity are the real, tangible, playable instruments. Guitars, pianos, wind chimes, potentially a rare bass or cello. When you hear music that reflects humanity, it should sound like someone could be right there in the corner, strumming. To that end, most of the melodic side of the score happens inside the Shelter.
As soon as you step outside the Shelter, that's when you start hearing the other, and traditional melodic structure goes away. The original inspiration for this style came from Brian, who linked me a YouTube clip of what's known as the (bloop) noise. It's this super lo-fi indescribable sound that exists at the very bottom of the ocean. Unsolved mysteries aside, the sound is just creepy. So I used this as a model for how the presence of threats in the environment should sound. As it turns out, lowering the fidelity of a lot of sounds can transform them into a pseudo-bloop, allowing me some flexibility in how those sounds are created, modified, and evolve.
And the links to the full composer "interview" on their forums, and the soundtrack samples.