Frostpunk’s soundtrack really captures a mood without conforming to a genre, which makes it excellent background…

Frostpunk’s soundtrack really captures a mood without conforming to a genre, which makes it excellent background…

Frostpunk’s soundtrack really captures a mood without conforming to a genre, which makes it excellent background music for everything from space opera to fantasy to WW2… as long as you’re dealing with gravely important material.

Deep, resonant, strings dominate everything. There’s a profound sense of melancholy and gravitas, suitable for politics, suspense, slow horror, or tragedy. Drums occasionally rumble into the more tense pieces, but over all the melodies are slow, meandering, and powerfully emotional.

This is definitely a soundtrack I’d use for something like The Sword (see previous Carta Galaxia previews) or a politically charged UW game with less combat and more intrigue/investigation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qdp_cmTB-pg

The soundtrack to the new Battletech game is quite surprising.

The soundtrack to the new Battletech game is quite surprising.

The soundtrack to the new Battletech game is quite surprising. I went in expecting heavy drums, thudding industrial vibes, general stomping, pounding bass. You know; the musical equivalent of big giant heavily armed mechs.

Instead we get swelling strings carrying much of the melody, the occasional heroic brass section, and haunting, echoing vocals. The drums are relegated to the far background, rumbles of distant thunder. The whole soundtrack would not go amiss in a Fantasy setting, which is quite unusual for such a mecha-influenced Sci-Fi property.

The end result is a soundtrack that builds slowly, and has lots of serene passages. I was expecting a war-time soundtrack, and ended up with something more suited to drama and character moments. Perhaps a deep space travel, with the haunting vocals paired with incandescent nebula. The whole soundtrack sounds more like something from a movie.

There are a couple of grindy/mechanical pieces, but these are short-lived, and the exception, not the rule. And even then, the mechanical pieces have strong hymn qualities, like the “Mech Bay Cantatta” (46:06), a slow, clicking, clanking, thumping melody overlaid with Gregorian chanting (very Adeptus Mechanicus). The real heavy pieces kinda start showing up towards the middle, before heading back into soulful string and brass.

https://youtu.be/kodD59WAByE

Christopher Tin is quickly becoming my top favorite game music composer.

Christopher Tin is quickly becoming my top favorite game music composer.

Christopher Tin is quickly becoming my top favorite game music composer. His score for Offworld Trading Company is no exception. Very synth-y start, vaguely reminiscent of some good old Vangelis. The soundtrack starts off strong with Red Planet Nocturne, which has a melody that I’m sure I’ve heard before but can’t identify it.

There’s an underlying clockwork beat to everything that gives a vague sense of urgency and tension (for instance, Martian Glassworks at 45:00).

The horns are sometimes a bit strident, especially the deep, resonant klaxons, but overall this is a very focused soundtrack, something that encourages continuous attention through its clockwork/high frequency beat. I’ve been doing a lot of writing to these tracks. I’d definitely recommend this as a background track for non-violent tense gaming sessions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPBnl0GFKzY&t

Musical inspiration often comes from unexpected sources.

Musical inspiration often comes from unexpected sources.

Musical inspiration often comes from unexpected sources. Here we have the Ambient tracks from the themepark sim Planet Coaster. But the title of the collection, “Weightless” really does its job well as a background soundtrack for space exploration.

The music is slow, ambient and calm. It plays with many different instruments, favoring strings and organ/synth. There’s no driving drum beat, no patter or uptempo stings, just “floating” melody. This would certainly play well in quieter moments of stellar travel or exploration. Weightless indeed.

That said, having just come off writing the horror section in Chapter 3, I can’t help but think that this could serve as a purposefully dissonant track for a horror game, the lie of calm overlain on the horror beneath.

Anywho, it’s some nice stuff, take a listen!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UG9ZRqUpZBU

Been a while since I’ve posted a music track.

Been a while since I’ve posted a music track.

Been a while since I’ve posted a music track. I’ve been enjoying this one quite a bit. Some good old fashioned synth-sci-fi, leaning towards “patter” pads. A generally wondrous/discovery vibe (as is fitting with the theme), becoming more tense and hostile as the soundtrack progresses.

Feels like a good background track for unexplored, hostile planets or deep space travel.

https://youtu.be/QgvQv3WqZhQ

Only tangentially related to UW and Space Opera stuff, but absolutely inspiring: Christopher Tin’s Sogno di Volare…

Only tangentially related to UW and Space Opera stuff, but absolutely inspiring: Christopher Tin’s Sogno di Volare…

Only tangentially related to UW and Space Opera stuff, but absolutely inspiring: Christopher Tin’s Sogno di Volare (“The Dream of Flight”). It’s the main theme song of Civ 6, and while it’s not quite Baba Yetu (because you can’t follow up Baba Yetu), it’s still amazing and a very worthy theme for something as uplifting and grandiose as Civ.

“When you have taken flight, you’ll decide that this is where your heart feels at home”.

[Edit] Actually this would make for an AWESOME opening credits of a Star Gate-ish UW game!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQYN2P3E06s

Soundtrack for tonight’s oneshot! We’ll be trying to take control of Planet Spilia for the Council!

Soundtrack for tonight’s oneshot! We’ll be trying to take control of Planet Spilia for the Council!

Soundtrack for tonight’s oneshot! We’ll be trying to take control of Planet Spilia for the Council!

https://open.spotify.com/album/0pBpVcJF8PPuELHO7aJSkI

https://open.spotify.com/album/0pBpVcJF8PPuELHO7aJSkI

I had forgotten about this soundtrack for a long time.

I had forgotten about this soundtrack for a long time.

I had forgotten about this soundtrack for a long time. Despite the modern setting of the movie itself, the soundtrack has an excellent vibe for sci-fi Metropolis/Space Station suspense and intrigue.

My favorites are

– The Drop (3:02), which has a nice mounting tension.

– To the Roof (14:03) starts smooth and flows into a stylish beat that almost demands choreography around 15:48.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jk2-CNpeJrE

Used this playlist last session for a starship battle.

Used this playlist last session for a starship battle.

Used this playlist last session for a starship battle. I think it’s really good at evoking that feeling of scale that’s crucial for wet navy and space navy alike.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_69o-lYHj-M&index=2&list=PLR3R_-LsCwyCezkdwNB5GmkX8JWE-tyir