Solar Sails is a project from my Advanced Game Workshop class. This classes goal was to form a team and spend the semester on a single game project. For this, it was a group of 7 with a development time of 15 weeks. My roles in the group were music composition as well as producer.
Accepted to Fitchburg State University's 2024 Visions Exhibition
Download on Itch.io here
Accepted to Fitchburg State University's 2024 Visions Exhibition
Download on Itch.io here
Solar Sails is a science fiction first person shooter, where you board an enemy vessel with the assistance of your pirate themed AI to destroy their power supply.
Title Sequence
With the title sequence of the game, I wanted to evoke the mystery and unease of deep space. Playing off the fear of the unknown and never ending darkness of the void, there is no real melody for the majority of the piece, only forming one when the brass come in, lifting the piece with a feeling of triumph in the middle, quickly fading away in the end.
Player Ship
The Player's ship, named Solarius-4, is the initial scene the player loads into. It is meant to be an introduction to the game and way for the player to acclimate themselves to the controls. The main design principles of the ship were to combine a selection of natural materials with the metallic and industrial theme to provide a sense of homeliness and comfort to the player. Following this design concept, I went with a piece that used synths as the main melody and carried the piece, but acoustic percussion pieces to add that natural feeling. I wanted to keep the melody in a higher pitch to keep the sense of lightness and comfort found throughout the space. The quick notes and fast paced rhythms give a sense of excitement throughout the piece as well.
Enemy Ship
In complete contrast to the player ship, the enemy ship named the Alcatrazar, is completely devoid of life. A ship completely controlled by A.I. and made out of metal, it was made to be a dark and brooding space that unnerved the player after transitioning from the light and cool tones of the Solarius-4. Keeping with these design themes, the acoustic instruments were taken completely out of the piece, instead replaced with a constant oscillating bass beat in the background. The primary focus of the piece is a series of bass chords as a way to add to the unnerving atmosphere created by the dark, industrial materials and red lighting. The rhythms are kept very simple as it is meant to be a background loop to constantly play in the background. The player is going through intense combat sequences during this time, as well as listening to voice lines to guide them through the level, all of which are more important to pay attention to.
Final Battle
For the final battle, more focus could be put on the music by the player. Other than quick sound effects, this would be the only audio playing during the fight. Acoustic percussion was brought back into the piece to differentiate it from the synth only background loop the player had been experiencing, along with the main focus of the French horn. I wanted the attention of the music to be on that melody, and the brass cut through the sound better than the synths I have available.
AI Voice
Throughout the game, a ship bound AI voice could be heard at various points to help guide the player through the level. This technique was used in conjunction with visual aids such as lights and environmental details to aid the player in progressing through the level without breaking the immersion of the game. I was able to have a classmate record these lines in a pirate voice, and put certain effects on the lines to create the effect they were being passed through a radio contained in your suit. A couple different compression effects and distortion effects were used to warp the voice and add the static to the voice while taking out some of the farthest reaching pitches present in the voice, taking away some of the human qualities of it.