Currently I am the sole Composer of the score for the South African indie game "Freja and the False Prophecy", the brainchild of Cape Town based indie game company:
"Unsigned Double Collective"
The game is a dark 2d action-adventure/Metroidvania game set in the world of Norse mythology featuring beautiful, unique hand drawn art, an epic narrative, RPG elements and thrilling combat.
The following is a insider view into my experience in working on this game, as well as a window into the thought processes and unique techniques I have been utilizing to create the audio universe that is;
The Music of Freja and the False Prophecy.
After our goal was reached on Kickstarter, we won the South African rounds of the Ng20 game discovery contest at Playtopia, attended Ng20 on Discord and started on our demo to pitch to publishers.
I had finally reached a point in my composing that went deeper and more investigative than before. I became passionate about using the lore of the game, elements in the visuals, music that would evoke deep emotion and symbolism as compositional elements. Due to this interest, I now became passionate about research on Music Psychology in games and the massive emotional impact that sound and music in games had on the player. (link to research)
I therefor became focused on composing in such a way that emphasized immersion and symbolism and encouraged the player to be affected emotionally through the music and sound.
SOUND, SIGNIFICANCE and SYMBOLISM in "FREJA"
THE BATTLE HORN
Gjallarhorn
In Scandinavian mythology, the Gjallarhorn is used to announce the battle to end all battles. Ragnarok is a series of events and catastrophes that will ultimately lead to the end of the world. Ragnarök culminates in a final battle between the gods and the demons and giants, ending in the death of the gods.
Instead of using a blowhorn sample for the Gjallarhorn, I decided to go a bit deeper and more symbolic with my use of the instrument.
Heimdallr blows into Gjallarhorn in an 1895 illustration by Lorenz Frølich
In South Africa we have a type of antelope called a Nyala,
The Nyala horn is used as a blowhorn in old jewish and christian lore and is called a Shofar.
To the shofar was also attributed the magic power
of frightening and dispersing evil spirits and gods of the enemies
who helped their people in battle. This belief was current
among all primitive tribes and it was likewise accepted in Israel as many Biblical stories and phrases testify.
I recorded a real Shofar in Bethlehem, a small town in the Freestate, South Africa.
SHOFAR / NYALA HORN used in the Soundtrack of FREJA AND THE FALSE PROPHECY
Raw recording with reverb of Nyala horn played by Heinie de Jager in Bethlehem, South Africa.
SOUND FX AND FOLEY WITHIN THE SCORE
In the demo, there is a section where Freja enters into her village within a dream she is having. Here, she is having a nightmare, where her village is burnt to the ground,
There are 2 elements in the visual universe and the storyline that I have incorporated into the score here, the first, the noises Freja would hear in her dying villlage:
The tinitus one would experience post physical trauma
Flies
Rats gawing at carcasses
Dogs moaning
Original score for when Freja finds her village destroyed.
The second section we find Freja being attacked and chased by Odins Hoard of dark horses in a cloud of black smoke. Here I considered the use of a battle chant as well as the sounds of threatened dogs.
HIDDEN WORDS OF SIGNIFICANCE
When Odins hoard attacks Freja,
We hear a chanting accompanying the attack.
The words are Norse and translate as follows:
Nothing good will now remain, Odin will take what he wants
Ingenting godt blir nå igjen, Odin tar det han vil
In the company workshop we set up to create our Publisher Pitch I insisted on attending all meetings from the start, including those that had nothing to do with the music score. I believe that the Composer should be present throughout the creative process and not an afterthought. Is it not true that immersion is the holy grail of game developing? and the best way to immerse a player into a game and connect them emotionally to their avatar, is in fact, through music and sound fx.
In attending these meetings I was able to give my insight into timing and elements in the game design that could facilitate necessary emotional moments that would encourage immersion and add to the depth of the game.
I set up the following document to iterate to the game developers how I would map out the emotional universe through music and sound in the game.
Make contact:
martinique.ludomusic@gmail.com
