coneal
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UPDATE: We have a winner! Congratulations to Lars the Laohu, and thanks to all who participated. We also have an update on how we've decided to handle the winning song, in response to concerns raised by this community. 

Brotherwise Games is hosting a competition to find a chiptune artist to compose the soundtrack to our "dungeon-building" card game, Boss Monster. Boss Monster is a strategic card game in which players lay out cards to build side-scrolling dungeons. Players compete to lure in unsuspecting heroes ...then take them out with deadly monsters, traps, and spells! The entire experience is an homage to 8- and 16-bit games, and all the artwork for game has been been created by talented pixel artists like Katrina Guillermo of Super Apartment Bros.

Deluxe copies of the game will come with a soundtrack that includes one 10 minute long chiptune track. As a typical game of Boss Monster lasts about 10 minutes, this theme song will serve as the perfect soundtrack to the game, and should (at the very least) amuse players who remember their early gaming days. We're looking for the perfect chiptune artist to compose that song!

SUBMITTING
We are asking that interested chiptune artists submit a 2-3 minute original composition to the competition.  The winner of the competition will be asked to expand their 2-3  minute piece into a 10 minute track.

Compositions should be submitted as MP3s to [email protected] (via an e-mail that we can use to contact you). The winner of the competition will be paid $100 for rights to an extended 10 minute version of their track which they will create.  The winner will also receive full credit on the soundtrack.  Payment will take place via PayPal.

Contestants not selected may be given the option of including their composition on the soundtrack, and would also be given full credit.  There would be no payment for this level, but it is is a chance to have your work associated with a published game.  We will NOT use anyone's work without their written permission.

THE SOUND WE ARE LOOKING FOR
As this is intended to be the soundtrack for the game, we are looking for classic 8-bit sound. Think Castlevania and Metroid as your models; tracks that favored atmosphere over complexity. As you compose the song, keep in mind that this is a game all about the fun of being the bad guy.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE
October 7, 2012 [This contest is closed]

Any questions should be directed to [email protected]

Sincerely, Chris and Johnny O'Neal of Brotherwise Games

Last edited by coneal (Oct 13, 2012 5:28 am)

Auxcide
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The Multiverse ::: [CA, Sac]

I'm poor and broke so this sounds interesting. Though I'm still a little confused on what part of the game the music is to be associated with.

coneal
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I can understand the confusion, because it's a little bit of a gimmick.  To be clear, Boss Monster is NOT a video game.  It's a card game meant to pay homage to old side-scrolling 8-bit games.  The music on the sound track would be played as background music while players play the game.  Our goal is to have some sound to complete the old gaming feel of Boss Monster.

Saskrotch
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Chicago IL

10 minutes is a lot of music to write for $100.

Auxcide
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The Multiverse ::: [CA, Sac]
coneal wrote:

I can understand the confusion, because it's a little bit of a gimmick.  To be clear, Boss Monster is NOT a video game.  It's a card game meant to pay homage to old side-scrolling 8-bit games.  The music on the sound track would be played as background music while players play the game.  Our goal is to have some sound to complete the old gaming feel of Boss Monster.

Oh thanks for clearing that up. Makes sense now.

@Sassy, maybe for a big wider known artist, but for an entry level unknown, it seems fine to me. And I can't be choosy.

coneal
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Fair enough.  But keep in mind that we expect a fair bit of looping will be in that 10 minutes (as with classic games).  Also keep in mind that we're two brothers doing this on the side to try and make our dream come true.  We don't have a ton of cash to pay talented artists what they truly deserve, so we're trying the next best thing.  Please don't think the award value is a comment on what we think of the artists here.  We've been amazed with the quality of the posted music.

Auxcide
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The Multiverse ::: [CA, Sac]

Are you thinking actual boss sounding music (think final fantasy dramatic battle) or more like adventuring travelling dungeon music?

Last edited by Auxcide (Sep 9, 2012 1:40 am)

coneal
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Auxcide wrote:

Are you thinking actual boss sounding music (think final fantasy dramatic battle) or more like adventuring travelling dungeon music?

Good question.  I think we'll leave that up to you, the artists.  But keep in mind that the idea is for the music to be playing the whole game, from the "start of the adventure" to the "final battle," so that may inform your artistic choices.

SadPanda
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Chicago IL, USA

nickmaynard
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rochester, ny

one idea - you could find a song you like on the site already and then just offer that person the $100 for the right to use it in your game.

coneal
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nickmaynard wrote:

one idea - you could find a song you like on the site already and then just offer that person the $100 for the right to use it in your game.

We did think of that idea, Nick, but for better or for worse many of the artists here are composing songs in styles that have evolved quite a bit from mid 80's games. We're really looking for compositions that are, for lack of the vocabulary, more "video gamey."  Also, the competition does give us some options to choose from, whereas it might be more hit or miss going with a single artist.

Last edited by coneal (Sep 9, 2012 2:39 am)

coneal
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And Skeptical Hippo, you are adorable, and we can understand your skepticism. I can't particularly offer anything to assuage your skepticism. We are a start up.  This is a meager attempt at a lifelong dream to make games for a living.  We have little to no starting capital.  We'll be Kickstarting this game so it may not become a reality if it isn't funded (which is a real possibility; a sizable portion of Kickstarts fail). 

This is, for all intents and purposes, work for hire (very little hire, as the case may be).  The winner will get the $100 and full credit on the game and sound track even if the Kickstart fails. I suppose we could be trying to swindle someone out of 10 minutes of chipmusic, but this would be an elaborately complex way to do that, with lots of people as witness to the swindle.  Again, we are not swindlers, just people trying to think of creative ways to get the music that we want to get.  And, of course, the competition gives us some choice in final product that we find appealing.

We hope we get some folks here interested in giving it a shot for kicks and grins at the least.

r4c7
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N.E. U.S.

Maybe some screenshots of the game could remove some skepticism, even if just concept art. This could also help some get a better idea of the type of music.

VCMG
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California

2PLAYER does some pretty "video game-y"-sounding tracks.

Aeros
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Savannah, Georgia

well, imo auxcide has pretty much already won this, but it's worth a shot

Auxcide
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The Multiverse ::: [CA, Sac]
Aeros wrote:

well, imo auxcide has pretty much already won this, but it's worth a shot

Psh. Hell no. But I'll be extra motivated because I've recently run into money problems. wink