Overhaul BGM Layers

[xAmaranth]

Currently, the emerging BGM is cool, and helps provide the player a sense of progression. However, sound designers at Ubisoft felt we have the ability to do much more.

The following suggestions would create a very dynamic experience that not only provides the player a sense of progression, but also a sense of journey, drama, or story-line.

• Layers would be tied to stars as an audio source, so layers tied to far away stars would be inaudible.

• All activated stars would have their layers play on the map screen.

• All stars would have their layers play on the level clear screen.

In order to make this idea work:

• Each BGM layer would need to be satisfying to listen to on its own.

• Almost any combination of BGM layers would need to be satisfying to listen to with each other.

• All of the BGM layers together would need to create a cohesive, powerful track.

[xAmaranth]

Additional possibilities:

• Some layers, when combined, may sound happy (major), which allow for happy-feeling sections of levels.

• Some layers, when combined, may sound sad (minor)

• Some layers, when combined, may sound very sad (diminished???). This is a bit of a crazy idea, would be very hard to make it work, but if done well can be very powerful in setting tone.

• Maybe all the layers together could create a track that has resolution (minor -> major progressions?)

[xAmaranth]

Finally, layers can probably have much longer loops in order to ensure the player isn't listening to the same thing over and over again too obviously.

That arpeggio in the current BGM track, for example, is very prominent and isn't leading into any phrase or melody.