Tag Archives: game developer

FM Synthesis & Video Games: Trackers

For this series of FM synthesis music I want to go into a fair bit of detail regarding FM synthesis. Especially experimenting with FM synthesisers to make retro music. However this slightly shorter article is going to give a quick overview of the most popular method for creating retro FM game music.

deflemask
DefleMask is one of the most versatile trackers for those seeking to emulate the sounds of Sega’s Master System & Mega Drive consoles

One of the most popular ways to make chiptune music in this day and age is utilising trackers. Trackers are in essence a simplified Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) which rather than being laid out horizontally, for instance how Logic, Ableton, Fruity Loops and other DAW’s are, they are laid out vertically. Typical to trackers are the six following areas:

– Channels (tracks) (these run vertically down and from left to right)

– Notes

– Patterns

– Samples

– Effects

– Orders

There’s some great written and video tutorials online which go in-depth about using trackers so I won’t go into detail here. But essentially trackers work by ordering samples which have been pitched by note value into patterns and orders on the channels. Effects are then used to further enhance the programmed material. Effects in trackers however aren’t the usual reverb, delay, chorus, etc. that you may find in a DAW. But rather ways to add variation to the programmed notes in terms of pitch, stereo positioning and volume. Such effects include Arpeggios, Vibrato, Portamento, Tremolo and Panning.

As mentioned in the previous article there are a number of classic audio chips out there that were used in gaming systems. One chip that was specifically mentioned was the Yamaha YM2612 which was used notably in the Sega Genesis and Megadrive systems. This chip, along with others, have support from such trackers as DefleMask. Meaning you can program audio for specific chips using these trackers.

For further reading (and viewing) I have included some links below of both trackers and tutorials on using them.

Trackers:

http://woolyss.com/chipmusic-chiptrackers.php

http://www.delek.com.ar/deflemask

http://www.milkytracker.org/

Tracker Tutorials:

DefleMask Tutorial 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGCsrzaIFDE

Techniques Of Chipping: http://milkytracker.org/docs/Vhiiula-TechniquesOfChipping.txt

Making A Chiptune: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TYyDLElP4c

Throughout my years studying music composition and production I have learnt how to program synthesizers for certain projects. As part of this it was a wise idea to learn how to program FM synthesisers. FM synthesis isn’t as easy to get to grips with as subtractive synthesis but it does reap rewards once learned. So throughout future articles, I will discuss how to program FM synthesisers. In discussion will be programming various sounds and how to get the synths sounding retro. Part of this will be covering numerous techniques of how to achieve the retro sound by means of modern effects such as bitcrushing. But we will also look into what else can be done to give the synthesizers and audio the retro game sound.

Joe Gilliver – BA Hons (Ocular Audio)

Composer | Producer | Sound Designer

www.ocularaudio.com

 

 

 

The Month That Was

Overview, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

June was the launch month for this blog. It was a busy and interesting month with some surprising results. In all honesty, I wasn’t expecting much in the way of traffic. The majority of blogs hardly get much of a readership, within the first 6 months of operation. 16-BIT Shock on the other hand enjoyed a constant stream of daily visitors. Several spikes occurred during the month, further bumping up overall traffic to the site.

It was also really great that so many views came from so many different countries. To be exact, 31 countries within a 30 day period. Here are the top 10 countries by rate of views:

  1. United States
  2. South Africa (where 16-BIT Shock is based)
  3. United Kingdom
  4. Greece
  5. Canada
  6. Japan
  7. Brazil
  8. Mexico
  9. Netherlands
  10. Italy

Honourable mentions also go to visitors from: Germany, Russia, Portugal, Australia, Finland, Sweden, Hungary, France, Spain, Belgium, New Zealand, Norway, Israel, Ireland, Latvia, Denmark, Morocco, Iceland, Malaysia, Honduras and Columbia.

I appreciate that so many of you took the time to visit this site, read the articles and even shared with your friends & followers on the various social media channels. It’s even better to know that there’s a keen interest in retro gaming among the majority of you. The articles will only get better in the coming months with an increased focus on the project I’ve been working on.

For those of you who have waited patiently for more information on this project –July is your month!

I have several articles lined up that will go into greater detail about this game project, the development process and the release of the first screenshots to ever be made public. Exciting stuff and sure to fire up a few retro heads out there.

And for those that enjoyed Joe Gilliver’s FM Synthesis article, are also in for a treat. Joe’s busy preparing another one that will go further into the technicalities. Want to make your own FM-based chiptune tracks or wondering what the fuss is all about? Joe is an expert in the field and will be shining some light on what is deeply niche subject matter.

Bass Cadet will continue being a mainstay of this blog but will probably be reduced to 2-3 posts per month. The reason for this is because the emphasis will now shift towards game development updates. All in all, it’s looking like an even more interesting month ahead. Stay retro, folks 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

Anti-Establishment

16-BIT Shock was set up for a number of reasons, first and foremost to develop quality retro-style games with a sense of purity. This in itself, is a soft form of revolt against mainstream gaming.

Wonder Boy is a good example of what constitutes a quality game
Wonder Boy is a good example of what constitutes a quality game

You may argue that, there are plenty of retro-style games developed in the indie scene these days. Yes, there definitely are. And I happen to be 100% supportive of this. Yet, it still is a revolutionary act to develop these types of games. The mass market is in no way, shape or form encouraging or even supportive of anything that is purely retro.

This is a good thing. A very, very good thing!

If the mass market was truly backing us, not only would we be incredibly uncool. We would be completely irrelevant. For one, we wouldn’t be able to stick out like a sore thumb. And sticking out is what we should be doing – 24/7!

There really are no benefits to pandering to mainstream tastes – none!

I don’t develop games for someone’s grandpa or for someone’s kid. I don’t develop games that you can play with your wife or girlfriend. I don’t develop games that you can play with your family. I don’t develop casual games. I don’t develop social games. I don’t develop multiplayer games.

I develop games strictly for the enthusiast. Particularly the retro game enthusiast.

The reason is simple. I’m an enthusiast myself and just can’t relate with any of the other types of gaming niches. Other people may enjoy them and that’s perfectly fine. I just won’t do them.

I may have come across a bit condescending in this article. To a certain extent, that’s true. Game enthusiasts like myself, who have been gaming for over 3 decades do have a stake in this. We’ve been supporting this medium for a considerable amount of time, and our opinion counts.

Just the title screen of Operation Wolf is manlier than 95% of today's weak sauce games
Just the title screen of Operation Wolf is manlier than 95% of today’s weak sauce games

Back in the 80’s, popular, mainstream games were: Ghosts ‘n Goblins, Wonder Boy, Green Beret, 1942, Bubble Bobble, Afterburner, Out Run, Gradius, Arkanoid, Operation Wolf, Combat School, Strider and Twin Cobra. What they share in common is that they were all well-made, highly entertaining games and far superior to their modern counterparts.

For the most part, what passes for mainstream and popular nowadays, is a terrible joke. The fact, that games like Angry Birds and that other backroom abortion – Flappy Bird, are a massive success – is telling. No, these are not good games. I don’t want to use expletives, but I will say one thing – these are games fit only for the latrine. 

And that’s what I’m effectively revolting against. And I trust this applies to any self-respecting game creator reading this.

Fight the establishment! Make good games!