Project Button Masher: The 7th Geth

By Shamus Posted Thursday Feb 5, 2015

Filed under: Music 34 comments

I’m holding to my goal of doing one of these every week, and of posting my failures along with my successes. Success generates warm fuzzy praise, but failure often generates more useful advice.

So last week someone mentioned the Mass Effect music. I love the original Mass Effect music. I mean, everyone loves the menu theme, but I dig a lot of the in-game music as well. So I wanted to take a crack at it.

Specifically, I was aiming for some of the low, understated combat music you hear on Eden Prime. There’s a nice bit when you get to the train where there’s a strong pulsing electronic beat underneath the music. So I figured I’d aim for that.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t really paying attention to what I was doing. Instead of listening to the soundtrack, puzzling over it, and picking some ideas to work with, I just sort of started smashing notes together. I got sidetracked on this little project where I’d forgotten all about Mass Effect and I was just coming up with a bunch of different variations on the same theme and chord progression. Eventually I had six or seven different parts all layered together in a huge pile. None of it was bad, but none of it really stood out.

In an effort to make lemonade from lemons, I pulled the different bits apart into distinct sections and stuck audio clips from the game between them.

The result is… hear for yourself:

If I was a regular composer I suppose this would end up as a B-side, which I’ve always assumed is the artists way of saying, This didn’t really work out, but maybe you’ll like it anyway.”

track_map_7th_geth.jpg

What I learned:

This track turned out kind of odd, but I’m learning more and more about the instrument creator I talked about a few weeks ago. I’m not crazy about this song in a musical sense, but I really love some of the sounds I got out of the system. Particularly the stuff at 2:50.

 


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34 thoughts on “Project Button Masher: The 7th Geth

  1. CJ Kerr says:

    So if there was a Mass Effect universe shmup, I’m pretty sure it would sound like this. I don’t think it’s a failure, just a slightly adjacent genre.

    1. Daemian Lucifer says:

      It would also have more enemies.Everywhere.

      1. swenson says:

        I will destroy them.

        1. Tohron says:

          Hold the line!

          1. Daemian Lucifer says:

            GOGOGO!

    2. D-z says:

      Now that I read this while listening, I picture a Demonstar/Mass Effect manic shooter. And it goes amazingly well together.

      1. Felblood says:

        Holy Crap!

        Someone else who remembers old Cygnus/Mountian King games.

        You sir, deserve a cookie.

        1. D-z says:

          Of course I do, Demonstar games are the best sh’m’ups I’ve ever played :D

  2. Henson says:

    Yeah, the chords in this composition move very quickly in comparison. Mass Effect’s score sounds a bit more minimalist; repeating themes within a single chord, making the instruments swell in and out (which you did do, I wish I knew what exactly makes that effect happen, I love it), and layering on top of the repeated themes, before moving onto a new chord. I do like the motion you’ve got going on within each chord, I just wish it were more stretched out and built upon.

    The chord progression itself is really interesting to me. Is that a i-VI-v-III going on? If so, that’s quite a bold break from the standard I-IV-V. Can someone with a more musical ear than mine figure that out?

  3. Neko says:

    My absolute favourite tune from Mass Effect is the Normandy bridge theme. I have on occasion changed my default terminal colour to orange and listened to it on repeat.

    1. swenson says:

      The one I’ve got an oddly emotional attachment to is the Galaxy Map music.

      See, when I first started ME2, I was genuinely kind of upset. I didn’t want to be without the characters I’d gotten close to in the first game, I didn’t want to be working for Cerberus (and was starting to resent the game for making me work with them anyway), I definitely didn’t want Miranda as my second-in-command, everything was new and different and I was grumpy about it.

      And then… I open up the Galaxy Map. And it’s the same music from the first game, and it was almost like the game was telling me, hey, I know things are different, but it’s still Mass Effect, and you’re still going to have a good time. Which I did.

      I… think I get too emotionally attached to games, sometimes.

      1. krellen says:

        The music probably plays a role in that attachment.

    2. Tom says:

      It’s a complete waste of time asking people what their favourite mass effect tune is; it’ll almost always be “New Worlds” or “Uncharted Worlds,” or the Normandy theme (Much like in Deus Ex, where everyone’s favourite tune is always the UNATCO music – it’s funny how it often seems to be the case that the “breakout tune” for a game will actually not be from a main level or core gameplay moment).

      The only meaningful way to phrase the question is “What is your favourite mass effect tune BESIDES the galaxy map/Normandy theme?” For me it’s probably the track called “Breeding Ground” – of which only about five seconds is actually played in-game, but it’s at a rather dramatic moment!

      1. swenson says:

        Oh, fine. If I have to pick a favorite other than those, it’s Fatal Confrontation… or Virmire Ride.

        And M4 Part II, but for obvious reasons that doesn’t really count.

      2. Nyctef says:

        Apart from New Worlds, my favourite is probably The Normandy Reborn from ME2. It’s such a great moment – basically where the prologue finishes and the game starts – and the music fits it perfectly.

        Callista (the Afterlife club music) is also good as background music, although that’s not really part of the soundtrack.

      3. Dragomok says:

        Actually, I liked combat music the most. There was this one particular piece – which was a generic combat tune that played on the generic planets – and it was hella upbeat, and it was spacious, and every so often it would play… different sound thingie? (I can’t comprehend music. I don’t even tell how different notes are related to each another.)

        After rummaging through an upload of the complete soundtrack, I think it might have been… Virmire Ride. Oh. Well. Either my memory upsold these guitars riffs (which are still good) or I had better mixer settings. Or there’s something wrong with the YouTube compilation I was using to refresh my memory. (EDIT: It’s the last one. HELL YEAH the guitar riffs! ~~uuuuuuuuunkh-tippi-tippi-uuuuuuuuuuuuunkh-tiptiptip-UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUnkh~)

        I’m surprised you didn’t even allude to M4 Part II. Because of this song, the credits were definitely, 100% my favourite part of the entire game.

  4. RCN says:

    Just a question, I know explaining the joke is lame, but what’s The 7th Geth referencing to? I’ve got every other song name so far, but eventually I guess english references would stump me. Or is this actually a reference within game that I’m being too dense to get?

    1. Tom says:

      It’s a reference to the 7th Guest, a game whose soundtrack by The Fat Man is, I gather, quite sophisticated (blending different character themes and motifs depending on which characters are on screen and how they react to each other) and generally highly praised.

      1. Tizzy says:

        Did Shamus even play 7th Guest? I can’t even remember now. Anyway, it is indeed a spectacular soundtrack. Pretty minimalist, but very interesting. Which is good, because you get to hear a *lot* of it as you’re wandering aimlessly stumped by the puzzles.

    2. DanMan says:

      Pretty sure it’s a reference to 7th Guest

      1. RCN says:

        Is it the FMV game Rutskarn was snarking about a couple of months ago?

        Never played it. Then again, I’ve only played a couple of FMV games. It was enough for me to swear off ever playing another.

  5. Cordance says:

    Reading and listening to all your music posts is this what is missing from your project good robot. You made comments that you felt the “interesting-ness” of the game was lacking. Music is very good at adding a feel to a game. Specially if it is dynamic based on what is happening in the game.

    1. Cuthalion says:

      Ooo, this could be true, if GR doesn’t have music yet. I recall a Tales from the Rampant Coyote post where the author talks about an incident where the game just didn’t feel very good until they got music in, and suddenly it worked.

  6. guy says:

    I have to say that I don’t think the voice samples really work that well and the song would be better without them.

    1. Dragomok says:

      Seconded.

  7. I think if you sped it up to about 175bpm and added a heavier bass drum you could make a really good UK-hardcore song out of this

  8. SlothfulCobra says:

    So Shamus, are you planning to release all these on cassette tapes sometime so you can put this on the b-side of one?

    Although I guess you can do that with discs too, it’s just weirder. Not with MP3s though.

  9. Zak McKracken says:

    Man, what’s up with the “Super-epic mostest awesomest droppest everest in the world” things that Soundcloud keeps linking to next to Shamus’ creations (rather than Shamus’ other creations)?

    I don’t mind dubstep (sometimes) but the only time I ever clicked on one of those things it was extremely bland stuff, so now I perceive them as spam.

    1. Shamus says:

      I get the same thing. Those are the ONLY songs it ever offers me. Maybe I don’t tag my songs well enough? Maybe if I had more complex tags it would branch out? I dunno.

      And just to spoil the punchline: Those songs are all jokes. They build up all this anticipation for a huge drop and then switch to playing something like a jingle or a country song or whatever.

  10. I you drop the Mass Effect samples this track would probably fit nicely into the Good Robot soundtrack.

    1. Tsi says:

      Yes, I agree.
      This is starting to sound and feel good. Especially the part from 1:50 to 2:40. And from the increased bpm at 3:30 to the end.

      I think you could have shortened the pause at 2:40 (and removed the voice) before going straight to the fast part at 3:30 where we can hear the nice theme again (not sure about the notes but it’s the part that sounds like this at that fastest bpm http://onlinesequencer.net/66478 ).

      Anyway, we can hear your improvements. Congrats ! : )

  11. Fishminer says:

    I actually really enjoyed this, though that might in part just be because I have an undying love for the first Mass Effect.

  12. Anachronist says:

    Listening to this, I’m thinking Good Robots.

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