In 2008 I composed the in-game music and created sound effects for the tower defense strategy game Savage Moon. Savage Moon was developed by FluffyLogic and released in Europe on Sony’s Playstation Network (PSN) on christmas eve 2008. Savage Moon has received a wealth of praise for it’s sound design (see reviews below).
Creating the music for the levels of Savage Moon proved an interesting challenge, as the brief required that it be “dynamic”. This meant that as the intensity of gameplay increased, the music had to reflect that. On playing the game one can feel the music building as more and more Insectocytes appear on the screen, thus adding to the tension and excitement.
Savage Moon trailer:
Audio Clips:
Savage Moon Title Music:
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Savage Moon Menu Music:
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Savage Moon Xipe Level Music:
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Savage Moon Ymir Level Music:
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Savage Moon Zeus Level Music:
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Savage Moon Level Complete Music:
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Savage Moon Level Failed Music:
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Reviews:
The audio is best though. It’s horrendous, but in a good, uncomfortable way. The shrieks, clicks, croaks, ticks, gurgles and cries of the bugs, not only as they emerge from their pits of doom but also when they’re blasted into oblivion by your turrets, are just brutal. And the sound’s relentless. With any luck you’ll be killing a hell of a lot of bugs so you’ll be hearing them constantly. One of them particular is especially awful on your ears, the kind of noise you’d expect a possessed pig to make if it were ever torn to shreds by an automatic rifle.
And it’s all complimented by a wonderfully depressed soundtrack, reminiscent of the original Interplay Fallout games. The solemn, cold and lonely beeps and boops of each mission hammer home the bleakness of what you’re doing.
- review by videogamer.com
The gameplay is addictive and easy to learn, the sound is great, the music suits the theme and the enemies deaths are just what you want to hear.
- review by NextGen
Savage Moon shines in the audio department; great enemy sound effects, and a fitting soundtrack really add to the gameplay experience.
- review by ps3center.net
…the sound is much stronger, with strong, resounding blasts echoing for each fired turret and a solid soundtrack driving the gameplay.
Sound 8/10 – Solid soundtrack matches with large, echoing blasts and plenty of insect “screams” for a nice aural performance during play.
- review by IGN.com
To go with these surprisingly good graphics comes some surprisingly good audio. Insects will scream when turned into bloody pulp and the tell-tale sounds of massive wings buzzing let you know its time to look skyward. A pumping soundtrack and clean sounding sound effects round out this game’s audio portion.
- review by GameZone
One of the bigger reasons why the game has some punch to it is the audio — and in particular the effects work. The early Anti-Air turrets let loose with what can only be described as a “death burp,” a punchy, booming sound that actually lets you feel its ability to drop air targets. Full-upgraded Machine Gun Towers do the same, spitting dozens of rounds out of their multiple barrels and into screeching, squeaking overgrown bugs with gusto. The driving, almost tribal sound of the music, rich with percussion, does a great job of filling everything out.
- review by totalplaystation.com
