No Chain No Gain

Write what you know. And on this project, the theme is video games.

Lingchi, Jung in the Jungle and Ikebana all feature source material made using game controller input converted to MIDI using Fergo JoystickMIDI. I recorded MIDI data while playing games such as F-Zero GX and We Love Katamari. The data was used to control various sampler parameters, yielding interesting sound material that I developed into these tracks.

Soundfont Circuit is an homage to the 90s era of game music built on MIDI instruments, from the days before a game's ROM typically had enough space to store its soundtrack as audio, but during the period where they would use sample playback. Vibe-wise it is a hat tip to games like Mario Kart 64 or Sega Rally.

No Chain No Gain is a love letter to arcade games, in particular bullet hell shooters.

This 21-minute piece models its form on that of a bullet hell game, like any of the CAVE library:
- Attract screen/menu/tutorial
- 5 stages in sequence, alternating stage theme and boss theme
- True last boss
- Epilogue

No Chain No Gain is a piece about arcade games, their principles, their dynamics and their vibes.

Writing this piece involved developing a program in SuperCollider which synthesizes simulated "bullet patterns" using audio. This code is featured in the stage 2 boss (05:47), stage 3 boss (08:13), stage 5 theme (12:50), and stage 5 boss (13:45).

A few words about the bullet code:

Using pan position and pitch as an audio analogy for the X and Y axes in visual space, this code creates bullet patterns geometrically, frame by frame, by assigning notes (corresponding to bullets) co-ordinate points (corresponding to pan and pitch data), which are then played frame by frame by a synth.

Bullets are emitted from a given co-ordinate point with a given firing angle, spread angle, speed and so on. For each bullet, the code calculates a per-frame co-ordinate point, i.e. a pitch value and a pan value. These values are fed to a synth, which plays them at a given rhythmic rate. Optionally, the bullets can be tuned to a given scale.

Just as bullet hell games differentiate between patterns by altering the size, colour and shape of bullet groups, this code can vary the volume, waveform, and attack/release times of note groups.

Composing music using a tool like this is a way to tap into the intelligence of bullet pattern design by imitating the design principles of this field. It's also a technique unlike any method of composition I've used so far. I would be interested to integrate this technique into other musical scenarios.

As an aside, bullet hell shooters are fantastic and I would recommend playing them if they interest you. If you are new to the genre, I recommend starting with DoDonPachi.

The composition of No Chain No Gain began in March 2023 and ended in April 2024. Over the course of this project I played many hours of shmups.

Games that inspired the design and use of the bullet code:
- Ketsui
- DoDonPachi DaiOuJou
- DoDonPachi DaiFukkatsu
- Mushihimesama
- Radiant Silvergun

Game soundtracks I'm obsessed with:
- Radiant Silvergun (Hitoshi Sakimoto)
- DoDonPachi DaiFukkatsu (Manabu Namiki)

Games whose vibes inspired No Chain No Gain:
- Radiant Silvergun
- DoDonPachi
- DoDonPachi DaiOuJou
- DoDonPachi DaiFukkatsu
- DoDonPachi SaiDaiOuJou
- Mushihimesama
- Ketsui
- Soukyuu Gurentai
- Ikaruga
- Rez
- Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike
- Groove Coaster
- Taiko No Tatsujin