Hey friends! Today we’re talking about making music a little bit. It’s something I love and don’t do enough, but I’ve found renewed reasons to get into it. What reasons you might ask? Read on and find out!

How Am I Doing?

I’m doing very good. I’m hard at work, while also hitting my minimum required amount of exercise and sun. I’ve also been… re-exploring an old hobby of mine. More on that in the next segment!

What Am I Doing?

So our first Bibidi Bibidi! milestone, essentially the prototype from before with added polish and placeholder art, is shaping up nicely. I spent a week on adding little user experience improvements and game feel (also known as Juice™) whilst Jonas sketched up some creepy and cute monsters. Take a look!

So what about that hobby I was talking about? A few months back, I got introduced to the genre of Dungeon Synth, a throwback electronic music style with a focus on dark atmosphere and nostalgic sounding synthesizers. I’ve been listening to it pretty steadily, as instrumental atmospheric music helps me think and focus. When we came up with Bibidi Bibidi!, I immediately thought that Dungeon Synth would fit the vibe.

An Ancient Pastime

I don’t talk about it much on here, but I love making music. I’ve been doing it forever and a big chunk of my social circles stems from either the music scene I was a part of, or a matching taste in music. I’ve been in a couple of bands, and even played some pretty decent stages throughout my life.

That being said, I haven’t made anything in ages. I hardly ever touch the instruments in my home, let alone boot up a DAW to produce a track. I don’t know what it is, but I feel like I need some kind of extrinsic motivation to actually make music: be it a scheduled session, social obligation, an audience or something. Which is strange, considering that I especially love jam session without any real structure to them. Just pure, unadulterated creative expression.

Anyway, Bibidi Bibidi! and my recent obsession with a new genre got me over the hump to download and try out Reaper. I started scavenging the net for nice sounding plugins and samples, threw everything together and made a few loops. I’m still getting in the flow of things, but here are some samples, in no particular order:

What Lies Hidden Below the World?

Specter of the Past

Dung Womper

It’s been a lot of fun making small snippets like this. One of my best mates (Hi, Steve!) also got infected with the dank dungeon din designing disease, so we’ve been sending each other this stuff over the week. I think that might be that extrinsic motivation: it’s cool listening each others stuff and become better in the process!

Why Am I Doing? (this)

Perhaps it’s becoming time to restructure the newsletter segments. I’m running out of ways to say I’m doing well, and I’ve not been spending as much time analyzing my feelings. I’ve hit a really good routine, and have a decent grasp on my needs, and maintaining those habits keep me content. I could potentially remove the How Am I Doing? segment altogether, and just add a segment if there’s anything personal out of the ordinary.

Now here’s an interesting thought: if I do that, will I still spend time checking in with myself? This newsletter has been a great exercise in gratitude and venting. It forces me to examine my mental state. Would I lose that crutch if I switch the formula up? Something to ponder…