Hello, fellow jammers!

As we approach the end of play and rate, I decided to do some retrospection and identify what I did well and not so well this event, and what I can do differently in the future. Let's jump in!

The good

• The concept. I decided to avoid some of the more obvious interpretations of "Deeper and Deeper," and instead combine two more abstract ideas --- relationships that can grow deeper, and music getting lower in pitch.

• The music. I had a lot of fun on this game's composition work, and I think it came together well.

The bad

• The difficulty. The most glaring issue with my entry is how difficult it is. Especially with a story-based game, you want people to complete it, and I failed to adjust the difficulty well enough as I was rushing to create content.

• The mix. I made my music in MuseScore, and while that works well for composing, it lacks the power of a real DAW to use realistic digital instruments, fine-tune balance, and create a fuller sound. More than usual, my music this time was held back by using basic MIDI instruments.

• The legs. I forgot to draw legs on my humans. Don't look too close.

Conclusion

The intersection of music and level design was a really fun area to explore. Because the player needs to feel like they're playing the melody of the song, you create an inherent link between the complexity of the music and the difficulty of the game. In one case, the player plays the high notes in the first level and the low notes in the last level for the same music --- which forces the game design, story, and music all work hand-in-hand.

Since this is my most audio-focused entry since LD39, my goal for this event is a personal best in Audio. This means earning at least a 4.35 in order to beat my LD46 entry, Broken Threads.

Why is it called "Fade"?

Memories fade. People fade. Sounds fade. But more amusingly, the main leitmotif of my soundtrack consists of these notes in order:

You can download Fade here. Best of luck everyone, and see you again for LD49!