Approach to music in the second sequel

A few words about music. My goal was to keep the overall mood and style of music as in Legends of Amberland II. But there was a catch. Christopher Loza, the creator of music for LoA II was unavailable for the projects (life happens), so I got a dilemma what to do next. Fortunately, I was contacted by Winnie Gotmilk, a composer from France who offered to carry on. I gave him instructions to keep the overall style, preferably so the tunes from both games can be mixed and then left the details to him. It turned out, he is very, very professional. He managed to make music that perfectly fit the existing tracks. The consistency is perfect, which is always the top priority for me.

So, in Legends of Amberland III there will be brand new tracks mixed with some older tracks to maximize variety. I plan to use the new tracks in the most frequent locations (especially overworld, towns, castles) while keeping old tracks in some more rarer locations. There is also a possibility that some location types (like towns) could end up with unique “per location tunes”.

Funny thing: Originally, I planned the kingdom of elves to be made as part of overworld, as in the previous installments of the series, but when Winnie Gotmilk told me he is thinking of a song named “The King of Elves in Valador” I could not resist and decided to do elven kingdom as a separate location, just so the music can be used. It’s the first time ever when music considerations made me redesign gameplay. Can’t wait to hear this particular tune.

Now a few words about the process of making music from the creator, Winnie Gotmilk

I’m Victor Gautschi (aka Winnie Gotmilk), a video game music composer with a passion for RPG and Sci-fi soundtracks, though I’m always eager to explore new styles. I started making music over twenty years ago with a guitar, later diving into electronic sounds and releasing an album as “Cryptotor.” Since then, I’ve published three more albums, studied mixing and production, collaborated with artists around the world, and found my way into composing for games and other media.

Working on the soundtrack for Legends of Amberland III has been a blast. Being a fan of party-based RPGs such as Baldur’s Gate as well as the Heroes of Might and Magic legacy, the gameplay and soundscape of LoA allows for a lot of musical expression to dive into these classic medieval fantasy vibes. The players asked for more music, and here it is, around 45 minutes of new music is being composed for this game, aiming to blend well with Christopher Loza’s great soundtrack from LoA II, with a little more textural freedom allowed for the music of this episode, as well as the classic retro FM synth vibes. There will be a longer Overworld track as well as a few special locations track that I hope the players will enjoy.

Composing music for this game wasn’t without a challenge. First, there was the daunting task of joining this project while taking into account the music of the previous game, without drifting too far from it. That meant plenty of trial and error — referencing and recreating parts of the original LoA II soundtrack, while also listening to classic Might and Magic tracks by Paul Romero and even old school Renaissance composers like Palestrina. My goal throughout was to keep things simple, create flow-inducing music that loops well and doesn’t get tiring after hours of play, while still being enjoyable on its own (we may even release the soundtrack on Steam or elsewhere after the game launches).

On the technical side, there was the constraint of using FM synth tones (specifically the RYM2612 FM synthesizer from Inphonik). I already owned this synth for a while but only used it on a few projects before, and now it’s in my template! This synth, which emulates a vintage Yamaha chip found in Sega consoles, allows importing Soundfont files from other vintage games. There are some great preset libraries out there, though I have to admit Christopher had an impressive personal collection I’m still curious about.

Chris Koźmik, the game’s creator and developer, gave me a lot of creative freedom. That allowed me to mix in some of my favorite virtual instruments — Orchestral Tools’s SINE Player, Kontakt libraries, and retro FM synths like the KORG M1 — and bring in some of my own style. Finding the right balance was tricky at times; I even swapped out a realistic flute for a deliberately “cheesier” one to better match the game’s aesthetic. A few tracks are still in progress, including The King of Elves in Valador and The Great Bazaar in the Desert. I hope you enjoy exploring the world we’ve built and have a fantastic time playing this game!