i recently designed a soundtrack for a Celeste mod i made called Glyph. making adaptive music was such a fun way to think about composition. the gimmick of the mod revolves around portal mechanics, which strongly influenced the direction of the music / audio. #gameaudio #gamedev

as the player navigates through seasons, the music subtly changes to reflect the environment. the following shows gameplay between the spring (acoustic guitar, birds chirping), and summer (a low-pass synth, piano & distant howls all done in NI Massive)

With the introduction of the winter season comes a section of gameplay that is meant to feel like an isolated, lost & endless climb up a mountain cliff. ambient music lent itself well to enhancing that effect. delay and volume automation used a lot here!

fading in and out music layers to evoke the feeling of having found a different or special area was used extensively as well. here, the bass and synth enter as the player returns to the normal gameplay rooms

as the player finally gets through the more difficult winter season, the music calms before another sudden transition into a new season (fall). a low pass filter gradually eases and light fades in as the player gets closer to the outside section, where a new song begins

working with the amazing music the game itself (shoutouts to @kuraine) to create a smooth transition between menu & gameplay was also a focus. composition with only a piano to start the chapter helped create a smooth transition into the experience

the same piano consideration was taken at the conclusion of the chapter:

all in all this project was a joy to work on and really made me fall in love with the adaptive music process. there is so much power in music and i want to do this sort of stuff forever.