Music is an important part of our game. Misc focuses a lot on how our characters feel. We believe the best way to help convey emotions is through music.
Throughout my journey as a game developer, I've had the pleasure and honor of having our music composer work with me in many past projects. Bernard and his music have helped influence and drive a lot of project ideas and creative decisions behind development, not just on Misc.
So when it came time to work on Misc, one thing I wanted to visit - even if it failed - was to try and get a song made for the game!
It's something we've never had the chance to explore before, and with past projects we had worked on, it wasn't a right fit for them either. With Misc being such a colorful wholesome game, a theme song to go with our little robots adventure seemed like the perfect match.
Some of you who have watched our recent trailers will know the song we're talking about. Currently named "We're Miscellaneous", this song was created in about a month with the heavy collaboration between myself, Bernard, and the singer/songwriter RAYM.
Let's take a listen!
Lyrics:
It's a great day for an adventure!
You and me, why don't we go out and play?
Just like the wind in the trees
I know you'll be there beside me
So come with me, let's go out in the sun
We're miscellaneous
Let's lend a hand, to help everyone
We're free to be like this
We're happy to be here
With all our friends so near
Looking up at the sky
With you, I'll fly so high
You and I.
So what was the process like?
As mentioned, to make this song a possibility we needed collaboration between myself (the lead developer), our music composer Bernard, and a singer/songwriter RAYM.
I had initially been following RAYM for a while on her live streams where she performs music in a fun, laid-back show every week. Knowing her sound, style, and how her voice could be used - I knew right away it'd be a perfect fit for Misc.
After reaching out to her with the idea and setting up the technical details of the commission, we began planning out the song.
Early discussions with RAYM involved showing her a bit about the game, explaining our vision for the song, and how it'll be used in-game. There were a few key lyrics and themes I wanted to make sure were in the song. The most important one for us was to include the word 'Miscellaneous' in the song since this tied so heavily into the game. At this point, we already had the games main theme for Misc composed by Bernard. The melody from this theme is used in many parts of the game and is what ties the game together, so it was important that this melody was to be used in this song too.
"Michael and I had discussed on occasion writing a song but not until Misc did the opportunity truly seem 'right.' When he told me he'd reached out to an artist to adapt the Misc melody into a song, I was truly ecstatic! As an artist though, I wanted to make sure I remained somewhat hands off and allowed Michaels vision to be adapted by the artist RAYM. She would already be adapting my melody into a song and that alone could be a feat!"
- Bernard
After a few weeks of back and forth, the lyrics for the song were done and we were presented with the final product from RAYM. This version was 'acoustic' - only included the vocals, backing vocals, and guitar. We knew we wanted to build off the song's 'skeleton' that RAYM had built, so having something in this format was perfect.
"It's hard to explain the emotions I felt when hearing the song develop. In a way I imagine it's like seeing your child—in this case, the melodic idea for Misc—go off and do its own thing and just be proud of them and feel so full of pride."
- Bernard
We now had the acoustic version in hand, completed by RAYM, so the next step was to pass things onto Bernard to build a digital orchestral version that would be seen in the final game.
"After hearing the acoustic version of the song - vocals, and guitar - I immediately wanted to begin developing it into a fully orchestrated song like the ones I grew up hearing in my favorite films. Having studied some of James Horner's music from the '80s and '90s, I began to take those influences, and the ones inspired by RAYM, and begin to craft a fully orchestrated piece."
- Bernard
This process of building on top of a song we had was really fascinating. The magic came quickly, hearing it transform from a calming acoustic track - to something that felt much more grand, magical, and bigger. It took a few weeks, and many many perfectionist tweaks, but the final product was something I think the whole team was proud of.
"The song quickly became a repeat listen, helping not just me, but our other team members bring us back mentally to a place that felt safe, warm, and full of love."
- Bernard
The whole experience of bringing something like this to life was something I'll never forget. What we hear on the versions in this post are just the shortened trailer cuts. The full-length songs will be released closer to the launch of the game - so I'm eager for people to hear the track in its full length when the time comes.
"It quickly became one of my favourite pieces to date and I'm so excited for people to enjoy it and be transported into the world of Misc."
- Bernard
Of course, none of this would have been possible without the amazing talents and dedication in both our team and with the help of RAYM herself, so thank you again to everyone involved. The lyrics and structure RAYM built was exactly the vision we had in our heads when thinking of a song for Misc. To see that come to life with so much energy and creativity was something I know we'll be doing again if we get the chance. I couldn't be happier with how perfectly everything came out from everyones efforts. We can't wait for you to see how the track (and more like it) will be utilized in the game itself.
