Posted: Dec 14th '09, 02:53
Press your power button. Tune your instruments. Position your microphone. Open Marathon 2. It's time for MGSIV!
RULES:
1) Unlike previous competitions, there are 4 songs to be composed. These songs will correspond with the next 4 levels of Marathon 2. They are called, Eat It, Vid Boi!, The Hard Stuff Rules..., Bob's Big Date, and Six Thousand Feet Under. These levels make up the chapter Citadel, and that is what the resulting album will be called.
2) Each song must have a reasonable song length. I would consider 10 seconds or 10 minutes a bit outside this reasonable range. Try to keep the songs from 2 min to 5 min. I'm flexible, so going outside those boundaries a little bit won't lose you any points. Cutting a song down to around 1 min though may lose you a point in the "Length" category.
3) These submissions are songs for Marathon levels. Please don't include a full chorus or obnoxious singing in any of your submissions. A little bit, and I mean a very small amount of singing or background chorus is ok, but don't go overboard.
4) Deadline: All songs must be sent to me at thethug47@gmail.com by February 26th. That's over 2 months to make 4 songs.
5) Don't name your songs after the levels. Come up with creative names!
Your entries will be judged on the following material:
1) Interpretation of the Level: Does your song complement the level provided? Does it help set the atmosphere of the level and contribute to the gameplay? A bad example would be to play "Happy Birthday" during a war scene, while a good example might be to play "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" during a scene where a kid is looking through a telescope for the first time. 20 points
2) Musicality: How well the tempo, rhythm, notes, etc fit together. It shouldn't sound like a 6th grader randomly hitting stuff or pressing down keys on his first instrument. Listeners should be somewhat comfortable while listening to it, not cringing in their seats. 20 points
3) Creativity: This is your music so make it unique. I understand that many background parts repeat over and over, but don't create a whole song where the majority of the melody is the same eight notes played repeatedly. Jazz it up and make it enjoyable and fun to listen to, while still staying within the other requirements. 10 points
4) Sound Quality: If it sounds like trash or is poor quality, you will obviously lose points here. I'm looking for clean, high quality music with no white noise, unless the white noise is intended. 10 points
5) Originality: Remixes sound great and all, but the point of this contest is too create something NEW that complements the given level. Remixing M1A1 music or any other music will cause you lose points here and probably in a few other sections of the judging scale. 5 points
6) Length: If the song length is too long or short, points will be lost. The song should be long enough to show effort, but short enough to be precise. 5 points
TOTAL: 70 points/song. Each participant will be judged out of a total of 280 points because there are 4 songs.
As usual, the song that receives the highest score for a level will be included in the final M2 Soundtrack. If you plan on participating but don't have enough time to make all 4 songs, please try to make 1 or 2 songs. A song will be included in the album if it receives 50 points or more. That means those who enter songs for all 4 levels should shoot for a score of 200 points or higher. I'm looking forward to a good turnout and some great songs! Enjoy making music.
RULES:
1) Unlike previous competitions, there are 4 songs to be composed. These songs will correspond with the next 4 levels of Marathon 2. They are called, Eat It, Vid Boi!, The Hard Stuff Rules..., Bob's Big Date, and Six Thousand Feet Under. These levels make up the chapter Citadel, and that is what the resulting album will be called.
2) Each song must have a reasonable song length. I would consider 10 seconds or 10 minutes a bit outside this reasonable range. Try to keep the songs from 2 min to 5 min. I'm flexible, so going outside those boundaries a little bit won't lose you any points. Cutting a song down to around 1 min though may lose you a point in the "Length" category.
3) These submissions are songs for Marathon levels. Please don't include a full chorus or obnoxious singing in any of your submissions. A little bit, and I mean a very small amount of singing or background chorus is ok, but don't go overboard.
4) Deadline: All songs must be sent to me at thethug47@gmail.com by February 26th. That's over 2 months to make 4 songs.
5) Don't name your songs after the levels. Come up with creative names!
Your entries will be judged on the following material:
1) Interpretation of the Level: Does your song complement the level provided? Does it help set the atmosphere of the level and contribute to the gameplay? A bad example would be to play "Happy Birthday" during a war scene, while a good example might be to play "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" during a scene where a kid is looking through a telescope for the first time. 20 points
2) Musicality: How well the tempo, rhythm, notes, etc fit together. It shouldn't sound like a 6th grader randomly hitting stuff or pressing down keys on his first instrument. Listeners should be somewhat comfortable while listening to it, not cringing in their seats. 20 points
3) Creativity: This is your music so make it unique. I understand that many background parts repeat over and over, but don't create a whole song where the majority of the melody is the same eight notes played repeatedly. Jazz it up and make it enjoyable and fun to listen to, while still staying within the other requirements. 10 points
4) Sound Quality: If it sounds like trash or is poor quality, you will obviously lose points here. I'm looking for clean, high quality music with no white noise, unless the white noise is intended. 10 points
5) Originality: Remixes sound great and all, but the point of this contest is too create something NEW that complements the given level. Remixing M1A1 music or any other music will cause you lose points here and probably in a few other sections of the judging scale. 5 points
6) Length: If the song length is too long or short, points will be lost. The song should be long enough to show effort, but short enough to be precise. 5 points
TOTAL: 70 points/song. Each participant will be judged out of a total of 280 points because there are 4 songs.
As usual, the song that receives the highest score for a level will be included in the final M2 Soundtrack. If you plan on participating but don't have enough time to make all 4 songs, please try to make 1 or 2 songs. A song will be included in the album if it receives 50 points or more. That means those who enter songs for all 4 levels should shoot for a score of 200 points or higher. I'm looking forward to a good turnout and some great songs! Enjoy making music.