Introducing the Game Music for Tank Tank Rush

By Ninichi | Contact | Follow

This is the third article in the 'Introducing the game music' series. Each one tries to offer a little bit of insight into what lies behind the music for a specific game I've worked on. As a game music composer, I really enjoy the process of connecting with and working with such a wide range of talented game developers. I've found that each one has their own vision for their game and it is my job to help ensure that this vision is brought to life through the music and the game's soundtrack. 

Now, let's take a look at Tank Tank Rush... 

What is Tank Tank Rush?

Tank Tank Rush is unique blend between an artillery and side-scroller game, created by the amazing talented Antonin Duboc (@PutschMobi) - owner of Smart Game Studio. In the game, you control a soviet army tank and fire your tank gun at the enemy. The game is set during the Great Patriotic War on the Eastern Front and this is where all the action happens!

The game is still in development, but it's definitely one to watch for those who like shooting things and like a bit of tank fun!

What’s interesting about the music for this game?

The setting for this game makes it quite unique and required quite a specific style of music i.e. a USSR style military march. I worked with Antonin – the solo developer to the game, and composed the theme tune to Tank Tank Rush.

The track gets played in the game during the start menu and so it sets the scene for the game and is the first thing that one hears when looking at the game.

I was asked to create something that has a mix of feeling solemn and being something that one might listen to before going to war i.e. something that gives you courage for battle.

I wanted the game music to sound quite distinct and to work well with the look and feel of the game.

Antonin was also very clear that he didn’t want any other music within the game itself and so I felt that it was important to make this main theme tune track something special.

How did I go about creating the music for this game?

I listened to other music from this era and in this style to ‘get into the zone’. For me this is always an important step in creating any new piece of music as it gives me a good sense of the style when something specific is needed and is also a great source of inspiration and ideas.

I have experience in playing military style music and have heard quite a bit of it in my time. I’m a classically trained musician and used to play in various orchestras and so have a solid grasp of what an orchestra can do. I’ve also actually studied a few of the Russian composers in the past and so felt quite comfortable with this style. I’m very lucky to have had a lot of experience across a wide range of musical genres, which I think helps me a lot when it comes to being able to compose for different projects.  I love listening to different kinds of music and the variety that comes my way when being asked to work on and create new music. 

Any other thoughts or tips when creating game music?

I've created the music for several indie games now (have a little listen) and absolutely love it! One of the amazing things is how different each game can be and therefore, the wide range of music styles I've had the opportunity to create music in.

One thing I'd say is not to limit yourself when deciding what kind of music you think could fit your game. Take the time to explore different styles and to understand what you really like yourself vs. what you feel others may like to hear when playing your game. You don't have to do what others do necessarily either. Let your creativity flow and let your composer work with you to find a unique sound for your game. (Also see: How to Communicate Effectively with a Composer)

When creating music for a game, it's always important to fully understand the setting for where the music fits with everything, so that when composing, you can create something that will enhance the gameplay and immerse people into that world and specific section of the game. 

All music in a game is important I feel, however, the main theme tune should certainly be given extra attention since it's the tune that should stick in people's mind for a while and that they are most likely to associate with your game. 

I hope some of this has been interesting! Good luck with your game development and if you'd like some custom music for your game, get in touch!

Other articles in the 'Introducing the game music' series:

• Introducing Shakey’s Escape Original Game Music Soundtrack

• Introducing the Game Music for Arty Swirly Colourful

You may also like:

• 5 Ways to Use Music in Your Game

• Why Music in Games is So Important

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About the author: Ninichi is a freelance composer and music enthusiast. She has composed the soundtracks and music to several indie games. Contact her: to explore working with her on your game, film or media project.

Check out examples of Ninichi's game music compositions and soundtracks & read more articles like this on the Ninichi music blog. 

Follow her @ninichimusic

3 Basic but Important Game Music Rules!

By Ninichi | Contact | Follow

When it comes to the music and/or soundtrack to your game, it’s really important to get some basics right. For some people it’s easy to identify and decide on what sort of style and mood you want for different parts of your game. For others, it can be really tough, since there will be various different options and directions that you could go in, and it can be hard to tell what would fit best and be most well received by players of your game.

It’s challenging for me to help you choose the right music for your particular game without knowing much more about it, but there are some general rules that I hope may help you in your decision making around what kind of game music you might like for your game and also where you might want to get it from…

1. Game music is there to support the gameplay

That means that it should NOT be overwhelming or too distracting. It is there to enhance, engage and support, not be the centre of everything. Great game music adds to the experience and heightens the emotions that you feel as you move through the game.

If working with a composer, it’s important that they understand this and aren’t the type to create music that takes away the focus from your game. A good composer will know how to create music that has that precise balance that’s needed to capture one’s attention enough to be interesting and fun to listen to but which is still something that sits neatly in the background to the main gameplay.

2. A lot of game music loops

Most game soundtracks will consist of looping tracks, which are between 30 seconds to 2 minutes long, on average. That means that although the tracks shouldn’t be overwhelming, they also shouldn’t be too repetitive either.  They may be played over and over again depending on how long someone plays the game for, and so ideally you’ll want your music to be fun and engaging to listen to several times. 

This means that you probably want your composer to have a real talent for melody and for developing tunes in a way that they can be repeated several times without becoming boring or annoying. Tunes that are too simple, can be often too easy to remember and hence when they’re repeating often, it becomes irritating. However, tunes that are too complex aren’t memorable or catchy at all and thus aren’t usually great to listen to.

3. Consistency and coherence

Whether you’ve decided to work with one composer, multiple composers or to source your music from elsewhere, it’s important to think about the consistency of the music across your soundtrack and within your game.

Across your game you will mostly likely want and need a variety of different types of music to bring out different aspects of your game. Whilst the variety in the moods and potentially styles and important and useful to help bring your game, game areas/locations and characters or situations to life, it’s also important to have a sense of consistency and coherence across all of the game music.

It needs to sound as though it’s all part of the same game and fits well within the game world. This is often tricky to do if using music from a wide variety of sources because the styles, instrumentation, sounds etc. can all be quite different. To someone playing your game, if the music doesn’t have that sense of coherence, the game may feel quite disjointed.

I hope you’ve found this article useful! If you find yourself getting a bit confused when it comes to the music for your game and/or would like some help with it, do feel free to contact me. I’d be delighted to work with you on your game music and look forward to hearing about your wonderful project!

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About the author: Ninichi is a freelance composer and music enthusiast. She has composed the soundtracks and music to several indie games. Contact her: to explore working with her on your game, film or media project.

Check out examples of Ninichi's game music compositions and soundtracks & read more articles like this on the Ninichi music blog. 

Follow her @ninichimusic

5 Things to Think About When Creating Podcast Intro Music

By Ninichi | Contact | Follow

Firstly, what is podcast intro music? Well, it’s the music that plays at the start of your podcast that acts as the introduction to your show. It’s how your podcast opens up and can be where you may want to introduce yourself and the show to your audience or it’s the little jingle that plays before you start talking.

As a jingles composer (check out some of my jingles), I often get asked to create podcast intro music and outro music for different shows, which includes podcasts, web-series, videos, TV shows and more. It’s important to think about what kind of music you want for your intro because it is usually in those first few seconds of a podcast, that people decide whether or not to continue listening or not.

So here are a few things that you may want to consider when deciding on your podcast intro music in order to make sure you make a great first impression:

1. What style of music do you want?

There are many different kinds of music and so one of the things to try and get clearer about is what sort of sounds and style would represent you and your show best.

Do you want instrumental music or do you want some singing and lyrics in the intro? Are there certain instruments that you really love the sound of, or do you want electronic sounds or some other kind of music?

2. What might your listeners like to hear?

Who will be listening to your podcast or who would you like to attract to your show? Is there a certain kind of music that might work well for them and that they would enjoy listening to? Ask your target audience and get a feel for what might be good.

Do you run a gaming podcast for example? If so, perhaps some game music would work best to represent you and the show e.g. several gaming channels that I’ve created intros for have gone for an 8-bit / chip-tune style intro to give a retro-gaming vibe to their show. These seem to work really well and get people excited and hyped up about the podcast.

3. What kind of mood do you want your podcast intro to set?

I’ve just mentioned that for some of the intros I’ve done, they were about hyping people up and putting people in a good mood for the rest of the show. Is this the kind of mood you want for the show or would something else work better?

Think about what your podcast is about, the type of content and topics that you cover and from that determine what sort of mood you want people to be in when they listen to your podcast.

If you’re podcast is all about de-stressing, yoga or meditation for example, then the music for your podcast intro may want to be calming. Otherwise many tend to want to set people in a good mood but still figure out what this means for you e.g. do you want people to simply feel happy, or inspired, excited, uplifted, ready-for-action or something else?

4. Decide how long you want your intro to be

How long are your overall podcast episodes and how long should your intro be? Most of the podcast intros I’ve done have been between 30-60 seconds. Some are shorter e.g. 15 seconds and other shows have longer theme tunes.

Think about how long you feel is long enough to grab people’s attention and get them hooked into your show, however, I’d recommend keeping it fairly short and sweet to maintain that interest.

5. How do you want your intro to start and end?

This may sound like an odd question but can be quite important in the development of your podcast intro music. Do you want the intro music to gradually build up, or to start with a bang, or maybe end with a bang? Or, would it work better to maintain the same feeling, mood and pace throughout?

These are all hopefully useful questions to think about in order to ensure that you are making the most out of your podcast intro music.   

Want some help with your podcast intro music?

It'll be great to learn more about your podcast and to work on the intro music for your show. Contact me now and let's talk! Let's see what we can do together! OR explore my music catalogue for a variety of ready-to-use royalty free jingles (intros and outros) created especially with gaming channels and podcasts in mind.

What to read next: How to Create An Effective Podcast Intro or Jingle

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About the Author:

Ninichi is a freelance jingles composer, game music composer and film music composer. She has created theme tunes, intros and outros for various adverts, podcasts and shows, as well as composing original soundtracks to different indie games and films. Learn more about Ninichi here.

If you need help with music, contact her now to discuss your project and music needs.