Last week, we paid tribute to On, the creator of EyezMaze, for his game Tontie Hammer, the main inspiration for the gameplay of Kawaii Killer.
Today, we’d like to focus on the music. We did not make the sounds alone, we worked with Audioplum Studio for the sound design. We had already worked with them for the prototype of the game during a Game Jam, Kawaii Must Die, and we wanted to continue with them. We gave them some guidance concerning the music we wanted, but they were also given creative freedom.
The essence of the OST
First, they sent us two versions for the main theme for the title screen. The first was a J-Pop version with some retro sounds, which was discarded. The second was more rhythmic and used 8/16 bits / General Midi sounds, with some battery and electric guitar.
The Speedrun mode and Grunty’s Lair
Indeed, the speedrun music is very particular, because it’s composed of 3 different tracks. These are played depending on the player skill. In the beginning, the music is quite simple, but it gains new instruments and effects if the player does not make mistakes. The game environment also changes with the music, going from a grey and cloudy landscape to a more colorful and happy one. This cohesion between the gameplay and music comes also from Banjo-Kazooie, the most obvious example being the main hub theme: “Grunty’s Lair“. The melody is always the same, but the instruments change depending on where the player is. When the player is next to the aztec world, the melody is played by a pan flute, with voices saying some kind of mystical words. But when the player approaches the island level, two accordions play a pirate version of the theme.
And this principle can be found through the whole game, each level having its theme modified multiple times depending on the player location. For instance, the Click Clock Wood level has 24 different tracks, which are played depending on the season and the player actions. A few weeks ago, Grant Kirkhope published the absolutely-complete soundtrack of Banjo-Kazooie, with every music used in the game. It’s interesting to hear these variations and imagine the amount of work done on this game. This music can be found here: Banjo-Kazooie: Everything and the Kitchen Sink!