How I Started Making Music for Indie Games
A Journey…
Recently, someone reached out to me a on my Discord server (you can join here if you like!) and asked about how to get started with making music for video games.
For those who are new here, I make music for indie games and other projects. I also have been fortunate to have been commissioned to make soundtracks for a few games as well—and I’ve started to build a small-but-growing audience in doing this.
I was really flattered to be asked this question and I hope that by sharing a bit about how I got started, other producers can find helpful tips as they embark on their own journeys!
As you may already know, the first step is building a portfolio of your tracks and sharing them.
So let’s talk about that…
I Built a Music Portfolio Tailored Toward Game Creators and Developers
I don’t think I need to tell you how to literally make a portfolio—there are a ton of places online that will host your music.
The best piece of advice I could give to anyone starting out is when creating tracks for your portfolio, make music that is based around a video game concept.
Visualize the kind of game your music will be for, and then start creating.
In my case, I’m really passionate about making music that has a retro game sound—music that sounds like it could be from the SNES. Two of my free music packs available online were inspired by games like Castlevania 4 or Yoshi’s Island. For example, when creating a music pack called “Froggi’s Adventure,” I imagined a fictional platformer game where the player controls a frog and tries to hop across lily pads in a pond. The game would be light hearted and fun to play, and the sound pack I made reflects this.
Lastly, I happen to use the marketplace itch.io as my host for the music. I knew indie game creators used this website, so by also using it, I knew I could reach the right audience.
I Put Music Out for Free and Shared It Where Game Developers and Creators Might Find It
You have to start building an audience.
I made a bunch of my music discography free for use under attribution on itch.io, which helped me earn a small audience on that website.
Around the same time I also made posts to Discord spaces like the Godot Discord and other indie game engine Discords. I also shared my free stuff on Reddit and told as many people as I could.
Some people started listening to what I put out and I eventually found clients who liked my style and commissioned me for soundtracks for their projects.
I don’t think there’s a fast and easy way to do this part—you just have to put yourself out there and make connections!
I Continue to Put Out Tracks and Collaborate With Other Game Makers and Creatives
There’s no replacement for simply working on your craft and putting in the hours. Just this year, I’ve released 10 different albums (or sound packs) to my itch.io and my bandcamp. I’m working on an 11th album right now.
In addition to creating constantly, I make sure I collaborate with other creatives as well! As I mentioned up above, I run a Discord where I talk to other music makers and game creators. Having a safe place to share your work with other creatives is hugely valuable.
I think staying creative is the most important thing you can do. When I’m not making music I’m usually developing other creative works, like my own indie game projects, or writing for this blog.
All I can say is keep creating and sharing. Good things can happen.
Until next time,
—Azakaela
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