Bugs & Bubbles (a FREE new iPhone game by Floating Cube Studios)

Hey guys, if you are not aware (although some of my twitter and facebook followers might know) I did some sideline work for a friend, Ian. He started up a company called Floating Cube Studios to develop iphone apps, and he needed background music for an iphone game he and his team were constructing. So I helped out.

Here’s the trailer of the game, you can hear three quarters of the loopable tune that I helped design for them.

Bugs and Bubbles Poster

FCS Bugs & Bubbles Credits

Anyway, this game is FREE, so if you have an iphone, check it out. Support floating cube studios, and feel free to give them comments and encouragements! I don’t have an iphone though. LOL

Hmmm I was wondering how to catagorize this blog post… I guess since this was volunteer work, but I personally get to build up my “portfolio”, I shall catagorize it under both ‘personal’ and ‘social work’. Hehehe.

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Ok a word about the music. I must say that I learnt alot during this experience – I have never been “comissioned” to produce a piece before, and I have learnt to put other people’s tastes as a priority over my own when working as a team.

Independent songwriting is great, you get to write whatever you want, and you can identify yourself to the music. You are the BOSS and you don’t have to discuss it with anybody else. If you have fans that love the song you wrote, great. If they don’t, doesn’t have to matter too much. 

But game songwriting is different. It is not about realizing the vision about songwriter, but about realizing the vision of the game creator… your tastes in music could be similar… or yours tastes could be totally different. You may not be able to identify with the music at all. I didn’t identify with this 2min+ piece of loopable music I created for Floating Cube Studios… it’s just not my style.

It was also not my 100% original creation, but an innovation from a 10 second copyright-free clip of mp3 that Floating Cube Studios sent me (Haha yeah, I’m really honest ;-) ). And as a first timer, that really helped me to understand the kind of music they wanted. Therefore I guess the term “Sound Composer” is apt because I added sounds to the original, such as guitar sounds. 

In conclusion: (1) There is no right and wrong to music, (2) put others’ needs before myself when writing a commercial piece, and (3) realise that I can expand my capacity to create styles of music that is different from my own.

Ahhh…Life is a learning journey. ^_^ I was also asked to create “sound effects”, but I was notsuccessful with those. I don’t have skills and resources to make suitable sounds, and I don’t have proper recording equipment… and I realised what an extensive field of knowledge and skill sound engineering is. Wow.

Luckily there are other sources where they could find appropriate sound effects for the game. Praise the Lord. =)

Love you all. Remember to check out the game if you have an iphone ^_^v

Seren’s Secret… 心弦の不能说的秘密…

For my ‘Spirit Teahouse 2010 Collection’, every week my video would be themed towards the particular season or holiday of that week or month. And today, is one of many Birthdays that I would highlight with my song of the week.

This week it is Jay Chou’s Birthday!

I thought very hard about what song I should play…but most of the pentatonic songs by Jay Chou have already been covered by another fellow youtuber bastian984! So I did not wanna cover those songs that he covered because there is no way I can play those songs better than he can, especially within one week (to learn, record, edit and upload) !!! Bastian 他真的弹得很棒!我好敬佩他!

So I decided to play a song that he has not covered…however, I did so much to play this song, that I was advised by my hubby and friends to keep it a secret… hence, “Seren’s Secret”.

Here’s my first example of what I mean by “Seren’s Secret”.

If you look at the “design” of the “Seren’s Secret” words…does it remind you of anything? Yes I was inspired by Jay’s Move “Secret” when I created it. I thought it fits my purpose perfectly ^_^v Hee hee…

I won’t be posting “Secret” songs too often, don’t worry. The next “Secret” Song would be in April.

I’ve got a new SerenKoo.Com custom-print cap! 我有个新“网站标志”帽!

Tada! I’m absolutely delighted!

I wonder what you guys think of it? 不知你们有什么感想?

Here’s what it looks like close up:

Front of SerenKoo.com cap. SerenKoo.Com帽的前样。

Tell me what you think. Is it cute? wierd? I think it’s just plain fun.

Please comment! And visit the gallery for more pictures. <3!