A word (or two) from Motoi Sakuraba... 🎼✨

Happy Saturday, backers! I hope you've got cartoons and cereal on your docket this morning as we air our trailer in the Future of Play show, Saturday Morning Cartoon-style. We've also got a new social reward unlocked, and some words from our renowned composer! Let's get started!

Goal update!

Stretch Goals

Current goal: Japanese Voice Acting - €195k/€205k

We're past half way on our progress to our next stretch goal: Japanese Voice Acting! We hope we can hit this before the end of the weekend so we can reveal our next stretch goal in our final week, let's go!

Social Goals

Current goal: Printable Box Art - 11/12 Goals

We have unlocked our next social goal reward: a mini digital artbook for all tiers! That means even if you didn't back at an artbook tier, you'll get a mini PDF version, which will still give you a taste of some of the art and concepts from development. Plus, the fanart from our contest will be in the mini one as well!

A word from Motoi Sakuraba…

As seen in the Future of Play pre-show, here is a word from our soundtrack composer, Motoi Sakuraba!

We've also been lucky enough to ask him some additional questions, which we will include below in English and in the original Japanese. We're grateful we got the chance to hear a bit about his process and revisit some of his past works.

Q, 取り組んでいるRPG音楽の中で一番好きなタイプは何ですか? (戦闘音楽、キャラクターテーマ、街の音楽など)

Ans, 戦闘曲とダンジョン曲、フィールド曲を作るのが好きです。

Q: What is your favourite type of RPG music to compose? (Battle music, character themes, town music, etc.)

A: I enjoy composing battle music, dungeon music, and field music.

Q, 静かな雨の午後を過ごし、ゲームのサウンドトラックを聴きながらリラックスできるとしたら、どれを選びますか? 別の質問: 静かな雨の午後、いつもどんな音楽を聴きますか?

Ans, テイルズ オブ アライズのサウンドトラックです。山の中に住んでいるので、静かな雨の午後は音楽ではなく、自然の音に耳を傾けています。木に風が当たって聴こえる葉音、鳥の鳴き声等が良く聴こえます。

Q: If you could spend a quiet rainy afternoon relaxing while listening to a game soundtrack, which one would you choose? Another question: What music do you usually listen to on a quiet rainy afternoon?

A: The soundtrack of Tales of Arise. Since I live in the mountains, on a quiet rainy afternoon, I listen to the sounds of nature rather than music. I can clearly hear the sounds of the wind blowing through the trees, the rustling of the leaves, and the chirping of birds.

Q, 新しい RPG プロジェクトで音楽を開始するプロセスは何ですか?

Ans, シナリオを読んだり、グラフィックデータ等を参考に世界観を把握します。あとは曲仕様に従って必要な資料を集めたりしてデモ曲を作ります。

Q: What is your process for starting music on a new RPG project?

A: I start by reading the scenario and referring to graphic data to understand the world view. Then, according to the music specifications, I gather the necessary materials and create demo tracks.

Q, ALZARA Radiant Echoesの音楽はどのようなインスピレーションから得ましたか?

Ans, 主人公たちの信念、地中海という場所やそこで使用されている楽器の音色などからインスピレーションを得ました。

Q: What inspired the music for ALZARA Radiant Echoes?

A: I was inspired by the beliefs of the protagonists, the Mediterranean location, and the sounds of the instruments used there.

Q, 誰かがあなたの作品のミックステープまたはプレイリストを作成するとしたら、どの曲があなたの一連の作品を最もよく表すと思いますか?

Ans,ゲーム音楽に関しては作品の数が多いので、どの曲という風に限定は出来ませんが、「ヴァルキリープロファイル」「バテンカイトス」の通常戦闘曲でしょうか。ゲーム以外だと「戯曲音創」「Forest of glass」の全曲です。これらのアルバムは1曲だけでは成り立っておらず、全曲を聴いて初めて成り立つように作っています。

Q: If someone were to create a mixtape or playlist of your work, which tracks do you think best represent your body of work?

A: Since I have many game music works, it's difficult to specify a single track, but perhaps the regular battle music from "Valkyrie Profile" and "Baten Kaitos." Outside of games, I would say the entire albums of "Gikyokuonsou" and "Forest of Glass." These albums are designed to be understood as a whole, not just by listening to a single track.

Q,特に扱うのが好きな楽器はありますか?また、それらの楽器はどのようにあなたの音楽に取り入れられていますか?

Ans,ピアノとハモンドオルガンです。ピアノは曲を作り始める時には最初に使う楽器です。オーケストラ編成の曲であっても曲の基本になる部分はピアノで作って、弦や金管楽器の部分を作った後に必要が無ければピアノパートだけ抜いてしまう事もあります。ハモンドオルガンはロック系の激しい曲に音を歪ませて入れる事が多いです。

Q: Are there any instruments you particularly enjoy using? How are they incorporated into your music?

A: Piano and Hammond organ. I use the piano as the first instrument when starting to compose a piece. Even in orchestral arrangements, I create the fundamental parts with the piano and sometimes remove the piano part if it's not needed after adding strings and brass. I use the Hammond organ with a distorted sound in intense rock pieces.

Q,まだ取り組んだことのない音楽ジャンルでインスピレーションを受けているものはありますか?

Ans,長年作曲をしているので、おそらく殆どの音楽ジャンルは取り組んできていると思います。

Q: Is there a genre of music you haven't tackled yet but are inspired by?

A: I have been composing for many years, so I think I have tackled almost all music genres.

Q,現代音楽から何かインスピレーションを得ていますか？最近のお気に入りはありますか？

Ans,最近の新しい音楽はあまり聴いていないかもしれません。どうしても昔聴いていた音楽に戻ってしまいます。ただ映画はよく観るので、そのサウンドトラックからはサウンドデザインのインスピレーションを得ていると思います。

Q: Do you get any inspiration from contemporary music? Any recent favourites?

A: I might not listen to much new music lately. I often go back to the music I used to listen to. However, I do watch a lot of movies and draw sound design inspiration from their soundtracks.

Q,仕事中に一緒にいてくれるペットを飼っていますか?

Ans,仕事部屋にはいませんが、ウサギとモルモットを飼っています。

Q: Do you have any pets that keep you company while you work?

A: I don't have any in my workroom, but I do have a rabbit and a guinea pig.

A Community Playlist

We are opening up our next JRPG Playlist to our community to celebrate Sakuraba-san's contributions! Our fifth playlist will be made from your suggestions, which you can add to our Discord server in the #jrpg-music channel. The theme for this playlist is “Leitmotifs,” which can mean boss themes, character themes, or any quintessential music that genuinely represents the themes of the game it is in.

A new social goal has also been opened, and once 30 people share their favourite tracks, it will be unlocked! So come help us make a mixtape for the ages!

JRPG Treasures: Vol. 1 / Vol. 2 / Vol. 3 / Vol. 4

If you came to us from Future of Play, hello! If you’ve been here the whole time, how did you get in my house…

Thanks again to all our backers; we hope you have a great weekend! It is our FINAL week, so if you’re still looking to back the campaign, you should go do that now! I’ll wait here.

Until next time! 💛 Colin & the team at Studio Camelia