Hi guys!
I have a very specific question.
My partner and I are currently composing and sound designing for our first real project, a game that was incredibly fortunate to be picked up by an international distributer. The game's production commenced in June, and is (formally) stated for an April/May release.
We have been a part of the team and the game from the beggining, from mid 2016, but this was very very early in the dev process and the game has changed drastically since (for the better).
Our engagement was due to begin on the 1st of August and end on December 1st (we weren't involved in this decision, it was handed to us), plus 1 month of engagement in the post production phase, and the current status of the game simply doesn't, at least in my very green perception, allow for us to complete our job within the timeline. Specifically, the game will have a strong artistic feel, and the music/sound design plays a pivotal role in the feel of the game (there is no dialogue of any kind and the communication is mostly through gestures). Having said that, the game is currently still in deep development, it consists of three acts, the first act is near the finish line (about 30 percent of the game), the second and third are in very early prototype form with the models/level design still to b integrated/specified. The animations and cutscenes have only just started with production, and as I have stated, they too will play an incredibly important part of the story, and I am yet to see any version of them, I know only the global ideas for them. The levels are pretty complex and considering there aren't any loading screens anywhere, a smooth flow isn't very simple to conceive without seeing some specific posts within the levels themselves.
So, my question is, in your experience, did you formally begin working further on down the development process, and were you expected to finish this early? From what I have gathered from fellow sound designers and composers, it was my understanding they were involved up until the release, so come post production time, that was the height of their engagement, and we aren't even near the alpha phase.
I am friends with the team, we have known each other for two years so if I receive information about different practices within the game development community regarding composing/sound design timeframes, it shouldn't be a problem talking about a different deal. They are also good and kind people, but very ambitious and eager (which is why I don't want to dissapoint in any way).
Also, this is a first project for all of us, so we are not savy with common practices, and considering the complexity of the soundtrack itself (it will feature heavy interactive audio implementation and a soundtrack of over an hour and half) you can understand my dilemma. I truly want to deliver as best as possible, but I feel that this isn't the right way to do it.
The distributers have so far been happy with our work, and we do not feel any pressure on that front as well.
And lastly, we have sketches for all the segments of the game (we are finalising the first act so we can coincide with their completion of it), and in an optimistic scenario, hope to have all the ingame tracks finished by the deadline, with all the SFX done until our formal deadline.
To summise, the sitch; we have a formal time slot within the development, but it doesn't seem realistic considering the game is nowhere near its representative state, when did you generally enter within the development process? Oh and yes, for that extra time we would, hopefully negotiate, we would of course not seek for additional funding. We will stick by our first arrangment of five months contract, but this is all for us to get the work done right.
So guys, if anyone could share their experiences and whether you have any solid advice, I would really appreciate it because we want to communicate this in the best way possible. This really has all the engridients of a special game and we don't want to do something superficially.
Huge thanks to anyone in advance, and sorry for the abundance of info, but I found it all to be important to convey the whole picture due to the specific situation
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