Music for the Age of the Dragon Project
The Age of the Dragon Project is pretty much defunct at this point, however this page is here for historical reasons, and to make available the music which had been written for it.
This page contains some MIDI's which have been composed for the Age of the Dragon Project. I'm trying to get this stuff organized and perhaps place the tunes to a particular locale or otherwise.
| Title | Loop | Song | Comments |
| Adagio: The Battlefield | Y | MID | Slow, sad, mournful tune. Seems appropriate for a return to the desolation of the battlefield after the battle. View the wreckage that war causes, and remeber the consequences... |
| Deep Sea | Y? | MID | Echoing, sweeping effect, enchanted-like sounds. Suitable for the mystic undersea... sort of a floating around peaceful feeling. Nice ambience and atmosphere, and feelings of the mysterious. |
| Dying | Y? | MID | Somewhat sad at the beginning, then lightens up slightly and builds up to a feeling of determination... picture an 'autoplay' sequence of a funeral/etc., where after paying their last respects, the party marches on to continue their quest. |
| Endgame | N | MID | Feeling of tension, that something is about to happen. Song eventually fades away into silence. I had some problem with the many empty tracks in this MID foul up one of my MIDI players, though others seem to handle it properly. |
| Gnome Cave | N? | MID | Optimistic-sounding tune, peaceful. Do we actually have gnomes in this game? |
| Jungle | N | MID | Drum beats give a jungle-like feel. Sounds optimistic, not debilitated by heat, monsters, tropical sicknesses... Somewhat tension-building, though not particularly too frantic. |
| Marketplace | N | MID | Medieval feeling; makes me think of a flyby of a busy scene. Frantic bartering, perhaps? The ending suggests a festival-type atmosphere, people having fun with each other, dances, etc... |
| Medieval Town | N? | MID | Suggestive of older, rustic times. A peaceful town with friendly people and atmosphere, going about their daily business with no worries. |
| Shady Glade | N | MID | Peaceful, calm and relaxing, but not sleepy. "Shady Glade" seems to describe it well... a haven which you have reached in your journeyings where you can stop and relax for a while... |
| War | N | MID | Very reminicent of Mars: The Bringer of War (Gustav Holst). Doesn't really feel like a march, perhaps somewhat more like everything sitting in preparation, awaiting the storm. |
| Title | Loop | Song | Comments |
| MVD1 | Y? | MID | Difficult to place a feeling to this tune. It seems slow and menacing at the beginning, then triumph seems to make an appearance. This one could be looped if the timing was adjusted a bit at the end to blend into the beginning. |
| MVD2 | Y | MID | Tension-building at times, gives an uncertain feeling at others. Possibly for final adjustments to the Creation Device? It seems to fit with the relentless drums and rhythm, and those tubular bells have been suggested for use with the Creation Device. |
| MVD3 | N | MID | Sea shanty-like, slightly wacky-sounding. Moves into a fearful part, and then back to the shanty. This might work well if an autoplay or animation was timed to it... the launch, movement into fearful waters, and then passing through safely. |
| MVD4 | N? | MID | Sounds like a haunted house, though seems somewhat Mario-like to me Not exactly frightening, though definitely an uncertain feeling, facing the unknown... I got the idea of 'museum' stuck in my mind once while listening to this. |
| MVD5 | N | MID | This one made me think of Star Control 2. Ambient-sounding sweeps, definitely for an out-of-normal locale. Perhaps another undersea song? |
| MVD6 | N | MID | Makes me think of somebody reminiscing of old times... Flashbacks to times past, good memories... |
| Title | Loop | Song | Comments |
| Village | N | MID | Quiet town, though closed and very close within, but not welcome to strangers or wanderers from outside the town. I don't know why I got that thought in my mind, but that's what it seemed... perhaps because of those somewhat disconcerting chords in there which seem to suggest that the town isn't quite that friendly... |
| Title | Loop | Song | Comments |
| Desert | N | MID | Makes me think of a long journey through parts unknown. Not not necessarily a desert, though nothing is ruling that out. The rhythm fits well with a travelling theme, while the melody evokes feelings of a voyage... |
| Library | N? | MID | Provides an ambient atmosphere that fits with a library scene. Might be able to loop with some adjustment to timing. |
| Stranger | N | MID | Feels like a voyage... 'A stranger in a strange land' as Greg put it. Seems sad, but hopeful. Perhaps played when the hero first arrives. |
| Tale | Y? | MID | Sad tale, perhaps a tragedy. Having only strumming on a lute (or equivalent) makes this suitable for a situational piece, played by a lone bard, perhaps. |
| Title | Loop | Song | Comments |
| Regalia | Y | MID | Sort of a march. I was thinking about castles, royalty, knights, etc. Has a bit of fear/awe-evoking undertones. Mainly patriotic-type feeling though... 'confident overlords'. Perhaps music for a castle. |
| Mystic Virtue | Y | MID | This started off as an attempt at a theme for the Dragons, but right now I'm thinking of Still Water Vale. I tried to give a feeling of hidden power. There are also some mournful undertones to the song. I think Q mentioned 'chanting monks'. Lyrics, anybody? |
| Emotion | Y | MID | Some sort of emotion. Perhaps sad, or softly happy (ie. not an overwhelming happiness). |
| Impromptu | N | MID |
This is supposed to be a situational piece, perhaps in an inn/pub. List of performers for world-builders possible interest:
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| Voyage: Embarkation | Y | MID | This one is sorta unfinished, I'm still looking to fix some of that harmony. The tune is supposed to represent the setting out of a journey. |
| Lament for the land | N | MID | This song is for the bard strumming away to himself in the corner on his lute. The instruments used are basically the lute, and one for the singer's voice (which I've used Oohs for right now, but may change in the future). Tentative lyrics are here... let me know how I can improve them (I'm not exactly a poet!) |
| Soleden: Land of Fire | Y | MID | My second attempt at composing a song for the dragons. I'm thinking of rearranging this for a second song for the dragons in the future. I tried to convey a sense of strangeness and unknown and some uneasiness for the wanderer. And the point where the music changes perhaps you walk over a rise and notice the alien beauty of the land, or perhaps you observe the majestic flight of a dragon overhead... It's still unfinished, I want to extend that part a bit, and work on the ending a bit more. |
| Title | Loop | Song | Comments |
| Time | N | MID | This song makes me think of a peaceful, quiet, restful place, perhaps a theme for sleeping/resting? I think my words in my email to Nick was something about getting away from the stress of school/etc. :-) |
| Title | Loop | Song | Comments |
| Atmos | N | MID | This song gives a certain disconcerting feeling... perhaps a dungeon song or some other mysterious place? We're sorta lacking this type of bad-feeling song (which I have difficulty in making), though there are elements of this in some others (village.mid, mvd3.mid). |
| Ballad | N | MID | Seems suitable for a story, played in the background while somebody tells their tale to you. (this MID seems to be missing a tempo event). |
| The Colour of Pain | N | MID | Also disconcerting, perhaps played when something bad has happened and you need to get out of it... perhaps you have to think your way out of some trap/other? Might want to change the instruments around a bit to make it fit more the time period... |
| The Forelorn Hope | N | MID | This one made me think of somebody walking away from you, or you remembering something long ago. Reminiscing, or watching a certain scene play out in front of you, which is is perhaps slightly sad... somewhat of a contemplative mood as well. |
| Gates | N | MID | I had a hard time placing a description to this one. When the drums come in, it seems to be in anticipation of something. (this MID seems to be missing a tempo event). An uncertain feeling... |
| Shadows | ? | MID | Starts of with a mystic feeling... (the particular instrument for some reason brings to my mind the scene of an ice cave) someplace strange... then adds an element of fear as the orchestra hits start playing their incessant rhythm. |
| Wanderer's Ballad | ? | MID | Perhaps a wanderer's theme, for people trodding along a path towards a certain destination. The Unicorn instrument suggests some element of the unknown, while the rest seems quite optimistic... the journey won't be too bad... |
Loop refers to whether the song could be looped to the beginning without delay and sound okay. These are my subjective judgements:
For now, I pretty much consider any of these MIDI's as works-in-progress; they could be modified, improved, rearranged, whatever in the future. Nothing is really "finalized", though some authors may not be touching any of these songs again... I'll leave the option open. I'll mainly be making comments on "feel", on how the music might fit into the game, though there are a few musical comments in there here and there. I think I'll leave that mainly to personal mail/advice.
If you have any comments to send me or wish added to the list, please send them to me.
All songs here Copyrighted to their respective authors and the Age of the Dragon Project. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.