Automatennui

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On my website.

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Created for OST Composing Jam #7, Automatennui (a combination of "automaton" and "ennui") is an OST for an imaginary, Psychonauts-inspired action game in which the protagonist must traverse the minds of NPCs to battle their mental illnessess/infections. Next to the image prompt, the phrase "inside my world" feels so inviting. My first instinct, even, was to go with the image because of how warm and soft it looked. But the more I thought about the phrase, I wondered what it would look like if you removed the inviting association provided by the image. What if you weren't invited? What if you were intruding "inside my world"? One aspect from the image that I did gravitate towards—and ultimately ended up including in the final concept—was the idea of an imaginary world inside someones mind, which was kind of implied to me by the scribbly fish. As I wrote more (and partly due to my personal composition style), I settled on the idea of these NPCs being robots or computer programs instead of humans, and what would affect their "mental state". One of the main concepts I infused into the tracks to tie them together was a feeling of intrusion. Frequent interruptions of the musical material provide stark tonal contrasts moment to moment. In-game, these would accompany sudden, drastic changes to the overworld environment.

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Electric Sheep (Title and Demo; Credits)

Opening the game, players would be met with this track. After a brief time waiting on the title, the classic VG "demo mode" would begin, showing gameplay and hinting at the story. "Electric Sheep" introduces the bright arpeggios and interruptions that will become a staple in this OST.

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Android Insomniac (Level and Boss)

Concept for one of the levels and boss battles in this game, perhaps near the beginning. I often imagine what it must be like for my laptop when I leave it on for weeks at a time (sorry techies, my uptime is terrible) and how it might affect an artificial intelligence to be left on indefinitely, without a chance to clear its cache or perform other important processes linked to powering down.

Furthering the idea of interruption, I imagine the quick cycling back and forth of moods to involve almost nightterror-esque visuals directly following a slightly more laid-back atmosphere to capture the loopy state we've all found ourselves in when sleep-deprived. The player won't have much time to catch their breath in between these shifts. Leading directly into the boss battle, the titular "Android Insomniac" gives a quick spiel before the battle begins. Switching the musical material yet again, this section creates an energetic and hardcore electro feel as the android's processors rev like engines to display its full power.

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Virotechnics (Final Level)

Starting out deceptively chill, the boss of this area quickly interjects to make the player understand that their guard should not be dropped. Infected with a maddening virus it yet retains some control, incorporating the virus into the level as obstacles and enemies (I imagined it similar to the TotK "gloom" mechanic in a way, with a glitchy twist). The virus has still taken its toll, however: musically, the beats don't seem to line up where they should, creating moments of relative chaos amongst the otherwise technical arpeggios. Upon reaching the boss, and in a brief moment of clarity, the suffering robot pleads with the player to release it from its madness. It reveals the original intention of its design: as a therapy bot meant to aid those in need. It laments the state in which it has fallen and longs to be helpful again. The glitchy "voice", frenetic and babbling, nonetheless betrays the robot's pain and sadness at its infected state.

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Nonpracticing Empath (Final Boss)

The alarms are raised! The virus has taken back control of its victim and all hell breaks loose. The once-offbeat percussion has found its footing as the virus exerts its power over the poor robot's mind. After defeating the boss, it speaks again, similar to the previous track however the battle has taken a toll on the sanity of the bot. It's voice, once sad, has turned manic and unsettling as the robot short circuits. Despite the virus's defeat, you could not save the mind of the infected, who suddenly powers down. It thanks you for your efforts, nonetheless.

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Electric Sheep (Reprise) (Credits)

This theoretical 5th track would feature a return of the "Intro and Demo" theme listed above, acting now to accompany the end credits. While it is not strictly necessary, listeners are encouraged to play this track again after "Nonpracticing Empath" to achieve the desired effect. I chose not to include a second iteration within the files to avoid copy-pasting the same track twice.