Memories of a Misty Seashore Main Theme
In my first semester project, I mentioned that I wanted to compose a waltz-style piece in 3/4 time, similar to the melodies from Rusty Lake Family Tune. However, I gave up back then because I was worried I wouldn’t be able to handle the left-hand harmonies. But for this project, I decided to give it a try.
While I don’t have a solid background in chord progression, I was able to make a few basic improvements with the help of my sister, who has studied music theory. In the end, the result sounded reasonable.
The composition process for the melody wasn’t particularly difficult, I simply wrote down whatever tune came to mind. The entire piece is built around a single melody, with only variations in rhythm and some minor modifications based on the original theme.
I completed this piece at the very beginning of the project. According to the original GDD, one of the game’s core features was the switching between two perspectives: the detective and the killer. So, I wanted to create a single melody that would feel like two different pieces depending on the perspective. In my concept, the first half of the main theme—written in 4/4 time—represents the detective’s point of view. The melody is heavier, reflecting the detective’s struggle with not yet uncovering the truth. The second half, in 3/4 time, represents the killer’s perspective. Due to changes in the story that Youth and I made, the killer ended up being a different character than originally planned. As a result, the tone of this section shifted from something eerie and sinister to something much more sorrowful.
I used the piano to carry the main melody in the first half, and shifted the lead to the cello in the second half. The cello’s deeper, more mournful sound helped emphasise the killer’s sadness, serving as a quiet foreshadowing.
However, after completing the entire game, I realized that these two parts of the melody could also be seen as a reflection of the killer’s life. The first half represents a time before being abandoned by their mother, a period of relative normalcy. The second half, in contrast, reflects the pain and loneliness that followed, along with the gradual distortion of their psyche.
Background Music in The Game
The first half of the main theme was too fast, and the melody too brief to work as background music. So I chose to use the second half, led by the cello, as the in-game background track. Its slower pace and structure allowed it to loop seamlessly, making it much more suitable for gameplay.
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