Ivan Berlin
Programmer && Musician
Ivan Berlin is a second-year Computer Science and Cognitive Psychology major at Northeastern University who has a passion for programming, composing music, playing and analyzing videogames, and cats.
He is currently exploring how to interweave his wide array of interests by studying - and applying himself to - new programming domains, music genres, music production programs, and game-related software. His witty sense of humor is equally loved and hated by his friends and family.
Ecna Lab Breaker
Project Summary
Ecna Lab Breaker is a 2D Sidescroller set in feudal Japan and stylized with paper art. The player character has a cliche oversized sword which he struggles to handle, setting him off-balance. To fight his opponents, he’ll need to pace himself when running and strike with measure and grace. Otherwise, he’ll fall over and let his guard down.
Project Role(s)
I created the music and sound effects for the game. This included three music tracks and various sound effects for sword slashing, clashing, yelling, and ambiance. The game only used the first two tracks, one being for the opening and out-of-combat scenarios, the other being for combat. The out-of-combat music was inspired by Japanese-style Lo-Fi, like Elijah Nang’s Gaijin, as well as some traditional Japanese music theory and instruments (like the Miyako-Bushi scale and the Koto). Additionally, the in-combat music was influenced in part by Capcom Sound Team’s work on Devil May Cry 3, specifically Vergil’s third battle theme (the song was originally composed with a boss fight in mind).
What I Learned
Given the time constraints of the jam, I only spent about one or two hours researching before I started composing. However, what I learned about traditional Japanese music theory and instruments was still very influential for the jam. I used elements from my research in both the out-of-combat and in-combat themes throughout chord structures, scales, and instrumentation. I also experimented with a technique I learned that’s not too dissimilar from how Latin chants-of-old repeated phrases across voice types. At the 41-second mark of the combat music, I used a technique akin to what I learned from a video analyzing Hornet’s theme from Hollow Knight: I split up a single phrase across multiple string instruments each at different octaves. Afterwards, I brought the four instruments together simultaneously to add extra emphasis after the previous phrase’s build-up. Since this was my first game jam, I had to quickly learn how to balance time and effort while still maintaining a clear vision for the game’s soundscape.