Song creation guide
Song competition details
- As the total quality of songs including arrangement will be judged, please make your songs as professional sounding as possible before submitting them
- Please submit full length songs (the appropriate length of songs is explained below).
- If your song has lyrics, please attach them as a text file to your submission.
Notes regarding the creation of songs
- 1Song length should be between 1:30 and 2:00
This is a suitable length for a game song. If you are able to structure the song so that it doesn’t sound repetitive, a length of up to about 2:30 is acceptable.
- 2Avoid having a second verse for songs with lyrics
This is dependent on the length of each verse and chorus, but in general having a second verse where only the lyrics change leads to a feeling of repetitiveness and so should be avoided. For songs with lyrics, the [Intro - A - B - C - D - B’ - C - Outro] is a popular structure.
- 3As a general rule, keep the tempo constant
In consideration of the ease of performance and ease of synchronizing the music to the game display, please avoid unnecessary tempo changes. There is no problem with tempo changes such as those tied to the structure of the song, or a ritardando where the song gradually slows down.
- 4Loudness
If master bus compression or limiting is too heavy, the clarity of each part will be reduced which may affect our ability to judge the rhythm or arrangement of your song. Please aim for a loudness of about 6 dB less than commercial songs.
- Good example
There is very little compression or limiting on the master bus, each part has enough space, and all instruments can be heard clearly.
- Bad example 1
The song is too loud due to heavy compression or limiting on the master bus.
Flashy sounds such as synths stand out too much, making it comparatively hard to hear other delicate or important sounds.
In addition, the loss of dynamic range causes sections that should be exciting to sound weak, unfortunately making it more difficult for judges to recognize the talent and effort put into making the song.
- Bad example 2
Due to effects on the master bus and the overall mix balance, sounds are too concentrated in the low end. While at first it may feel like it has impact, delicate and high frequency sounds are pushed into the corners, producing another unfortunate result, as in the previous example. - 5Deliverables
- 6Regarding lyrics
As this content is targeted at all ages, we ask that you avoid lyrics that are explicit or inappropriate for children.
About the files to be submitted
- Please submit audio files in mp3 format (192kbps recommended).
- To avoid trouble with files, use only alphanumeric characters in file names.
- In lyric text files, please include “Song name”, “Lyricist name”, and “Lyrics” in that order.
- The uploading of an artist image is optional. When submitting multiple songs, please use the same artist image for each song.