The musical brain behind the recently released open-world graffiti platformer Sludge Life2 is Adam "Doseone" Drucker, a veteran in hip-hop who has been releasing albums since the late 1990s. Doseone has a storied career, having competed against a then-unknown Eminem in a rap battle as well as recording alongside many legendary hip-hop artists like Aesop Rock and Atmosphere's Slug. After several decades and around two dozen albums and EPs, Doseone stepped into making music and sound design for video games, crafting the auditory backdrop for a number of indie titles.
In an interview with Game ZXC, Doseone spoke about his experience moving into indie game music and sound design, and how the task differs from the countless musical projects he's been involved with in the past. Doseone also offered some insight into how he approached Sludge Life's soundtrack in particular, as the game's unusual tone and theme called for an equally novel soundscape to complete the package.
Games like Sludge Life Give Musicians a Creative Direction
Doseone is a prolific musician whose body of work numbers in the hundreds of tracks, features, and collaborations, along with an equally impressive diversity in terms of lyrical themes and styles. Even after a highly productive music career, however, he still found that making music and sound design for video games demanded a new approach as he sought to create art that not only works on its own but suits the game's needs as well.
Well, it’s really allowed me to be a part of something bigger than just the "life loop" that leads to me making new music. I’m now an important piece of a far more important and robust whole. Making music and sound design for games allows me to rise above my own subjective creative struggles and really “get a 100%” on my efforts with respect to them serving the game. This has become a nice reward, and after learning what writing can do in a game, I’m finally - thanks to Terri - able to add my skills and vision as a writer to the melting pot as well!
Creating an album for its own sake is a largely isolated venture, as there's little feedback to guide the process and often the goal is simply to be expressive. When it comes to making a video game soundtrack, certain boxes need to be ticked in order for the work to be successful. The music and sounds need to be able to fit into an established world, and songs that may work on an album may not be the right fit for the game. Although this can be limiting, many video game composers like Doseone find that it's a rewarding challenge to overcome.
Sludge Life 2's Soundtrack Was Broken Into Several Categories
Sludge Life 2 places heavy emphasis on verticality, taking place at the towering Ciggy City Suites hotel and its surrounding areas. Doseone used the vertical nature of the environment to guide his songwriting, shifting the mood of the music as the player descends into the game's lower levels.
It all came very naturally by keeping the world Terri was crafting visually in my head. Ultimately the music has 3 categories. Glug-related music: more pop upbeat bops that pepper the halls of Ciggy City Suites. As you descend, the music of Sad Boy takes over: slow, mood-heavy, beatless music oozing out of abandoned radios in the sludge. Lastly, Big Mud songs, which are also produced by Sad Boy and really distill the feels and mood of what it is to grow up in the world Sludge Life depicts.
But all 3 batches of music need to relate to one another and escape feeling redundant all at the same time.
Sludge Life and its sequel also feature several musician characters like Big Mud and Sad Boy, which allowed Doseone to musically roleplay in a sense by stepping into the shoes of these characters and creating music from their perspectives. The result is a varied soundtrack with numerous distinct identities, each of which contributes to the game's sonic worldbuilding in an important way.
Sludge Life 2 is available on PC.