Happy holidays.

Void Heart

THE STORY

Shizo is a young boy who made a pact with the powerful demon Yatagarasu to defeat Enex, the infamous leader of an organization that wreaks havoc on the world, trying to conquer and dominate it with an army of demon soldiers. Ami is a girl who fights alongside him.

The world is in a state of chaos as the fighting goes on; fire took the lives of thousands. Monuments were destroyed and buildings exploded. The Earth is unrecognizable.

The two young fighters are inseparable and are both capable of using demon powers. They managed to escape from Enex’s base, where they were subject to experiments, and they overcame many obstacles and foes together. Despite all Enex put them through, they survived.

Shizo has a huge crush on Ami, even if she doesn’t reciprocate his feelings: he would do anything to protect her - even sacrifice his own life. His past is terrifying: he’s seen every one of his relatives and friends die in battle, and the demon contract causes him immense pain. Ami is everything he has left: if something bad happens to her as well, he would completely lose that last bit of hope he has left.

On the other hand, Ami is kind but reserved, and she has long been friendzoning her teammate. The affection she shows him now, however, is unprecedented. She holds him dearly. Nevertheless, at times she looks like she’s hiding something from him, but the latter trusts her completely after she saved his life when they were kids.

Now their greatest enemy is lying on the ground, powerless. They finally have the chance to take revenge on him for killing their families.

Shizo takes the initiative:

“I’m going to do it. Ami, step back. Soon it’ll be all over.”

The girl nods at him. Shizo takes a deep breath, then brands his Iridium Blade, walks towards Enex and lifts his sword, going for the head.

Suddenly, however, when he's about to reach the neck, he gets stabbed in the stomach from behind and falls on the floor in agony. After turning his head around, he can’t believe what he’s seeing: Ami is smiling in satisfaction, her right hand covered in blood. 

“Ami… What’s the meaning of this? I thought we were teammates, that we were on the same side, that we were friends! I trusted you!!”

“Friends? In your dreams! You were so easy to fool, to seduce, to make you think you had a chance with me, you disgusting piece of crap. I always used you from the very beginning, isn’t that true, Dear Enex?”

“That’s right, You lost, stupid kid. Ami, my dear, come and heal me, quick.”

After the girl uses a spell with a green aura on him, the two exchange a passionate kiss. Shizo can’t believe this is happening: everything he experienced with her, every sensation he felt. It was all a lie.

“Surprise, wanna-be superhero: she is not only my best creation, but also my fiancée, AH! I told you so: you are born a failure, you stay a failure. Ami, will you please finish him off? I’m getting sick of his tears.”

“With pleasure, dear.”

The betrayer lifts her Energy Knife in the air, and after reaching a disheartened Shizo, she says to him those exact words: 

"Cheer up, you're soon going to join your family. IN HELL! SAYONARA!!"

The love that Shizo felt for Ami was the only thing that allowed him to keep his sanity.

Now that it's gone, Shizo had no reason to hold back his bottled-up rage, frustration, and hatred.

"Yatagarasu, you were right all along. This wicked world does not deserve to exist. Go 100%. Kill everyone. DESTROY! EVERYTHING!"

As an explosion follows, his figure becomes unrecognizable, and his rampage can't be stopped: Ami and Enex try to restrain him, but they get annihilated by a single Laser Bomb from the demon's mouth. The city follows the same fate, then everything else.

Hatred consumes Shizo from the inside, and as a result he took the planet's life force and ripped it apart, leaving nothing but ashes in the empty space.

THE CHALLENGE

Compose a song that represents this entire story.

The purpose of my prompt is simple: Shizo, a kind and selfless young man who fights for a good cause, encounters the worst betrayal a person can imagine, at the worst time. With his past messed up, Ami's action is the last straw: let the song tell how heavy and terrifying the betrayal is, let the listener understand how Shizo's mind develops while he starts to lose his sanity, then go all out and create the most aggressive, explosive and destructive section you can think of (Behave of Distortion!). 

Try to recreate the scenery described in the beginning: a city destroyed by fire, almost no one survived. Drama, drama everywhere!

Tragic, but direct with a powerful and clear emotional drive: that's the kind of piece I would make if I were a participant. Have fun!

INSPIRATION - IMAGES

https://www.deviantart.com/kumsmkii/art/Demon-explosion-738645580

https://www.deviantart.com/kaci-star/art/Stabbed-in-the-Back-208998465

INSPIRATION - SONGS

• Xtrullor - Sheol (ft. Panda Party)
• Daft Punk - Nocturne
• Warak - Reanimate
• Stipendium Peccati
• Super Metroid - Mother Brain

Long time this page doesn't get updated... Just want to clear something I reflected a lot about.

I've decided, as of today, to stop releasing covers/remixes on Newgrounds: this is final, and that includes the covers of the following pieces:

-Gas Gas Gas

-Swimming (Full Version)

-Till it's Over

^^Those^^ may see the light in the future, but only on my Youtube channel.

Every other unfinished collaboration/project that regards covers has been cancelled.

I have no intention to see what I make go to waste, let it be a cover or not.

NEVER AGAIN.

It happened at last: this page hit the first important fanbase goal on Newgrounds: 100 users.

Thanks for enjoying my stuff! I'm looking forward to raise the quality of this page even more, despite the hard times =)

See ya around, Newgrounders!

Virtual Bond

My prompt has a precise concept, which however leaves the door open to many scenarios.

Here are the criteria your song must follow:

• We have a main character and her soulmate. They went through many hardships, got separated from each other, and then they ultimately reunited. When they first met, they would insult each other frequently, but they become really close overtime, and now they truly care about each other's wellbeing and safety. They’re up against a dangerous enemy who wants to destroy everything and therefore kill both of them.
• The two lovers recall how far they’ve come and decide that they can’t give up now. Going all out, they rush against their foe, protecting each other as much as they can.
• In the end, they kill the foe and both survive. After the battle, they declare their true feeling to each other and have their happy ending.

What I'm looking for from your submissions most of all is to make the listener feel empathy towards the two protagonists and their story. To clarify, make the listener feel anxious when they're fighting the enemy head on and overwhelmed with joy when they win, and make him feel the warm atmosphere at the end, and the importance of needing each other to succeed. Make him immerse himself in the story and provide him a moving experience, no matter the music style you choose.

Examples you can take inspiration from for your scenario (Spoilers ahead! You’ve been advised):

Cave Story (game): As Quote destroys the Undead Core, he makes his entrance to the Blood Stained Sanctuary and finds his partner Curly Brace. He attacks her on her back with a rope (they’re both robots) and make their way to the final boss of the game: Ballos, a freaking monster with 4 phases in total before being actually defeated. The author did a great job by building up the tension and the emotions with differents osts during the sanctuary level and the countless fights; furthermore, you can see how much the robot need to fight together to beat Ballos, asserting that their bond goes beyond nature.

Reference clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qoz1qIGySSA

Additional remix of Final Battle by Eliteferrex: https://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/627924

Super Xalaxer (Game): a NG flashgame where you make your way to the Xalaxer Fortress with two powerful ships. They must help each other out to defeat the enemies and escape unscathed, and the game does a good job by making yourself feel empathy for the ships, and highlights the importance of teamwork.

Tip: this game's ost is a good inspiration for fighting parts.

Edit: Since this game won't work after 31st December because of Flash Player's shutdown, here is the link of my full playthrough of this game if you want to see it after that date: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPUZrol6ckI

Player Two (Song by Eliteferrex): This song fits pretty well with my prompt. It's a good inspiration if you're looking for a more energetic and upbeat ending between the two protagonists.

More music (FIGHTS = Inspiration for fighting parts, EMPATHY = Inspiration for Emotional and Love parts):

https://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/955669 (FIGHTS)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKo_IJDCO9c (FIGHTS)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCnXQvbFDJI (EMPATHY)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TG1pRNQAByI (EMPATHY)

That's it for my prompt! Feel free to ask down here in the comments if you have any questions.

Good luck!

Hello fellow producers, Mutty here! I've got some news for ya guys.

First of all, this year i'm a judge in NGUAC! When the results of the various phases will come out, if you want to ask me a written review of your piece, feel free to send me a Private Message and i'll write it down asap.

For now, i'll leave here my judging criteria.

They are five, and they each give max 2 points, for a max total of 10.

1) ORIGINALITY: Does the piece feel dynamic or not? Is it pleasant to listen to? Does it stand out from the others? Can it be listened a few times without being tired out?

2) COMPOSITION: Does the track have a valid concept? Does is sort of, "tell a story"? Did the composer make clever composing choices? (For covers and remixes, i always remove 0,5 points by default, unless it's an exceptional case).

3) STRUCTURE: Is the mix polished? Does it flow properly without sudden breaks? Does it evolve in a good way? How are the transitions? Does it begin and end in good notes?

4) TECNICITY: This category comprehends all eqs and most "mechanical" stuff, which it makes the hardest to get a 2 into. Is every instrument equalized properly? Does it feel "professional"? Is the whole song solid as a whole?

5) IMPACT: A mix of all the 4 categories above, a bit more personal score of how much i enjoyed the track in general.

That's it for NGUAC 2020.

For future submissions, i plan to release more remixes and finally ONE original, which i'm working hard on.

Since i'll stop producing for a while, enjoy my latest remix here: https://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/952915

See ya soon, and have nice holidays! =)

My collab with Airprogressive, Nebula Ocean, has been released on the site!

Go check it out =)