Project: Nice Day for Fishing

Client: Fusion Play

We Did: Music Composition • Music Production

Sometimes it’s the side characters who deserve the greatest stories. Baelin, the laid-back fisherman from Viva La Dirt League‘s world of Azerim, is just an NPC – but that’s exactly what makes the fact that he now takes the leading role in his own video game so wonderfully absurd and amusing. Together with FusionPlay, Viva La Dirt League has created an 8-bit retro game that focuses on Baelin’s adventures: Nice Day for Fishing.

We are thrilled that Dynamedion composer Jochen Flach got to create the soundtrack for this charming pixel adventure. After all, what would a retro game be without the appropriate 8-bit music?

We spoke to our composer Jochen Flach about his work on this special project – and gained some exciting insights.

Question: Which sound elements were important to you in authentically capturing the “8-bit retro” character of the game without making it seem old-fashioned?

Jochen Flach: I think the very fact that we mixed 8-bit sound with a modern epic orchestra gives it a fresh feel. But “old-fashioned” is a difficult term to define. Since the visuals of the real scenes are based on the Middle Ages, I used appropriate harmonies and musical phrasing. Some people might find this “old-fashioned.”

Question: Could you give us some insight into how you approached the initial sketches for the soundtrack? Did you start with melodies, rhythms, or timbres?

Jochen Flach: I always start at the piano. That’s how it’s been in recent years. It’s a good place to develop melody and rhythm. Of course, I could have started directly with a synthesizer. With that, the sound aesthetics of a sound, the way you play the sound, can also influence the theme. But with Nice Day For Fishing, the theme was already established as a motif in the music of the Youtube videos by Viva La Dirt League. In that respect, the piano is really a wonderful instrument for developing or refining ideas.

Question: To what extent did you draw on classic retro soundtracks when composing – and where did you consciously incorporate modern influences?

Jochen Flach: To be honest, I was not really inspired by classic retro soundtracks when composing. I only drew inspiration from the sound aesthetics. I was inspired by the images and descriptions of the levels that were provided to me. The rest came about through trial and error.

Question: How close was the collaboration with FusionPlay and Viva La Dirt League – did you receive specific musical guidelines or did you have a lot of artistic freedom?

Jochen Flach: The motif for the main theme came from the VLDL web series. For the Maintheme composition and the soundtrack creation, it was a creative back-and-forth between us and FusionPlay. Sometimes it took a few rounds to find the right touch for a track. The developers had specific ideas about how the soundtrack should sound in the end. That helped a lot and I think we successfully developed the ideas and themes together.

The Nice Day for Fishing release trailer

Whether you’ve known Baelin for years or are going on your first fishing adventure with him, Nice Day for Fishing is a lovingly crafted retro game that charmingly combines nostalgia, humor, and fantasy. We are proud that our music has helped bring this special feeling to life, and we hope you enjoy playing the game as much as we enjoyed composing it.