I really do think a graphical composition method is the right approach to take, but what variant?
What I'd most like to suggest is to compose in musical notation. It could be a simple matter of drag-and-drop notes, pauses, and other notations onto a staff. But I suppose not everyone reads music, so would this be too much of a learning curve, and get in the way of creativity? For those who do read music, and think about music in musical notation, would the lack of it hinder creativity?
(The "Noteflight" approach seems a little cumbersome, so please don't refer to that when thinking about this)
Another option is a graph. I have seen this used in composition software, and it can help visualize the work for those who can't read music. The left/vertical axis of the graph has the notes and pitches, and the horizontal/bottom axis has time durations. The display creates a small box that can be filled in to determine when and for how long that particular note is played, with some minimum value (16th note?). Fill in the boxes, drag to make longer notes, etc. What isn't filled in doesn't get played.
Not too long ago, I saw a really good example of this done in Flash. It was a short sequence, maybe 15-20 seconds max, and you could create neat, repeating sound shorts. Sadly, and typically, I can't find it now. The closest that I was able to find with a quick search was an online drum machine. Search for it at your own risk; I don't want to supply the address because I don't know if it's safe or dangerous.
Having both available would be ideal =)
Have the composition default to 4/4 time and 120 tempo in the key of C, but allow all of those to be changed.
If your current instrument doesn't have the range of notes that you have selected, it shouldn't restrict you but display them in another colour as warning. You should be able to toggle the ability to "fake" the notes that your current instrument can't play when reviewing sample playback of your composition while in-progress. (If you like what you hear with the "fake" playback, maybe that can encourage you to find or make a better version of your current instrument)
Instrument durability should correspond to how much it is used and the type of instrument. For the sake of game balance, instruments like Flutes that might never degrade in real life should suffer durability damage when played, just like everything else.
What I'd most like to suggest is to compose in musical notation. It could be a simple matter of drag-and-drop notes, pauses, and other notations onto a staff. But I suppose not everyone reads music, so would this be too much of a learning curve, and get in the way of creativity? For those who do read music, and think about music in musical notation, would the lack of it hinder creativity?
(The "Noteflight" approach seems a little cumbersome, so please don't refer to that when thinking about this)
Another option is a graph. I have seen this used in composition software, and it can help visualize the work for those who can't read music. The left/vertical axis of the graph has the notes and pitches, and the horizontal/bottom axis has time durations. The display creates a small box that can be filled in to determine when and for how long that particular note is played, with some minimum value (16th note?). Fill in the boxes, drag to make longer notes, etc. What isn't filled in doesn't get played.
Not too long ago, I saw a really good example of this done in Flash. It was a short sequence, maybe 15-20 seconds max, and you could create neat, repeating sound shorts. Sadly, and typically, I can't find it now. The closest that I was able to find with a quick search was an online drum machine. Search for it at your own risk; I don't want to supply the address because I don't know if it's safe or dangerous.
Having both available would be ideal =)
Have the composition default to 4/4 time and 120 tempo in the key of C, but allow all of those to be changed.
If your current instrument doesn't have the range of notes that you have selected, it shouldn't restrict you but display them in another colour as warning. You should be able to toggle the ability to "fake" the notes that your current instrument can't play when reviewing sample playback of your composition while in-progress. (If you like what you hear with the "fake" playback, maybe that can encourage you to find or make a better version of your current instrument)
Instrument durability should correspond to how much it is used and the type of instrument. For the sake of game balance, instruments like Flutes that might never degrade in real life should suffer durability damage when played, just like everything else.