The new music added in the latest snapshot is fantastic- I'll admit, while I've always admired Lena Raine as a composer, I never thought she'd be able to make really... 'minecrafty,' music- but oh boy have these last few updates proven me wrong. Her soundtrack for 'Celeste,' for example, is driving, a bit retro, a bit classical, slightly anxious- perfectly fitting, (and at least in part creating) the game's vibes. But hearing her recent work for Minecraft, I can't help but feel she's grown even further as a composer, making lush, immersive tracks- toeing the line perfectly between offering something new and fresh, while still fitting well with the game's existing (and equally fantastic) soundtrack by C418.
...But I'm not just here to gush about Lena Raine's skills as a composer- more importantly, I wanted to note a change that I think may be going overlooked- and which may have important implications:
The new music introduced by Lena Raine is important for another reason: firstly, in that it introduces biome specific music to the Overworld. (Which is a first, to the best of my knowledge!) Secondly: this snapshot also adds biome specifiers to music introduced in the last update. In particular, several songs are now exclusive to lush caves, swamps, old-growth taigas... and forests. (Along with 'Ancestry,' which now exclusively plays in Deep Dark Cities- and 'Infinite Amethyst'- which, to the best of my knowledge, no longer plays anywhere.)
I may be grasping at straws here- but I believe this has enormous significance: Every new piece is exclusive to biomes that have been updated recently. (Taigas, Lush Caves, Swamps, and Ancient Cities are all relatively new parts of the game.) Which means I find it very interesting that forests are included in the list of biomes these songs can play in.
THEORY ~
To me, this change, (along with some other notable points), indicates that the Wild Update may bring more than just improvements to Swamps- that, much like the Caves and Cliffs update, the Wild Update may very well aim to upgrade much, much more of the Overworld. My (somewhat dubious) reasons are as follows:
The previously mentioned correlation between new music and updated parts of the game.
Concept Art released by Mojang, (which depicted a much fancier looking Birch Forest)
Correlation between the Caves and Cliffs Update (Which unexpectedly overhauled all of terrain), and the Wild Update, (Which could very well overhaul many or most of the biomes.)
...Just how easy this would be to do. Add some better groundcover, new models for trees, maybe a couple new plants... (Compare this to adding a structure as complicated as the Ancient City, and a brand new biome with a new tree type.) With much of the officially announced features more or less complete, there's plenty of time left before release to go overboard, (again), in the best way possible.
...And on a more personal level, the necessity of upgrades to forests, which currently feel really underappreciated. (Especially compared to other, newer biomes.)
...Also, (possibly unimportant), the album cover for the Wild Update's new music has a silhouette of a taiga forest in the background, (to the right- you can tell because of the skinny tree)- and what looks like an ordinary forest to the left. An ocean monument can also be seen beneath the water. (Alex is also holding an ocean explorer map, interestingly enough.)
OVERVIEW ~
The new music added in the latest snapshot is fantastic- I'll admit, while I've always admired Lena Raine as a composer, I never thought she'd be able to make really... 'minecrafty,' music- but oh boy have these last few updates proven me wrong. Her soundtrack for 'Celeste,' for example, is driving, a bit retro, a bit classical, slightly anxious- perfectly fitting, (and at least in part creating) the game's vibes. But hearing her recent work for Minecraft, I can't help but feel she's grown even further as a composer, making lush, immersive tracks- toeing the line perfectly between offering something new and fresh, while still fitting well with the game's existing (and equally fantastic) soundtrack by C418.
...But I'm not just here to gush about Lena Raine's skills as a composer- more importantly, I wanted to note a change that I think may be going overlooked- and which may have important implications:
The new music introduced by Lena Raine is important for another reason: firstly, in that it introduces biome specific music to the Overworld. (Which is a first, to the best of my knowledge!) Secondly: this snapshot also adds biome specifiers to music introduced in the last update. In particular, several songs are now exclusive to lush caves, swamps, old-growth taigas... and forests. (Along with 'Ancestry,' which now exclusively plays in Deep Dark Cities- and 'Infinite Amethyst'- which, to the best of my knowledge, no longer plays anywhere.)
I may be grasping at straws here- but I believe this has enormous significance: Every new piece is exclusive to biomes that have been updated recently. (Taigas, Lush Caves, Swamps, and Ancient Cities are all relatively new parts of the game.) Which means I find it very interesting that forests are included in the list of biomes these songs can play in.
THEORY ~
To me, this change, (along with some other notable points), indicates that the Wild Update may bring more than just improvements to Swamps- that, much like the Caves and Cliffs update, the Wild Update may very well aim to upgrade much, much more of the Overworld. My (somewhat dubious) reasons are as follows:
Cooking with Mindthemoods ~ Biomes ~ Archeology
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~ My Portfolio ~ Skindex ~ Test ~ Discs ~
...Also, (possibly unimportant), the album cover for the Wild Update's new music has a silhouette of a taiga forest in the background, (to the right- you can tell because of the skinny tree)- and what looks like an ordinary forest to the left. An ocean monument can also be seen beneath the water. (Alex is also holding an ocean explorer map, interestingly enough.)
Cooking with Mindthemoods ~ Biomes ~ Archeology
---
~ My Portfolio ~ Skindex ~ Test ~ Discs ~