Evolving/Devolving

Hey all, it's Sean checking in again.

    One of the first things you learn in any creative field is that what you start with is very rarely what you end with. From an artists sketch to the final painting, from a writer's first draft to the final pages, and from a composer's first demo to their final master. Almost any creative work is subject to change along the course of it's creation.

    Mobius welcomes this evolution. We like to explore the concepts that arise during production and let them guide us. The Apollo lander didn't touch down on the moon with the same thrusters it used to take off, after all. We are, as much as anything else, a deeply curious team. I think that attitude caters perfectly to the kind of games we've set out to make.

    I put together a nice little playlist for everyone with 2 of my favorite bands, Death Cab For Cutie and TV On The Radio. This playlist contains examples of 1 song from each band that evolved either in it's creative process or...perhaps more interestingly...devolved!


    In Death Cab For Cutie's "Title and Registration" you can hear how the personality of the song managed to retain the intimacy of the original demo while entirely changing from more of a singer/songwriter feel into an electro-coustic pop format. Lyrics changed. Instrumentation changed. But the bones of the song stayed, and in the end were more cohesive with the record as a whole.

    Now TV On The Radio's "Test Pilot" is an entirely different example. I've provided the album track as well as a "Re-Make" by Chilly Gonzalez. It's immediately clear that the de-evolution of the song produced an entirely new feeling. Something is "rainy" and very human about it. By tearing the production apart and allowing only the melody to remain, you're forced to contemplate the phrasing and harmony unburdened by the meaning of words. SO COOL!? YEP.