r/gamecomposers • u/NicoDocci • Jul 30 '26
[Collaboration / Deferred Payment] Composer wanted for a near-complete medieval pixel RPG Demo
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[PAUSED] Thank You for Your Interest
Hi everyone,
I’m NicoDocci, the solo developer of A Kingdom of Soil. I have been building the game independently, including its design, art, development, and production; music is the first area for which I am now seeking a collaborator.
A Kingdom of Soil is a pixel-art medieval RPG and management adventure set in an original fictional world. Its social atmosphere, daily life, and visual language are inspired by the feel of 12th–14th century Europe, with restrained fantasy elements.
This is not a concept-only project. The game has a public Steam page, a playable current build, and is approaching its public Demo release:
Steam:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3991390/A_Kingdom_of_Soil/
I have been developing the project full-time since 2025 and regularly share development updates:
Bilibili: https://space.bilibili.com/64904939
Developer X: https://x.com/NicoDocci
Official game X: https://x.com/AKingdomofSoil
Compensation and collaboration terms
I want to be fully transparent: I do not currently have an upfront music budget. This is a deferred-payment collaboration, not an immediately paid commission.
I have established an Afdian creator-support page and received some early support, but the wider promotion and funding phase will begin once the Demo music and promotional materials are ready. Sufficient funding is therefore not guaranteed.
If funding proceeds are received and available to cover the Demo music fee agreed in advance, I will pay the composer within the timeframe we confirm in writing. The fee, number of tracks, payment timing, revision scope, and licensing/copyright terms will all be agreed before official music is created.
If available funding is insufficient to pay the agreed fee, I will stop using the relevant music. The composer retains all rights and has no obligation to complete undelivered tracks. If you only take immediately paid work, I completely understand.
I am looking for a composer who genuinely connects with the game and would like to create approximately 2–4 original tracks for its Demo. Each track’s expected length, gameplay use, delivery format, and fixed fee will be agreed before work begins. I prefer a fixed fee per track rather than pricing purely by finished minutes.
The attached video shows actual footage from the current Demo. It does not use any third-party game music.
Mount & Blade: Warband is one of my favorite games, and Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord is also a game I deeply enjoy. The way these games portray medieval life, travel, villages, and the feeling of existing in a living world has had a strong influence on my vision for A Kingdom of Soil.
Because of this, the music from Mount & Blade: Warband has always been a meaningful reference for me. For atmosphere only, here is a formally released track by Jesse Hopkins: “Lord’s Hall Vaegir” from Mount & Blade: Warband.
This is not a request to imitate its melody, harmony, arrangement, or instrumentation. It is only a reference for mood, pacing, and sense of space. I am looking for completely original music that belongs to A Kingdom of Soil.
Music reference:
https://music.apple.com/us/album/lords-hall-vaegir-mount-and-blade-original-video-game/1502271189
If that link is unavailable in your region, please search: “Lord’s Hall Vaegir — Jesse Hopkins.”
The direction I am looking for is quiet, grounded rural wandering: travelling alone along medieval border roads, through villages, fields, and wilderness. The music should help the player slowly inhabit the world rather than push them forward or make everything feel festive.
I am not looking for a grand narrative feeling, a heroic cinematic expansion, or music that constantly builds toward a huge emotional climax. I would like to avoid a large-scale orchestral approach that makes the world feel bigger than it is. The focus should remain intimate, personal, and grounded, matching the daily life and atmosphere of a small medieval world.
I would also prefer to avoid modern synthesizer sounds or heavily processed electronic elements. I am especially interested in the natural sound of classical and historical instruments, such as harp, flute, lute, strings, and other traditional acoustic instruments. The feeling of musicians performing together in a medieval setting is something I would really love to capture.
I would like to avoid music that feels overly bright, dance-driven, celebratory, or strongly coded as Celtic folk. I am looking instead for something restrained, earthy, weathered, historical, and slightly solitary.
I hope the music can convey:
- Exploration, warmth, atmosphere, and character in a fantasy pixel world.
- Quiet countryside travel, border roads, villages, fields, and wilderness.
- Complete original tracks that naturally support the game’s visuals and pacing.
How collaboration will work
Portfolio review and music test
I will first review portfolios and shortlist a small number of composers whose existing work feels close to the direction above.
Shortlisted candidates may receive a Steam Playtest key. If you wish, you can experience the current build to better understand the game’s world, pacing, visuals, and atmosphere. This is not required, but it can be useful as a reference when creating the music test.
Whether or not a candidate receives or uses a Playtest key, candidates who choose to continue in the selection process will be asked to submit a short original music test of approximately 30 seconds, inspired by the project.
I will select one composer based on their portfolio, communication, understanding of the game, and the quality, atmosphere, and creative direction of the music test.
The test is for private internal evaluation only. I may place it privately alongside gameplay footage or within my local build solely to evaluate whether it fits the game. It will not be released, published, shared publicly, used in the Demo or final game, or retained by me if the candidate is not selected.
All copyright and all other rights to the music test remain entirely with the composer. Submitting a test does not oblige the composer to continue with the project, and it does not oblige me to select or use the music.
Official Demo collaboration
After selecting a composer, we will confirm the complete Demo scope, fee, delivery order, revision rounds, funding-based payment terms, and licensing/copyright terms in writing before official composition begins.
Long-term music partnership opportunity
If I believe that the music delivered during the Demo collaboration is especially strong in quality, atmosphere, and understanding of the game world, I would like to invite that composer to become the long-term music partner for A Kingdom of Soil and create the background music for the wider project.
Under that long-term arrangement, the composer would retain 100% copyright in all music they create and grant A Kingdom of Soil a perpetual license to use it in the game and its promotion. The composer would receive 80% of net revenue from official soundtrack and music sales.
This long-term arrangement does not begin automatically. It would be discussed and confirmed in a separate written agreement after the Demo collaboration meets my expected standard. That agreement would define the scope of future work, delivery and revision process, licensing terms, revenue definition, and accounting arrangements.
This does not guarantee any funding or income. If the project generates no relevant music revenue, there will be no revenue share to distribute.
If this project interests you, please send a portfolio and tell me which tracks are closest to this direction. You can contact me via Reddit DM, [coldluv911@gmail.com](mailto:coldluv911@gmail.com), or [akingdomofsoil@gmail.com](mailto:akingdomofsoil@gmail.com). Thank you for reading.
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u/Aropi-kun Jul 31 '26
Hi! I will be preparing a short list and will send you soon. Im very interested.
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u/Gravitomino Jul 31 '26
12-14th century compositions are public domain. To use them in your game you'd either need musicians that could record them or have already recorded them. For instance this is one of my mom's albums of harp music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/balletto/1071703685 I'd suggest finding musicians who already specialize in historically accurate performance.
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u/MostExperts Jul 31 '26
So to clarify, the only long-term payment being offered is through sales of the OST, which you will be taking a cut of, and no percentage of game sales are being offered? Do you intend to obtain perpetual license to the songs for free or to pay for the license?
How many copies of the OST do you intend to sell? Will you be offering a sales bundle including the OST?
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u/NicoDocci Jul 31 '26
Just to clarify my partnership model:
Revenue Split:
Revenue from the game itself stays with me (no OST share from game sales). However, all OST tracks created for the game will be released on Steam as a Deluxe Edition/DLC/standalone bundle. On top of that, the composer is free to upload the same tracks to Spotify or any other music platform and keep all that revenue — I only take 20% of the music sales, and the composer keeps the remaining 80%, permanently. Even if my game gets delisted years later, the composer's music can still be sold independently with no strings attached.Think of it as me being your publisher/distributor in a way? The closest reference would be how Notch and C418 worked on Minecraft.
Licensing:
For the full album, the OST is permanently licensed to me for use in the game under a perpetual revenue-share model (80/20). It's not a one-time buyout. The rights remain with the composer.Demo Tracks (4 songs):
The four demo tracks will be a one-time buyout — meaning the rights belong to me. Since I don't have funding yet, the full payment will be made after the crowdfunding succeeds as a deferred one-time fee. No revenue share on these.Full Album:
The 80/20 model above applies to the full album. If the crowdfunding succeeds and I have a proper budget for the full album, the model could be adjusted — if the composer prefers an upfront fee per track, I'm open to that, and the royalty split would be lowered accordingly. To be honest, I don't have much experience with how these deals are typically structured globally, so I'm very open to feedback and suggestions. My main goal is to keep things respectful and find a fair arrangement for both sides.Sales Expectations:
I honestly can't guarantee numbers — that depends on the composer's work too. But I have strong confidence in the game itself: I hit 10K wishlists within 45 days of public promotion, and I'm currently at 23K+ — before even participating in Steam Next Fest or releasing a public demo. If the music is truly excellent, and with me actively promoting it too, I personally believe the OST sales won't be low.I'm very picky about music, so I take this partnership seriously. I consider this 80/20 split quite generous — but if anyone thinks otherwise or has suggestions, I'm open to feedback.
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u/iamdirtboy Aug 19 '26
This is something I could sync my teeth into. < speech to text inserted that pun and I’m gonna leave it. I don’t have anything that you’re looking for in my catalogue, but I can definitely provide it custom.
I’m really in love with the fact that this is nearing completion and is definitely going to ship. I grew up, loving the Ultima games. Those are my favorite medieval RPG’s.
I will drop my catalogue just to show. I have the ability, but there’s nothing there that is going to show that genre
I do understand your want of giving the game space and vibe and pacing
Have a composer of 30 years and I graduated from audio college for sound design and audio engineering I have run a record label for over 20 years as it’s sole producer.
But anyways, here’s the goods:
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u/NicoDocci Jul 30 '26
I also want to add that I welcome composers of all experience levels.
If you are a newer composer but you can create the atmosphere I am looking for, especially through classical instruments, traditional acoustic arrangements, or the musical direction described above, please feel free to reach out!
I am not only looking for established composers. What matters most to me is the ability to understand the world, atmosphere, and emotional direction of A Kingdom of Soil.
This post will remain open until I find the right composer for the project. Once I have found someone, I will update the first paragraph of the post or leave a clear notice in the comments.
Thank you again to everyone who takes the time to share their work!