Why I Wrote a 10-Minute Modular Loop Instead of a 2-Minute One

Contemplative Fantasy Vol. 1 – Dev Note by YannZ

When I started composing the main in-game track for Contemplative Fantasy Vol. 1, I could’ve written a 2-minute loop and called it a day.

Instead, I wrote a 10-minute piece divided into ten 1-minute modular loops, with subtle changes in orchestration, pacing, and energy. The track is called “Déjà Vus,” and I designed it to feel like a musical story unfolding gently in the background—one you can either let evolve or pause at any stage.

Here’s why I went that route, and how it might help your game too:

The Problem with Loops (and the Players Who Notice Them)

Short loops can get repetitive fast—especially in calm, story-driven games where the pacing is slower, and the music isn’t buried under SFX or combat.

A player who sits in a dialogue scene or puzzle room for 5+ minutes will hear the same loop 2–3 times. By the second or third repetition, the magic is gone.

That’s where modularity helps.

The Solution: Modular Loops as Musical Chapters

Each minute of Déjà Vus adds one or two new layers:

• Loop 1: solo piano

• Loop 2: piano + double bass

• Loop 3: strings ticking with the seconds

• Loop 4: cymbals enter

• … all the way to Loop 10: full instrumentation with bass, brass, groove, and detail

Because every loop is written on the same tempo (120 BPM) and harmony, they can:

• Be looped on their own

• Be used as building blocks for dynamic layering

• Or be played one after another for a smooth musical evolution

You can think of it as a quiet, horizontal crescendo—great for open-world movement, introspective scenes, and slow-burn puzzle sequences.

🛠️ Use It How You Want

You don’t have to use all ten loops in a row. In fact, I designed Loops 1–5 to be especially light and replayable on their own. You can:

• Loop just one (e.g., Loop 3 with the ticking pizzicato)

• Build scenes with a custom order (e.g., 1 → 2 → 4 → 5)

• Use Loop 1 as a “pre-scene wait room,” then fade to Loop 6 once something changes

If your game uses event-based transitions or cutscene triggers, these loops are made to support that structure.

🎧 Listen & Grab the Pack

🔗 Listen on Spotify
🔗 Download on Itch – Contemplative Fantasy Vol. 1

Thanks for checking this out.
If this sparked any ideas, let me know—I’d love to hear how you handle music pacing in your own projects.

– YannZ