Swag Master69 Posted May 29 Share Posted May 29 (edited) For some odd reason I rarely see people discuss the wonderful music in this series. Something I've never even seen documented is the use of leitmotifs associated with certain characters and arcs! Here I've compiled some clips featuring character leitmotifs and visual aids to help show when a leitmotif is playing. When the character's head is colored the character's leitmotif is playing. When their head is faded their leitmotif is not playing, Do keep in mind that I am not a very musical person and likely missed some examples, if you know of any please respond with them and I'll be sure to add them! First up we have... Charlie! Spoiler Charlie's leitmotif typically plays when Charlie herself is on screen with very few exceptions compared to the others' themes. I'll start with the stage as it's the perfect place to showcase her leitmotif. The play features may different variations of the theme but I'll only be playing the "Mysterious" version of the track. Keep an ear out for this melody as we go along. Spoiler CharliePlay.mp4 Charlie's leitmotif first appears in 2016 in A New Reign, appearing both at the start and right after Charlie finishes zapping Wilson. Spoiler CharlieANR.mp4 The next time it appeared was in Next of Kin, appearing right at the start. Spoiler CharlieWinona.mp4 Moving on to the Return of Them arc, in Forgotten Knowledge it plays while Charlie walks to the Archive. Spoiler CharlieArchives.mp4 Next up is Axiom Visus where the theme plays as Charlie walks out of the shadows. Spoiler CharlieAxiom.mp4 Soon after it reappeared in Eye of the Storm and plays as Charlie walks through the Archive, ending the walking trilogy. Spoiler CharlieStorm.mp4 The next appearance is in Encore where it plays while Charlie shows during the Maxwell flashbacks and while she plays a nice game of chess with herself. Spoiler CharlieMaxwell.mp4 And now on to the From Beyond arc. In Taking Root it plays as Charlie examines the blueprint to the Ancient Gateway. Spoiler CharlieRoot.mp4 And shortly after in Terrors Below it plays while Charlie giddily smiles and while she whispers in Maxwell's ear. Spoiler CharlieTerror.mp4 Next up is Wagstaff! Spoiler Wagstaff's leitmotif tends to appear when he shows up and when his lunar experiments are shown. Wagstaff's leitmotif first appeared in the Eye of the Storm update. It initially plays while helping Wagstaff contain a lunar storm. Keep an ear out for this tune as we go. Spoiler WagstaffWork.mp4 (Compared to Charlie's leitmotif, Wagstaff's is a bit harder to hear so I made this aid to help. This is what you're looking for.) WagstaffThemeAid.mp3 Also plays during phases 1 and 3 of the Celestial Champion fight (it may also play during phase 2 but I am unable to locate it). Spoiler WagstaffChampion.mp4 On to the animations, starting with Eye of the Storm. Here it appears at the very end while Wagstaff checks on the Lunar Siphonator. Spoiler WagstaffStorm.mp4 With Wagstaff playing a large role in WX's backstory it makes sense that it has a brief appearance in Disconnected. Spoiler WagstaffWX.mp4 Wagstaff's leitmotif next appears in Interference and plays twice, both times when Wagstaff beckons over Wilson. Spoiler WagstaffWilson.mp4 And for the From Beyond are we have Taking Root. It appears at the beginning when Wagstaff is on screen and while the Lunar Rift is on screen. It also appears in Terrors Below but it reuses the the ending section from Taking Root with different instrumentation. Due to that I simply added it to the end instead of giving it its own video. Spoiler WagstaffBeyond.mp4 With a Wagstaff jumpscare at the end of Survival Guide - Firewood comes a new Wagstaff leitmotif appearance. Spoiler WagstaffSkilltree.mp4 Wagstaff is very prominent in Host of Horrors and his theme plays at the start, when working on his sketches, and in the outro/Host of Horrors title screen. Spoiler WagstaffHorrors.mp4 Now presenting... Maxwell! Spoiler Maxwell is interesting in that his leitmotif plays quite a number of times before his character refresh trailer. His theme tends to play as survivors are being lured with power or promises. A great example is our first instance, The Curtain Calls. Here it plays as Maxwell offers Wigfrid a chance at fame once more. Spoiler MaxwellWigfrid.mp4 Next we have Along Came A Spider. It plays when Webber begs for a wait to change back. Spoiler MaxwellWebber.mp4 In The Incredible Strongman it plays as William takes back the shadow magic from Wolfgang. Spoiler MaxwellWolfgang.mp4 One For the Books has way more than one instance of Maxwell's theme. It appears while Maxwell makes the deal with Wickerbottom, while picking up the notes, and in the outro/Wickerbottom title screen. Spoiler MaxwellWickerbottom.mp4 With Maxwell's very own video Encore comes many uses of his leitmotif. It plays when Alter glances at Maxwell, when Maxwell looks at his statue covered in roses, when he uses the Codex to summon shadows, when he's with Charlie in the dressing room, when he's with Charlie in the dressing room but grumpy, when he breathes (let me in) heavily while on the ground, during the outro, and on the Maxwell title screen. Spoiler MaxwellWaxwell.mp4 It briefly appears in Interference as Wilson goes to unlock the radio. Spoiler MaxwellWilson.mp4 In Terrors Below it plays while the gang is crafting, when Maxwell sneaks off to talk to Charlie, and on the Terrors Below title screen. Spoiler MaxwellTerror.mp4 Despite being a lunar update and not appearing at all during the short, Maxwell's theme plays in Host of Horrors during the title drop of the arc. Spoiler MaxwellHorrors.mp4 Lastly (for now) is the Return of Them themes! Spoiler The Return of Them arc had two major leitmotifs play throughout it, one seemingly tied to Alter (the moon) and the other tied to sailing. Since the leitmotifs tend to play close to each other or even together I've opted to simply track both at a time. I won't be stating the context for them playing as that would get confusing. Starting with the beginning of the arc we have Turn of Tides. Spoiler RoTTides.mp4 A fun thing about the sailing leitmotif is that it builds up as the trailers go along. Check it out here in Salty Dog. (Also jumpscare warning at the end!) Spoiler RoTSalty.mp4 She Sells Sea Shells and she also has a few more appearances of the leitmotifs. Spoiler RoTShells.mp4 Troubled Waters. That's it. Spoiler RoTTroubled.mp4 Forgotten Knowledge is up and is mostly just Alter's leitmotif with a tiny appearance of the sailing one. Also there's a very hidden appearance of Alter's theme at the very end but only on the left side. Spoiler RoTArchives.mp4 Nearing the end now we have Eye of the Storm. I honestly expected Alter's leitmotif to play more than it did in this one. Spoiler RoTStorm.mp4 Finally we have the 2021 Gameplay Trailer, the video that sparked this thread in the first place. This trailer is FILLED with Alter's leitmotif. Spoiler RoT2021.mp4 Edited October 28 by Swag Master69 Revamped and added Maxwell+RoT 43 2 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BezKa Posted May 29 Share Posted May 29 I certainly did notice Charlie's theme! I didn't really pay much attention to Wagstaff (bc he sucks) but you're right, very nice! Music in DS and DST is great, as is the general sound design- but aside from hearing Charlie's motive and the radio tune I haven't paid much attention to repeating patterns... I should sit down and listen some more when I get a free moment. Nice compilation, and the colored head thingy really helps when the music gets a bit busy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finn from human Posted May 29 Share Posted May 29 Oh, neat! On this sort of topic, I wonder am I insane or is there a shared leitmotif between the hermit island work music and Crab King's fight music? I can almost hear it when I try, and I wonder if it's one of those sorts of remixes where the structure is all there but not the exact notes, or somethin'. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragonboooorn Posted May 30 Share Posted May 30 1 hour ago, BezKa said: didn't really pay much attention to Wagstaff (bc he sucks) charlie simp spotted 1 1 1 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popian Posted May 30 Share Posted May 30 Charlie's leitmotif sounds inspired by rock-a-bye baby to have baby-porcelain doll and lullaby-dreams/nightmare associations. Is there something similar with Wagstaff's? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinknAllie Posted May 30 Share Posted May 30 All the themes with Wagstaff motif go hard 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_zwb Posted May 30 Share Posted May 30 8 hours ago, Dragonboooorn said: charlie simp spotted Yes I am a SIMP Super Intense Maxwell Player Maxwell flexing.png 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Szczuku Posted May 30 Share Posted May 30 Nice one op. I did subconsciously know that both of these had leitmotifs (especially during my trailers binge-watching sprees) but this post definitely helped pin-point the melodies. Also, nice catch with the CC's theme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ornge Posted May 31 Share Posted May 31 I feel like my third eye just opened 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kehun Posted May 31 Share Posted May 31 4 hours ago, Ornge said: I feel like my third eye just opened me rn 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinknAllie Posted June 2 Share Posted June 2 On 5/29/2023 at 6:13 PM, BezKa said: I certainly did notice Charlie's theme! I didn't really pay much attention to Wagstaff (bc he sucks) 4 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronzebot Posted June 3 Share Posted June 3 This is a great topic! The music of the Don't Starve franchise have a habit of being absolutely fantastic, from the base game and DLC's to the animated shorts. Here's hoping we get a vol.2 for the soundtrack at some point. I'd like to add an unmentioned instance of Charlie's leitmotif that can be found in Maxwell's animation: Spoiler Charlie.mp4 And while on the subject of Maxwell - his theme appears quite a lot too, not only in his own animation but also in several of other survivor's shorts. His leitmotif goes something like this: Leitmotif.mp3 It was quite heavily featured in the theme for Wickerbottom's rework: Spoiler Maxwell1.mp4 And here's all other instances I could find of his leitmotif: Spoiler Maxwell2.mp4 13 3 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swag Master69 Posted June 16 Author Share Posted June 16 (edited) The post has been updated to include Terrors Below and additional Charlie leitmotif instance brought up by @Bronzebot On 6/3/2023 at 6:59 PM, Bronzebot said: And while on the subject of Maxwell - his theme appears quite a lot too, not only in his own animation but also in several of other survivor's shorts. To add on to this, the Terrors Below update added a few more instances of Maxwell's theme! It plays near the end of the title theme loop. Spoiler MaxwellBelowTitle.mp4 And in Terrors Below it plays when the survivors are crafting at the Shadowcraft Plinth and when Charlie beckons over Maxwell. Spoiler MaxwellBelow.mp4 Edited June 16 by Swag Master69 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popian Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 Something I noticed about these three is that they are variations to bits of the Don't Starve (circus?) theme itself. Maxwell's portion might be easier to hear in the single player version. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deerclops Mika Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 Wow! This is very curious! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retepeter Posted June 23 Share Posted June 23 Very interesting, could it be that Their leitmotif is the one that can be heard in the RoT endscreens and in the DST sailing track or is it just the ocean/sailing one? I found another candidate, a motif that can be heard right after Charlie's in the Terror Below trailer and at around 0:10 in the Wilson short and in the Maxwell short when he's admiring his statue at 0:26 but these may not be Their motif but specifically the From Beyond arc's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antynomity Posted June 23 Share Posted June 23 I didn't notice Charlie's leitmotif at all but Wagstaff's was already known for me to a point where I know it by memory (also because it's a banger and I hope they make so you can actually hear the music that plays when you help wagstaff during the containment of a moonstorm.) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronzebot Posted July 27 Share Posted July 27 A new Wagstaff appearance brings a new instance of his leitmotif, this time in a more jovial yet somewhat creepy tone: Spoiler wagstaff1.mp4 And then there's also this very brief section of WX-78's animation where it can be heard, which I believe hadn't been mentioned yet: Spoiler wagstaff2.mp4 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fabin Posted July 28 Share Posted July 28 i might be crazy, but i swear nightmare werepig's theme uses the leitmotif from the tune when the world changes to dusk or dawn. it's not as important as charlie or wagstaff's but it thought it was cool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gamehun20 Posted July 28 Share Posted July 28 8 hours ago, Bronzebot said: A new Wagstaff appearance brings a new instance of his leitmotif, this time in a more jovial yet somewhat creepy tone: Idk why this whole scene with wagstaff just feels unbelievably creepy like come on it's just a scientist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ardcrumb Posted July 28 Share Posted July 28 There's also leitimoifs for woodies and Wolfgang in thr new trailer, not 100% about wormwood though 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deerclops Mika Posted October 25 Share Posted October 25 It seems to me that you can hear Wagstaff's quiet leitmotif in the background here: Don't_Starve_Together_From_Beyond_Host_of_Horrors_Update_Trailer (online-video-cutter.com) (1).mp4 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swag Master69 Posted October 28 Author Share Posted October 28 After a bit of delay I've finally remade this post and updated it with the past few trailers. I also added a section for Maxwell and the Return of Them themes. I apologize for the delay, I lost all of the original files and had to remake everything. I'll do my best to keep it updated from now on. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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