greetings!

that time of year is fast approaching - Advent Calendar 2024 is in two months! (from yesterday, sssh) thank you to everyone who suggested formats in last month's format suggestion thread... we'll see which ones we get, eh!?

this month is the BITPACK SUGGESTION period. your chance to have your idea appear in the advent calendar one day! either here in the thread or via discord DM to your hostists, me (damifortune) or kleeder (kleeder), post ideas for bitpacks to be potentially used during the Advent Calendar event. if something somebody posted sounds interesting to you, give it a liek, we pay attention to what seems popular too.

examples of stuff you could send:
- thematic text prompt (doesn't have to be Advent or Winter themed, but we will probably have some days that do this)
- fun restrictions of some kind, possibly with suggested formats for the bitpack. could be compositional restrictions, could be chip/polyphony/instrument restrictions, etc etc.
- SAMPLES! send us samples please, they'll get used on days where we have sample-based formats
- an iteration on a popular series (for example we did a YEA VIDEOGAME last year)

basically, anything that could potentially be used as an XHB bitpack, you can do. this battle is, after all, basically a timezone-friendly XHB. if you haven't partaken or seen this yearly event staple before, check out the Advent Calendar lyceum article! or check the old battles linked there for examples.

Hey! That's nice!

I'm just a bit unsure about making bitpacks that are specific to a certain format, like the furnace bitpack from last year for instance. The problem is that we don't know which format will be retained for the calendar...

Should we propose these bitpacks as if the related format was selected for the battle ?

sure if you want! general bitpacks are good too, as they would be the most likely to get used... or if you have a more specific idea in mind you can list some potential ones, or we (as your hostists) will also be thinking about what good formats for them will be

perhaps i should've just left it at "post bitpacks"!

mini bump ump

i think a bespoke bitpack would be nice.......................................
the prompt could be to create something freeform and/or generative (as in, randomly modulated) that also has a comforting winter feel.... the kind of muffled, quiet feeling of being warm in your crack in the wall while snow falls outside the window. would this be the first time bespoke has been a major format if it does appear..?

it would also be more enjoyable if there were a module restriction (ex. can only use 15 modules total, can only use 2 of each kind of module, etc..). i feel that would be much more conducive to the ambient style prompt since it encourages to do more with less

Should I send a Mega Man-style Famitracker instrument pack in? I think that could be neat.

by all means!

cool… so where exactly do we send these?

to me (damifortune) or kleeder (kleeder) on discord!

will do

[1 - any sample-supporting or midi music format, will separately provide possible samples]

It’s a Christmas-themed RPG! Compose a town theme for the North Pole’s village of elves. Your song must feature a jingle bell and/or a pizzicato instrument, but everything else is up to you!

[2 - any FM format]

Write a song for a snowy day that shifts from a peaceful calm to a raging storm.

Restrictions: you may only use 4 FM channels, including the percussion (if you’d like to include any).

—
note: if paired with Adlib, two paired channels for a 4OP instrument could count as one of the 4 channels. Up to the hostists on this

[3 any written format, plaintext might be easiest but others could work with some tweaks like adding graphics]

In homage to fanfiction forums of the 90s and 2000s, write a “bad” fanfiction short story featuring characters from any pop cultural references of your choice. Want it to be funny? Cute? Awful? The choice is yours. Remember, bad is good!
Your story must include a crossover from two universes that don’t belong together (e.g., Sonic the Hedgehog + Walter White)

For ideas, see the Bulwer Lytton Smackdown battles
https://jangler.github.io/botbsearch/?sa.x=0&sa.y=0&q=bulwer

These battles were inspired by the Bulwer-Lytton fiction contest, where entrants aim to write a deliberately bad opening to a novel.
https://www.bulwer-lytton.com/

BUMP !! keep em comin yall <3

[4] Neighborhood frog party

Vocal: hum a catchy tune

Any format: Craft a song that transitions from the cold, snowy outdoors into a warm, cozy house.


(I just realized this is kinda similar to Kilowatt's FM suggestion oops)

Any chip format: Boss battle against a giant snowman! Include 3 stages of intensity as the fight progresses (1 for each snowball)

Any visual format: Create an image of a fictional winter holiday from a different world. What traditions might it have? What do the people look like? Think about the world building and make it as absurd or realistic as you'd like.

an off the dome vocal idea:

You hear a knocking at the door... it's a group of carolers! As they open their mouths to sing, though, you realize this is no typical winter tune...

Compose a tune in the general style of a typical christmas carol, but with a unique twist!

A few SNES bitpack ideas from various games (or if not SNES then remix could work too):
-Last Bible III (relevant cuz christmas/bible analogy?? also really good samples and I already have a BRR pack made of it)
-Winter Gold (cuz winter)
-Winter Olympic Games - Lillehammer '94 (also cuz winter)

Musescore idea:

Write a movement from the following fictional concerto:
Musicologists have recently discovered a secret 5th Concerto of Vivaldi's Four Seasons! A hidden movement for a hypothetical season taking place between Autumn and Winter, known as "Silence" ("L'silenzio", in the composer's notes), meant to characterize the period after the leaves have fallen and before the snow has arrived, where all is still and grey.