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Taking on new projects.

Hi! I’m Max, a composer and sound designer specializing in atmospheric audio for sci-fi, action, and horror games. I create custom samples and record my own instruments to give each game an immersive, memorable sound.

I build complete game audio systems with FMOD: dynamic music and SFX that adapt to gameplay, integrated via scripts. I'm most experienced with Unity, but can also work in other engines, including Unreal and Godot.

Here's my website: https://maxshatalovaudio.com

Skills:

• Sound design: creating genre-appropriate, narrative-driven SFX
• Music: composing original tracks using custom recordings and live instruments
• Audio Implementation: building complete audio pipelines in-engine using FMOD
• Audio Engineering: mixing, mastering, recording, in-engine optimization

My Reels:

Availability:
Part-time / project-based.

Rates:
Indie-friendly pricing based on scope; flat rates for full projects. Free quote after a brief project review. Revshare offers considered.

Contact:

• DM: Discord
• Email: maxshatalovaudio@gmail.com

Great use of leitmotifs, and your synthwave production was really enjoyable. Nice work!

These songs are heartfelt, sincere, and make you feel a certain kind of nostalgia. Not many submissions are able to do that, great work!

Like the others have mentioned, The Forest is just an awesome track. Super atmospheric and interesting to listen to. I could imagine a whole game with this style of OST, great job!

Love how jazzy the tracks are, such a great vibe!

A very cozy submission! It's cool that you used modular synths, I really like how the OST turned out.

A great OST! It feels very cohesive and I really like how smoothly the songs flow into each other. RUN was a standout for me – the drums and the overall production of this track are amazing.

I imagine this OST playing in a town-building JRPG — it feels very whimsical and cozy.
Really good work!

Awesome piano playing! It really does feel intimate, and the first and last tracks were my favorites because they channeled this mood just perfectly.

Really good orchestration! It's impressive that you managed to make it in a mobile DAW. The piano works really well here as the main instrument, and I liked your story as well.

A really atmospheric submission. I like how you combined the guitar with piano parts and traditional orchestral elements. You Were Here Too was my favorite track – it has such an intimate and lonely feel.

One of the more unique electronic OSTs this jam, really creative. The third track was my favorite, really hypnotic and atmospheric, and the rhythm shifts on it were also cool!

I really liked the whimsical nature of this OST! The second track was my favorite, the percussion on it communicated the forest setting really well. I could picture the game while listening to the music, which is a great sign.

Really beautiful work. The lyre fits the seafaring theme very well, and your vocals elevate it all even further. And wow, that bottle on the last track was just the perfect vibe to end on – something about it communicates the endlessness of the sea so well.

Really enjoyed listening to these tracks. Some gorgeous evolving synth textures here, very atmospheric OST.
Good job!

I think the carefree beach day vibe comes through really well. I also liked how you used recurring melodies across different tracks, helps everything feel cohesive.

Good job!

Hell yeah, shoegaze! I personally love how gritty the OST sounds, it's pretty clear that was an intentional choice on your part. Reminds me of MBV or something like Sunn O))) even.

An awesome submission!

Really great use of accordion parts (at least I'm pretty sure it's an accordion?..) which also helps communicate the game's setting. I like how you manage to keep each song interesting by varying up the moods and instrumentation. 

A beautiful submission.

Really like the second track, very pleasant FM synths! I could see it as part of a sci-fi game soundtrack.

It turned out really atmospheric. I especially enjoyed the first track – it's peaceful yet foreboding at the same time, and the synths you chose here fit the vibe very well.

Awesome concept and really good orchestration.
I loved the chaotic vibes of the first track most of all, especially when the metallic percussion comes in. It really does conjure images of NYC subway.

These are some beautiful piano parts! The OST as a whole is very emotive, but I’d maybe go for something a bit more active for the battle theme to make it contrast with the first track.

I think it can be cool to have a somber piece playing when fighting a boss, but that’d depend on the primary emotion you want to communicate – if it’s not fear or danger, but sadness, then in that case it would work, I think.

A very good submission!

I think the best part of this OST is this quiet tension that’s present in every track – probably because of the droning pads that give off this surreal vibe, it really makes you feel like you’re listening to a soundtrack and not just separate disconnected tracks.

Good job!

I like that you focused on different moods within this OST, starting off with a darker tone, then moving on to something more hopeful, and finishing with an unsettling and mysterious track.

I also really enjoyed the sound design elements!

Wrecked Crankshaft is such a great track – game me strong Boards of Canada energy! The “trashy” sounding drums combined with analog synth textures were a treat to listen to.

The bass guitar together with the sax on the second track sound pretty cool! Enjoyed listening to it.

Let’s Go Home is such an interesting track, almost reminds me of dark shoegaze like Have a Nice Life. A really eclectic blend of instruments on this submission, good on you for not being afraid to experiment with fusing different styles together.

Hell yeah, spring reverb! It’s so cool that you went with noir/surf vibes for this OST, the guitar really helps tie everything together.

Once Upon a Summer Night is an especially atmospheric track, and the tremolo there was a great touch.

Definitely one of the most memorable submissions for me so far.

I really dig this. I like how you based the identity of this OST around detuned synths — they instantly communicate that’s something’s off (literally). 

I particularly enjoyed Apotheosis – just a trip-hop banger where your approach really shines the most (distorted tails are a nice touch).

Great work!

One of the most unique submissions I’ve heard this jam. The main theme feels so heartfelt and sincere, it reminded me of Angelo Badalamenti’s music. I like how the tracks flow into each other, from orchestral to funk to almost something shoegazey.

The only thing I’d suggest that might help from a mixing standpoint is to inject a bit more high frequencies into the main theme (from 8 khz upwards) – this could help the mix breathe a bit. But that’s of course very subjective, like most things in music.

Really impressive work!

I could totally picture this OST in a mystery/horror RPG. I like how layered and complex it feels in terms of mood: not morbid but still mysterious and tense, and yet somewhat optimistic at the same time.

A great submission!

Really hypnotic and moody OST – in the best way. My personal favorite was “minnow’s first waltz”. It’s so eerie yet whimsical – that’s such a cool combo to have within a single track. Also really enjoyed the slow low-pass filter on the drums, it added to the surreal nature of the track. 

An impressive submission!

Aside from the inspirations you’ve mentioned, it reminded me of Witcher 1 specifically – it also has that somewhat melancholy yet cozy soundtrack.

My favorite was the second track, something about how you arranged those dulcimer/zither parts is really mesmerizing.

It’s really cool that you made this OST with certain creative restrictions in mind, I think this helps it stand out. The songs have a memorable feel to them, I pictured an obscure RPG from the early 2000s while listening.

The sound design really helped you ground the music in the sci-fi setting. It’s cool stuff, you got talent!

I like the ethereal feel of the first and last track, kinda reminded me of early Twin Peaks!

Beautiful orchestration, the piano really shines here as the main instrument. I like how the OST feels calm, mysterious, and melancholy at the same time, I’m a sucker for that kind of vibe.

Great work!

Really strong Animal Crossing vibes on this one, I like it. The premise also reminded me of Miyazaki movies which can never be a bad thing. 

The tracks sound so whimsical and cozy, an awesome submission!