SpellMiner

SpellMiner was a fast-paced iOS word game developed by indie-developer Silas Faltus that was built around two-minute competitive rounds and score-driven wordplay. Players swiped to connect letters, clear words, mine deeper for gold, trigger special power letters, and build combos for higher scores.

I composed the background music for the game, with the goal of creating something that felt arcade-like, energetic, and motivating, while still leaving enough space for the player to concentrate on word-building decisions. Because each round lasted only two minutes, the music also needed to support the structure of the timer and help build tension as the clock ran down.

The gameplay track was designed to evolve over the course of the round. During the main portion of gameplay, the music maintained a steady arcade-inspired pulse to support quick thinking and repeated swiping. In the final ~30 seconds, the music picks up pace to signal that time is running out and to push the player toward faster decisions. In the final 10 seconds, the music gradually rises in pitch, heightening the sense of urgency before landing on a final cadence as the clock reaches zero.

The sound effects were designed to match the game’s explosive visual feedback and help transform the experience from a traditional word game into something that felt closer to an arcade game. SpellMiner featured energetic animations, bonuses, power-ups, and score-driven moments, so the audio needed to heighten that sense of impact and excitement. Rather than treating the effects as simple interface sounds, I designed them to reinforce the game’s visual bursts and reward moments. Each swipe, word clear, power-up, bonus, and scoring event needed to feel satisfying and immediate, giving the player the sense that every successful action had energy behind it. The result was a sound palette that helped make the gameplay feel more dynamic, responsive, and arcade-like.

Together, the music and sound effects supported the emotional arc of the game: focused concentration at the start, increased pressure near the end, and a clear sense of resolution when time ran out. Rather than functioning as background polish alone, the audio helped shape the player’s sense of speed, urgency, reward, and replayability.

Overall, SpellMiner represents my work as a game composer and sound designer for a polished iOS word game built around quick decisions, timed pressure, and score-chasing momentum.