Pressing play on "the sound of trying again"

The scene of "choosing to go again"

Last time, after making the title screen sound, I wrote that five scenes were now complete: before it starts, thinking time, the moment of solving, the silence of being stuck, the afterglow of clearing. But right after writing that, I realized something. I might have made a sound for the moment of failing, but I'd never made one for right after failing.

That split second when you press retry. If I put a mopey sound there, I feel like it'd drag the player's mood down with it. But too upbeat and it feels fake. What I wanted wasn't "alright!" or a sigh — something in between, light enough that your feet just start moving on their own.

Try playing it

It actually plays below. Press ▶ and you'll hear a short "tick, tick" acknowledgment twice, then it loops straight back around. 96 BPM — the briskest tempo I've used so far. I also kept the reverb thinner than ever before, going for a dry sound that doesn't let you linger in the moment.

I scrapped the first "regretful-sounding" version entirely

The first version I made was actually much more downcast. Minor key, slower tempo, trying to capture that "ugh, failed again" mood. But listening back, this would just stop the player's feet in their tracks. I reconsidered — the retry button isn't a place to dwell on regret, it's a place to go again.

So I rebuilt the whole thing. I pushed the attack down to almost zero at 0.001 seconds, and kept the release short at 0.25 seconds. I wanted a snap where the sound is basically already over the instant it starts. I also pulled the reverb down to 0.25, the driest sound I've made yet — not something that rings out and lets you linger, but something that snaps on and snaps right back off.

The tempo is 96 BPM — meant to feel like the pace of taking your next step forward. Thinking about it, retrying is basically what Tsumiki does every single episode of "Can't Solve Them, Still Hooked." Give up after five minutes without solving it, then go check out the next thing. I made this one with that same lightness in mind.

Next, it's your turn

"The sound of trying again" turned out to be one I'm fonder of than expected. That makes six scenes now: before it starts, thinking time, the moment of solving, the silence of being stuck, the afterglow of clearing, and retrying. I haven't decided which one comes next again. What's a good retry sound you remember, and from which game? Tell me in the comments if you remember.