Composer & Sound Designer for Japanese-Folklore Action Game (Unity)

YORU: Eclipse of Tails is a Japanese-folklore action-adventure built in Unity by a solo studio, Pectus Games. You play a Nekomata judging yokai in a purgatory, resolving each encounter through combat or persuasion. The game has a strong, deliberate visual and tonal identity, and the audio needs to match it: elegant, sophisticated, and unmistakably its own. I am looking for a freelance composer and sound designer to give the game its voice. This is project-based, work-for-hire, and staged in phases, so it can become an ongoing relationship as the game grows toward release. The Role - Freelance, project-based, work-for-hire. Not full time. - I would prefer one person who can do both music and sound design, for a single cohesive sound, but I will consider strong specialists in either. - I am the creative director. I know the feeling and quality I want, and I give clear, reference-led feedback. Your job is to translate that into sound. - All audio hooks are already built in Unity. You deliver named audio files and stems. No engine work is required. The Sound I Am After - Elegant, refined, composed, sophisticated. The opposite of stock or generic. - Rooted in traditional Japanese instruments written in their own scales: koto, shakuhachi, shamisen, taiko, sho, biwa, bells and wind chimes, with breath and vocal textures. - An example of the bar: one enemy is a faceless spirit whose sounds are tonal and dreamlike, bowed glass instead of a voice, a bell instead of an impact, blooming and uncanny rather than literal. - If your strength is naturalistic foley or generic battle music, this is probably not the right fit, and that is completely okay. Scope In total, around 40 sound effects and 7 music pieces, delivered in phases. - Sound effects (about 37): combat and creature sounds across the player and two enemies, with variations. - Music (7 pieces): a koto-led main menu theme, a delicate pause-menu cue, four short looping combat tracks for different intensity tiers, and a boss theme. More bosses will follow. - A detailed specification with the full list is available for shortlisted candidates. What I Am Looking For - Demonstrable skill with traditional Japanese or world instruments, or with atmospheric, emotionally restrained scoring. Please show relevant work. - Game audio experience, and an understanding of loops, stems, and adaptive music. - Clean delivery: 48kHz, 24-bit WAV, named to spec, with source stems. - Clear, responsive communication and real human craft. No AI-generated audio. - Comfortable starting with a small paid style test before the full commission. Terms - Independent studio on an indie budget, staged in phases. I am looking for a rate that fits an indie scope and someone happy to grow the work over time. - Full work-for-hire buyout. I own the delivered files outright, royalty-free, with the right to ship them and to release a soundtrack. - Paid style test first: a couple of hero sounds and a short slice of one track, in the game's palette, before any larger commission. - Phased commissions after that, with an agreed number of revision rounds. In Your Proposal, Please Include - Your portfolio or reel, highlighting any traditional Japanese, world-instrument, or atmospheric work. - Whether you do both music and sound design, or one of them. - A rough ballpark for the scope above, and your current availability. - Your typical revision policy. I read every proposal and will follow up with the best fits to arrange a paid style test.