8363 | A game audio blog

Kotaku feature on how SOTC made its way into Reign Over Me. This is the first time I've seen a movie portray a game as a critical plot device, not to mention something artistic. They specifically mention the soundtrack as a driving force in this decision.

Check out the brief glimpse at what computer music making could be like in 5 years...

Click to read more ...

I haven't played the game yet, but I'm adding it to my wishlist after hearing the main and opening themes. The interview is a good top-level perspective of what it must be like to score a massive, AAA title.

Here's my favorite quote:

One thing that we did was to actually use a lot of silence in the game. Silence is another composer's tool that is often overlooked in game music.

Sometimes silence is the most effective emotion wrench. Resident Evil 4 comes to mind.

Q&A: Scoring Lost Planet [GameSpot]

This blog has been live for about seven months now, and there have been 16K hits and 2K uniques so far. Over 350 uniques last month! So, I guess it's time I officially introduce this blog thing.

My goal is to write an entry every week or so. Here are the main topics I'll be focusing on:

• Working as a contractor in the game industry, including working from a home office and running a small business
• Music composition, sound design, and audio direction techniques
• Perspectives and philosophy on game audio in new releases
• If I have time, songs I do for fun (been a while since I've done that)
• Releases of titles I've worked on, or that friends have worked on
• Hardware and software reviews

I hope the above topics will be interesting to you. I'm just going to have fun with it.

But not too much fun. Here is a list of things I won't talk about here:

• Projects currently in development. I have nice working relationships with my clients and want to keep things that way.
• Criticism and negativity of others in game audio.
• Tips and techniques for confidential software or SDK's. SDK rhymes with NDA!

I might eventually start a myspace page that features my darkest thoughts... for now this blog is going to be all business.

Now to finish one of the dozen or so draft articles I've started...

Three titles I worked on were released last month. Game releases are always exciting because of the reviews--it's rare to get direct, third-party feedback on something I've worked on.

Sometimes when a game ships, after so many revisions to the music, I have to wonder how well it has all held together. It's hard to be objective about something you've been working on for months, and as happy as I am with the material I submit, I can't help but wonder, how will the fans and critics receive it?

Eragon DS (Amaze)

Ace Gamez:

The game's audio is very well done, with solid sound effects and a memorable, wonderfully effective soundtrack that could have used a few more tunes piping out of the DS's speakers. If you're not playing the game on the road then it's worth finding a nice comfortable chair at home and using those DS headphones you have stashed somewhere. 8.0

The solid sound effects are by Matt Piersall.

IGN:

Enchanting, ambient music fits the environments and doesn't drown out the action. 7.0

1UP had a very flattering, yet not 100% factual comment (the game's score is not based on the film score):

The music is very cinematic, as it, too, comes over from the movie. But where most licensed games' music falters, the music here doesn't feel tacked on.

It's common for movie-based games to use original music instead of the film score, because while the game is being developed the film score hasn't been composed yet.

Game Chronicles:

The sound quality is quite impressive, especially when listened to through headphones. I was amazed at how well the orchestral score featured in the console versions transferred over to the handheld. The music really help sets the mystical atmosphere of the game, and is the definite high point to the audio experience.

I did get to hear some of the console music during development, although none of the DS music is based directly on it.

Thanks to Mike Platteter for some great direction and feedback on the music.

Eragon GBA (Amaze)

Ace Gamez serves up one of the most glowing reviews I've received. It's great when the critic points out something specific--in this case, the title theme--we devs live for this type of review:

The sound effects are decent, with a couple of subtle environmental touches in some areas that add a nice sense of ambiance to the game. The score is really amazing, adding a great sense of place to each location and pumping up the battles with a nice selection of music that changes often enough that it never gets old. There's a lovely bit of piano in the understated main theme that's nice to hear each time you turn your GBA or DS on and, after a few play sessions, you'll feel almost at home listening to that familiar tune. If anything, the one thing all the Eragon games share is some really well composed and implemented music, which is funny since the film isn't even out as of this writing and I'm curious to hear how that soundtrack fits the action on the big screen. Heck, if the film's score is anywhere near lousy, I'll be able to go home and replay the games in order to blast the sonic aftertaste from my ears. 9.0

Props to Steven Velema for contributing many outstanding songs to this title. And thanks to Sean Epperson and Robin Vincent for taking a very hands-on role in the music.

Bionicle Heroes DS (Amaze)

IGN:

Atmospheric and mood-setting, the music will catch your attention from the moment you turn the power on. 8.0

Thanks to Brian McAuliffe for pushing me in the right direction musically.

These games were a pleasure to work on. Thanks to everyone who took the time to review them.

I recently had a discussion with Kyle Johnson on the dilemma of whether to refine a song, or abandon it and start over. We agreed that all his unfinished songs were little sources of guilt--that rather than start a new song, the old ones should be finished. I've felt this way about video games as well--why buy a new game when there's a stack of in-progress ones?

Before I started making music professionally, I had tons of little stubs and stems of songs littering my hard drive, never to be finished. The purpose of these songs wasn't to create a new complete song for others to listen to, but rather it was to explore. They led nowhere but that makes them just as valuable as the songs that were fully completed. The problem is, you don't know when you set out what type of song it's going to be. And you get attached to the song as you write it.

It's difficult to abandon this thing you've poured hours of work into, especially when it sounds almost good enough. You've become fully invested in it and you don't want to say all those hours were wasted. Here is where you tell yourself, it's not always about the end result but more about the experience.

The trouble is, the longer you spend working on a song, the more you want it to work. Before long, the main reason it is still being worked on is that it's been worked on so long. You hold out the hope that it develops. And with each hour it becomes harder to let go.

It's comforting to visit gfx artists' websites and find pages of unfinished sketches. Why isn't this more acceptable in the music world?

I don't have a solution yet, but I am going to try evaluating songs as they are made to determine, "is this a song, or is this a sketch?" Recognizing that sketches have their own value as part of the process, I might be more willing to give up on them.

The same is true for parts of a song: the segment you wrote that sounded really cool on its own, but doesn't fit in with the rest of the song at all. It's so hard to let go of it and exclude it just because it doesn't fit in.

To combat the attachment syndrome, I'm going to try making some songs that are designed to be throw-away from the start. As a side benefit, it's easier to start on a song when you know your first attempt will be thrown out, and there isn't so much pressure to create something brilliant in the first stroke.

To summarize, here are some theories I've come up with that I'm going to explore over the next few months.

• All songs start out as sketches. Only some become "releases."
• Be willing to break free from a song and start over, no matter the emotional attachment.
• It's faster to write three sketches and pick the best one than to try to refine a perfect song in the first go.

How do you guys deal with this attachment syndrome? What are your techniques and how well do they work?