detailed from an instrumental point of view.
Meaning I work to flesh out all the details of
an orchestra by adding more nuance in the
composition, adding parts for the woodwinds,
orchestral percussion etc. When performing
everything myself I work more on the actual
production, the sounds and instruments
as well as all the live solo performances.
When recording an orchestra or choir (or any
other large live recording) the engineer is
responsible for the quality of the recording,
the mic placement etc. It helps to have a
mixer who knows the room really well and you
also have orchestrators to help make sure
everything sounds optimal for the orchestra.For State Of Decay 2, you needed to set a
mood for wherever the action was going and
it’s incredibly effective. Did this soundtrack
feel different because the nature of the game
means you were not composing around a
central character, as you might in Hitman or
Assassin’s Creed?
Thank you! Honestly, it would have been
easier to compose for a main character’s
viewpoint because it would help steer the
direction of the score, it would point you in
the right direction and follow along with the
story. So that was one of the main challenges,
since there was no specific character or story
I was scoring and you stay on the same map
or in a similar location throughout the game.
This does make scoring the State Of Decay
games unique, and yes they sound different
because of it. So I embrace the world of State
Of Decay completely in my scoring while
adding the theme of the game, ‘hope’, to
much of the music. Hope that you can rebuild,
can survive and can get humanity back on
track. Of course, there is also much darker
music for the zombie encounters and tension
moments. The survival aspect, the idea that
hope remains and is worth fighting for is the
main idea behind the music that encourages
you to explore the world. When something
goes wrong or you are exploring potentially
dangerous areas, then we break this comfort
zone with the appropriate music. The
inspiration for State Of Decay 2’s music was
the game’s rustic world, a rural America that’s
slowly decaying, set among farm equipment,
abandoned cars, old houses, etc. And there’s
a zombie apocalypse happening.It’s ten years since Assassin’s Creed II, some
of your most lauded work. Tell us about your
involvement in that.
I went to Montreal where the team showed me
early demos and I was completely blown away
by how atmospheric the game looked. There
was a romantic vibe to the game that felt
really new and unique so I knew right away
that the music would have to be as different
and atmospheric as the game. Also, when
learning about Ezio’s tragic story I felt reallyprocess.I don’tlikeplayinggameswhereyou
canhearthesystemicmusicsystemworking
away;I likesomethingmorenatural-sounding.
WhatwasyourinspirationforBorderlands 3 ,
andhowdoesit differfromprevious
Borderlandssoundtracks?Presumablyasit’s
biggeranda bitmoreopen,theremusthave
beensomeextrachallengesthistime?
I wasworkingwitha newmusicsystem
specificallycreatedforBorderlands 3 and
thatmadetheexperienceintense.I always
lovea challengeandit’sgreattoseehowthis
musicsystemhaschangedandshapedthe
wayI writeinteractivemusic.I feellikeI went
tointeractivemusicschoolonthisproject
becauseofthedepthofthemusicsystem!As
forthemusicitself,I cansaythatit doesn’t
soundlikeanyofmyotherBorderlands
scores,yettheBorderlandsDNAis intactand
I feelthisscoreis themostpureBorderlands
musicI havewritten.
You’vescoredmultipletimesforthesame
seriesofgames– doesthatbecomeeasier
todoeachtime,becauseyouhavea starting
pointofwhereyoutookthescoresbefore?
Theteamis rarelylookingforthesametype
ofscore,soI wouldn’tsayit’seasier.Also,
whenworkingona sequelI usuallyputa lotof
pressureonmyselfsinceI don’tliketorepeat
myself.Thatself-imposedpressureis often
moreintensethananypressureI getfrom
thestudiosI workwith!In games,sequels
oftenhavebetterandmorerefinedgameplay
thantheoriginalgamesinceeverything
thatworkedgreatis carriedoverandnew
ideasareimplementedtoreplaceoutdated
gameplayelements.Sothescorehastoalso
reflectthistypeofprogressiveimprovement.
I lovereturningandworkingonsequels.I
alsoenjoyrefiningthemusicstyleandgoing
deeperwithsomeideasthatperhapsI didn’t
gettofullyfleshoutpreviously.
Yoursoundtrackscanbehugelyvaried;
fromsynthstufftoworldmusicandhuge
orchestralscores.
I amalwayslookingforvarietywhenwriting
scoresandmyfavouriteprojectsareoftento
workona musicaldirectionI haven’tworked
withbefore.BeforeAssassin’sCreedIII knew
“I usuallyput a
lot of pressure
on myselfsince
I don’t like to
repeat myself”
THE BIG INTERVIEW
nothing about Renaissance music and before
Hitman 2: Silent Assassin I had never written
an orchestral score. So I think I work really
well in situations like that. I also enjoy mixing
different music styles together and that is
really a bonus when adopting new genres of
music, where you can start to mix all these
different approaches and ideas together.
Hitman: Blood Money is a mix of electronic,
choral writing and orchestral music. That
direction evolved from my experiences writing
for choir with Freedom Fighters, orchestra
for Hitman 2: Silent Assassin and electronic
music with Hitman: Contracts.What are the key differences in your creative
process between composing by yourself and
playing everything, and using an orchestra
and having a number of musicians involved?
When I have an orchestra performing the
music, my music writing becomes much more060060 the official xbox magazine the official xbox magazine