Thursday, February 18, 2021

2012 VGM Primer Written










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WRITTEN:

benprunty.com

Denver Post

Dread Central

Epic Games

Famitsu

GameDaily

GameInformer

GameSpot

HyperDuck Soundworks

IndieGames Podcast

Last.fm

Michaelmccann.io

Oricon

OverClocked Remix

PC Gamer

Polygon

The Sixth Axis

That Shelf




Iconic

Forgotten

Timeless

Innovative




These are the soundtracks that help shape and define what we hear in the video games that we play. I am Nitro, and this is the M Disk Playlist Video Game Music Primer 2012




***
Katawa Shoujo, composed by Sebastien "NicolArmarfi" Skaf and Andy "Blue123" Andi


https://www.last.fm/music/NicolArmarfi/+wiki


Katawa Shoujo was a different approach to the romantic visual novel type of game. Each of the main cast has at least one form of physical disability. You yourself have chronic cardiac arrhythmia and congenital heart muscle deficiency. Your condition puts you in a position where you have to enroll in a school that specializes in helping other students who are physically challenged. The game does not make light of anyone’s condition, nor does it make gags out of the platonic or romantic relationship built between the cast.

As you progress through school and decide how you want to socialize, you are accompanied by soothing minimalist music, and/or relaxing chill beats. The music is primarily provided by Sebastien Skaf, who goes by the alias NicolArmarfi. According to his last FM profile, he was inspired by the works of Beethoven, Chopin, and Prokofiev. In terms of video game composers, he is inspired by Nobuo Uematsu, and Hitoshi Sakimoto. Official information on Skaf regarding this game could not be found as of this production, but it is rumored that Skaf was unsatisfied with the work he did for Katawa Shoujo, so he took down his works wherever he was able to, and left developer Four Leaf Studios two years after the game’s first release.

The game’s secondary composer is Andy Andi, who goes by the alias “Blue123.” No other official information could be found on Andi as of this production. The game also features guest composers that have been added to the game over the course of its updates. Those composers include game producer Cam “Cpl_Crud” O’Neill, game director delta, Overcoat, and noted saxophone player Japes.

Katawa Shoujo guides you through a journey of self acceptance, friendship building, romancing, and if you want it to go that far, a journey of intimacy. Through it all, you get calming music to gently enhance the adolescent experience. The entire soundtrack can be downloaded from the game’s official website under the release; Katawa Shoujo: Enigmatic Box of Sound.


***

Journey, composed by Austin Wintory


Denver Post

IndieGames Podcast

GameSpot

Polygon

The Sixth Axis


Games often need words, or set directions to guide you to where you are supposed to go. Journey completely omits any visual aid, leaving you to figure out where you are, and how you’re supposed to navigate your surroundings. The game also gives you a limited number of things you can actually do; Walk, glide, and audible communication. The task you are given is to reach the top of a mountain that can be seen in the distance. With limited things you can do, and even more limited information, it is up to the player to interpret how the story plays out, and how the player feels in the end.

Austin Wintory had an interest in music since he was a child. He was able to learn to play film scores by ear, so he started taking piano lessons at the age of 10. By the time he was 16, he became a conductor, working with the Cherry Creek High School orchestra in Greenwood VIllage, Colorado. He moved on to the Utah Symphony Orchestra two years later, and then enrolled at the University of Southern California where he met Jenova Chen, future developer of Journey. Wintory would collaborate with Chen on the game Flow, which would be the first game that Wintory scored. It was an experience Wintory described as “radically unlike [any music] he had done before.”

Journey would be Wintory’s second game score, and it would be both one of his more difficult works, and one of his personal greatest achievements. For Journey, Wintory was given the task to make the entire score depict one overarching theme; your personal interaction with your surroundings leading up to the mountain. The penultimate piece, Apotheosis, would end up being the most difficult piece for Wintory to compose. Originally, the final moment was supposed to be similar to how the rest of the score sounded. But Wintory found the original piece planned to be boring. Facing the pressure of living up to the game’s build-up, and the pressure of not having the piece ready before the game’s launch, Wintory took inspiration from Thomas Newman’s score for the 2008 film WALL-E, and began composing a piece that was uplifting in the foreground, and mellow in the background. A symbol of both the experience of the game, and a symbol of bringing closure to that experience. Another source of inspiration for Apotheosis was Tina Guo, cellist of the entire score who is close friends with Wintory, and has collaborated with him in past concerts. The game contains one vocal track, the credits theme “I Was Born for This” performed by Lisbeth Scott.

The score for Journey was so successful, it became the first original video game score to be nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media in 2013, losing to Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ score for the film The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. In 2016, a live dynamic concert series for Journey was funded via Kickstarter. The concept would be that someone would play the game, while a symphony orchestra conducted by Patrick O'Malley with Wintory’s direction, performed arrangements of the score based on what was happening in the game. Journey was one of the most emotional and engrossing experiences in a video game, with a score that enhanced the game in a way that raised the bar for how music enhances the experience of any game.



***
Lollipop Chainsaw, composed by Akira Yamaoka, and Jimmy Urine


Dread Central


With releases like Killer7, No More Heroes, and Shadows of the Damned, developer Suda 51 of Grasshopper Manufacture showed audiences that he is not afraid to produce content not seen in other games. Like this one. A game about a cheerleader who is also a zombie hunter dealing with a zombie invasion at her school on her 18th birthday. But what makes Lollipop Chainsaw different from the other Suda 51 games is how music is heavily integrated into the themes and symbolism of the story, when compared to his other works. The biggest example of this is that the main antagonist, Swan, enlists the aid of “intelligent zombies” each being an intentional reference to a form of rock music.

One of the intelligent zombies is voiced in his first video game voice acting job by the game’s co-composer Jimmy Urine, who was responsible for composing the game’s boss themes. Jimmy Urine is known famously for his role as the lead vocalist for the group Mindless Self Indulgence. In an interview with Dread Central, Urine talks about how fun it was to work with the game’s co-writer, James Gunn. Urine describes Gunn’s writing for his character as sounding exactly like how he would in real life. Urine and Gunn would collaborate with each other again on the 2017 film Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2.


While Urine composed the game’s boss themes, Akira Yamaoka handled the rest of the original score. Yamaoka, having earned his fame and popularity through his works with Konami, including the Silent Hill series. After leaving Konami to join Grasshopper Manufacture, he would work on games like Shadows of the Damned, No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle, and Sine Mora.

The lore of Lollipop Chainsaw is rooted in the various forms of the rock music genre. To help amplify the roots of the lore, it would take Akira Yamaoka, a composer who had always been inspired by the rock genre, and Jimmy Urine, whose career with Mindless Self Indulgence would make him integral to making rock, and all the elements of Lollipop Chainsaw inspired by rock, sound as authentic as it can.



***
Sound Shapes


That Shelf


From the creator and composer of the 2007 PlayStation Network game, Everyday Shooter, Jonathan Mak designed a game that would combine the platformer genre with the music genre. By combining the two genres, he was able to produce a game where your actions help build more layers of the music composed specifically for the game. Joining Mak is performer Shaw-Han Liem, known professionally as I Am Robot and Proud. Mak met Liem at one of his concerts and the two collaborated with each other making different game prototypes, one eventually becoming Sound Shapes.

Despite the platformer influence, Mak is actually not a fan of the platformer genre due to all the “memorizing” required to progress. Sound Shapes, on the other hand, works like an interactive toy box, akin to games like Rez, Lumines, and Electroplankton. Mak and Liem served as both the designers, and co-composers of the game. Three other composers also contributed their own music to the game. Jim Guthrie, who previously scored the game Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP, and was the composer of the popular documentary, Indie Game: The Movie. Deadmau5, who had quickly become one of the most popular DJs in the late 2000s going into the 2010s. Deadmau5 has made cameos in the games DJ Hero 2, Goat Simulator, Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff, and his trademark helmet appears as an antenna topper in the game Rocket League.

The last composer to contribute to the game is Beck. Beck was one of the most popular musicians in the 90s with chart topping singles like Loser, Where It’s At, Devil’s Haircut, The New Pollution, and Sexx Laws. The music he made for Sound Shapes, as well as the music by Deadmau5, and Jim Guthrie can only be heard in the game.

Sound Shapes was one of the most popular interactive games that gradually builds the music the more you progress. The musicians who collaborated on the game may have contributed to the game’s popularity, but the concept of a little sphere moving and jumping to build the music was crafted in a way that hadn’t been done before. The unique appeal of the platformer music genre combination made Sound Shapes one of the PlayStation Network’s stand-out downloadable indie titles in 2012.



***
Dust: An Elysian Tail, composed by Hyperduck Soundworks and Alexander Brandon

Dust: An Elysian Tail was an entry for Microsoft’s annual “Dream.Build.Play” contest, where indie developers would make a game for a grand prize. This game won the 2011 edition of the contest, and one of the prizes was a contract to release the game for the Xbox Live Arcade store, which would have given the game more exposure than if it had been released on their Indie Games channel, as originally planned.

While the majority of the game was worked on by Dean Dodrill, the music was scored by talent who have been involved with video games since the 90s. Alexander Brandon started composing music on Ad Lib when he was 14 years old. Professionally, he would compose first for Epic Games, which includes being part of the sound team on popular titles like Unreal, and Unreal Tournament. He would also be known for scores in the Deus Ex series, and media tie-ins like The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, Happy Feet, and the Ant Bully. In an interview with OverClocked Remix, Brandon talked about how Dodrill actually sent him an early build of the game, which had been unusual for him as he normally doesn’t have any material to work with, a technique he refers to as a developer telling a composer to “throw it over the fence.”

Though Brandon has an extensive history with games, he only composed four tracks for the game. The rest of the score was composed by Chris Geehan & Dan Byrne-McCullough, known collectively as HyperDuck SoundWorks. The duo are frequently commissioned to work on music for trailers of games, but have also worked on other independent games like Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Fez, and Cosmic Star Heroine. They have also worked on the British Academy Film and Television Award winning BBC series, Last Commander.

Dust: An Elysian Tail was another indie game released on Xbox Live Arcade whose accolades helped make the game another reason for why indie games can produce the same quality of experience that games from large studios are able to. With a score that combines experience from Alexander Brandon, embodying gaming experiences of the past, and HyperDuck Soundworks, embodying gaming experiences of the future, Dust would bring together influences and techniques from all eras of gaming into one generation bridging experience.




***
FTL: Faster Than Light, composed by Ben Prunty


https://benprunty.com/2014/03/03/the-most-important-advice-i-can-give-to-an-aspiring-game-musician/

https://www.pcgamer.com/ftl-faster-than-light-soundtrack-ben-prunty/


Ben Prunty was always passionate about music. High school proved to be a turning point for Prunty’s passion. He became interested in what he described as “bad German trance music.” He was so enamoured by the genre, he invested in Sonic Foundry’s loop tool ACID to produce music straight out of his computer. Despite the slow learning process, he was not afraid to take chances. He would send demos and letters to various game developers for six months, and move cross country from Maine to the Bay area until finally getting the opportunity to work with Gravity Ghost developer Erin Robinson.

Game developer Anton Mikhailov introduced Prunty to the developers of FTL because Mikhailov knew that the FTL developers were looking for a composer. Prutny described earning the opportunity to compose FTL as “luck.” But at the same time, he feels as if he would never have gotten the opportunity if he didn’t take the risks and chances that he took leading up to his job on Gravity Ghost.

The opportunity to work on FTL was so financially rewarding for Prunty, it allowed him to quit his job at the time to focus on composing full time. FTL would end up being recognized by critics as one of, if not, the best scores of 2012. And all the accolades, and opportunities became a life lesson Prunty expresses to anyone who aspires to be a musicians; “Practice a lot, make smart decisions, be friendly and social and meet game developers.”




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XCOM: Enemy Unknown, composed by Michael McCann


https://michaelmccann.io/bio/

GameInformer


Michael McCann got his career started with the release of the EDM albums Suture Persona in 1998, and Behavior: The Story of the Mechanical Man in 2001. He would further expand his resume as a film composer with films like FUBAR, and his most successful film score; It’s All Gone Pete Tong. He would enter the video game industry with scores for games like Splinter Cell: Double Agent, and Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

XCOM: Enemy Unknown would serve as a reboot of the 90s MicroProse developed game. Roland Rizzo, who worked as a QA tester for the original 1994 Enemy Unknown, worked as an audio lead for this game. He would take the sounds from the original game, composed by John Broomhall, and reimagine it for this game. Rizzo would take sections from the original score, and convert it into something that would be more ethereal and dynamic for a modern retelling of an alien invasion story.

Michael McCann’s original score, and Roland Rizzo’s improvements to a score almost 20 years old at that time, both were combined to create a haunting, and eerie experience. But one that would help make the 2012 XCOM Enemy Unknown one of the year’s most memorable scores, as well as one of the year’s most memorable games.


***
Bravely Default, composed by Revo


https://www.famitsu.com/news/201206/19016586.html

https://www.oricon.co.jp/news/36643/full/




The spiritual successor to Final Fantasy: The Four Heroes of Light would become a new role playing game franchise for Square Enix. Among unique gameplay mechanics such as using the 3DS sleep mode to replenish the time altering ability called Bravely Second, or using StreetPass to help rebuild your village, the unique approach to the game's score helped distinguish itself from other RPGs, especially those released by Square Enix.

Revo, lead composer of the self described fantasy band Sound Horizon, served as the game's sole composer. Sound Horizon throughout the late 90s and early 2000s made a name for themselves by creating an eclectic combination of symphonic orchestra with metal. In the early 2010s under the name Linked Horizon, Revo would help compose various opening and ending themes for the Attack on Titan anime, and Revo would compose the first Sailor Moon Crystal opening, Moon Pride, performed by Momoiro Clover Z. Through Sound Horizon, Revo's first involvement with video games was composing Shūtan no Ou to Isekai no Kishi ~The Endia & The Knights~, the main theme for the 2006 Chaos Wars, and Kamigami ga Aishita Rakuen ~Belle Isle~, the opening theme for the MMORPG, Belle Isle. Bravely Default would be Revo's first time composing an entire game.

Revo worked closely with producer Tomoya Asano to compose the entire score. As development of the game progressed, more pieces were composed, surpassing the number of pieces originally intended for the game. This was due to Revo feeling like certain situations in the game needed their own unique pieces instead of relying on a previously used piece. He also wanted the entire score to encompass the nostalgia of listening to music from the SaGa series, and the Dragon Quest series.

Bravely Default did not sound like any other role playing game out there. This was due to Revo’s decade long experience of blending genre’s in creative, unique, and exciting ways. He carried that experience with Sound Horizon + Linked Horizon, and crafted one of the most energetic, fast paced, and more dynamic scores for a role playing game.




***
Animal Crossing: New Leaf, composed by Manaka Kataoka, Atsuko Asahi, and Kazumi Totaka

Video games often challenge the player, or test their talents, knowledge, and abilities. Not often does a game exist to provide both a wholesome and relaxing experience simultaneously. The Animal Crossing series is a simulation game where you build your own home, and interact with your villager neighbors by doing activities like fishing, bug catching, planting, and selling practically anything for bells to help fund your home, and repay your mortgage. There is no end-game objective. The game can go on as long as you want it to.

Kazumi Totaka has been one of Nintendo's in-house composers since 1992 with the games X, Mario Paint, Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru, and Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins. He is also known for sneaking in his own 19-note piece as an easter egg in every game he has composed music for, known as Totaka's Song. When he transferred to Analysis and Development, his role as a composer decreased somewhat. But he would still find occasion to compose for games, including the role as one of Animal Crossing's primary composers. He is even the inspiration and voice behind in-game musician K.K. Slider, known in Japan as Totakeke, a play on the Totaka name. Every Saturday night, you can ask K.K. Slider to play any song you request, and he will perform the song for you. Dozens of songs can be requested. You can even use "aircheck" versions of K.K. Slider songs inside your home, provided that you have a music player to play them on.

For every hour in the game, there is a piece of background music. And depending on weather conditions, the arrangement is altered slightly. Some of the hourly themes followed the same leitmotif as the main theme of the game. And whenever there is a holiday, you would get a unique piece of music for your town. Music is even integral to designing the town theme; a short piece that is used as town bell music at the top of every hour, and as the piece played whenever you talk to any of the town villagers.

Manaka Kataoka has been scoring for Nintendo since 2007 with the game Wii Fit. Her first involvement with the Animal Crossing series is the Wii’s iteration; City Folk. She is also well known for her works in the Legend of Zelda series, working on the scores for Spirit Tracks, Breath of the Wild, and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. Atsuko Asashi has been scoring for Nintendo since 2011 with the game Steel Diver. New Leaf would be the only Animal Crossing game she would work on. She would go on to be known for games like Mario Kart 8 and its DLC, ARMS, Super Smash Bros for Wii U/3DS, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Animal Crossing: New Leaf helped entice people into buying a Nintendo 3DS to experience what was considered to be one of the most improved Animal Crossing games, and at the time, one of the best looking 3DS games. With relaxing music from Manaka Kataoka and Atsuko Asahi, under the helm of Animal Crossing’s original composer Kazumi Totaka, Animal Crossing: New Leaf would blend what made Animal Crossing’s music so charming in the past, with more serene approaches to how music can enhance the series from Kataoka and Asahi.





***
Yakuza 5, composed by Mitsuharu Fukuyama

The Yakuza series has primarily focused on the trials and tribulations of Kazama Kiryu, an ex-Yakuza official who only wishes to live a quiet life with his family and orphans. And yet, he is somehow always pulled into the seedy crime-filled world of the Yakuza, and must fight his way through his enemies to protect the ones he loves. What makes Yakuza 5 stand out are the multiple stories told through different perspectives, including one featuring Kiryu’s adopted daughter, Haruka Sawamura. In Yakuza 5, Haruka trains to become an idol by competing in the Princess League J-Pop competition. The gameplay for much of Haruka’s storyline consists of rhythm game-like mechanics, matching the timing of the button pressing to the beats of the songs she is performing.

Series composer Mitsuharu Fukuyama got his video game composition career started as the primary composer of the Crackin’ DJ series. He would also be involved in franchises like Derby Owners Club, OutRun, the games in the Feel the Magic series, and the Yakuza series starting with the third game, up until this one. He would also be the composer of one of the Yakuza franchises most popular karaoke songs, Baka Mitai. Speaking of the karaoke songs, all the songs are performed by the voice actors portraying the characters who are singing. Karaoke songs Heartbreak Mermaid and Rouge of Love would reappear in Yakuza 0, and Baka Mitai would reappear in both Yakuza 0, and Yakuza: Like a Dragon, with Like a Dragon featuring for the first time, an English version of the song.

The Yakuza series can be dramatic, downright silly, or both at the same time. But throughout it all, comes the opportunity to experience the joys of singing and dancing. And Yakuza 5 was able to bring the joys of both singing and dancing together in a way that could not be replicated in the other Yakuza games.

Monday, December 7, 2020

2011 VGM Primer Written



Iconic (Skyward Sword)

Forgotten (Shadows of the Damned)

Timeless (The Old Republic)

Innovative (Bastion)


These are the soundtracks that help shape and define what we hear in the video games that we play, I am Nitro and this is the M Disk Playlist Video Game Music Primer: 2011


***

Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP, composed by Jim Guthrie


https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/05/14/jim-guthrie-takes-time_n_3268010.html

https://www.cgmagonline.com/2019/05/11/revisiting-sword-sworcery-a-talk-with-jim-guthrie/


Jim Guthrie is a Canadian-born musician whose experience made him part of the forefront of Canadian Indie rock in the 90s. He would continue to accumulate experience in the indie rock scene leading up to the release of his 2003 Juno Award nominated LP; Now More Than Ever. He wasn’t just adverse in the music industry, he was also a capable commercial musician, and a film composer, with arguably his most recognizable film score being the documentary; Indie Game: The Movie, which highlighted the development and release of indie games Braid, Super Meat Boy, and Fez.


Then came his first video game score, this one. An action adventure side scroller with stunning visuals, and a critically acclaimed score. Guthrie describes the music in the game as; “[living] in this middle void of electro / acoustic, dark, pretty clouds of hooks, drones and tones.” Guthrie appears in the game as himself in a cameo, offering to play music for the player character. By interacting with parts of the surrounding area, you can change the dynamic of Guthrie’s in-game performance.


Jim Guthrie was at the forefront of the indie scene. He composed for indie rock, he composed for indie movies, and he composed for indie games. He wouldn’t compose for another video game until the 2018 release, Below. He views his experience as a composer as just a way of learning more about the composition process, and what he can bring to any project he gets involved in.


***

Terraria, composed by Scott Lloyd Shelly


https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2020-05-16-9-years-after-launch-terraria-is-finally-complete

https://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/1733/interview-with-terraria-composer-scott-lloyd-shelly

https://www.productionhub.com/profiles/details/294143

https://resonancearray.com/about/


Terraria took the concept of a sandbox-style game, and made it into a 2D action adventure. Since its first release in 2011, the game has been updated, and released on multiple different platformers, making it one of the most profitable titles released in the 2010s, with its final official update being released in May 2020 under the title “Journey’s End.” Scott Lloyd Shelly has been the composer of the game throughout its entire development process. But his music experience goes far beyond the 2010s.


Since 1985, Shelly has been involved with the visual entertainment side of music, working on films like Thunder Alley, Witness, and the 1986 animated Transformers movie. His television resume includes Mega Movie Magic, The Book that Shook the World, and arguably his most recognizable work in film or television, The Crocodile Hunter.


He joined the game industry in 1995 with the EA Kids version of The Jungle Book. Most of the games he worked on were educational games like the games in the Reader Rabbit series. He has cited in an interview with jdodson of Cheerful Ghost that Terraria developer Andrew Spinks was his favorite game developer to work with. His reasoning being that he was allowed to compose the score as he interpreted it based on the reception he got for the first track submitted when he hardly ever got that much freedom to compose.


A simple concept that continued to provide for gamers throughout the 2010s. This helped make Terraria one of the decade’s more popular titles. For Scott Lloyd Shelly whose music was already heard in popular pieces of entertainment like the Transformers movie, and the Crocodile Hunter series, Terraria gave Shelly arguably his most popular, and most distinguishable work to date.


***

Shadows of the Damned, composed by Akira Yamaoka


https://www.ausgamers.com/features/read/3049869

https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/26345/Report_Silent_Hill_Composer_Yamaoka_Leaves_Konami.php


Akira Yamaoka made a name for himself as the composer of the Silent Hill series. He was defined by his ability to create a sound that blended industrial music with a horrifying ambience, giving Silent Hill the signature sound to help stand out among other horror titles in gaming. In December 2009, Yamaoka left Konami after working there since 1993. He would soon join Grasshopper Manufacture, the studio responsible for games like Killer 7, No More Heroes, and this game.


Shadows of the Damned was promoted as a dream action adventure collaboration between Grasshoper Manufacture’s founder Suda51, Resident Evil director Shinji Mikami, and the former Silent Hill composer. Yamaoka worked with members of the English gothic rock group conveniently named, The Damned, on this score. Yamaoka also got help from musicians who had collaborated with him on the Silent Hill series. Lyricist Joe Romersa wrote some of the vocal tracks, with all but one of the vocal tracks performed by Mary Elizabeth McGlynn. Vocalist of The Damned performed the game’s main theme, Shadows of the Damned (with The Damned). There is one vocal track that is not included in the game, but is part of the soundtrack and has been performed at concerts. Take me to Hell, performed by Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, and Troy Baker, who would in the coming years become one of the most recognizable voice actors in gaming with performances in games like InFamous 2, BioShock Infinite, and The Last of Us.


Shadows of the Damned was Akira Yamaoka’s first Grasshopper Manufacture game where he served as the primary composer. He still works for the studio as a sound director, and continues to evolve his rock style of scoring through each game he works on for Suda51.


***

Bastion, composed by Darren Korb


https://www.indiegamewebsite.com/2018/03/09/interview-darren-korb/

https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/36327/Interview_Storytelling_Through_Narration_In_Bastion.php


Bastion was the first of a few notable things. It was the first game developed by studio Supergiant Games, and it was the first professional scoring job of Darren Korb. Korb had always had a fondness for video game music, and was an aspiring musician himself. But he initially didn’t plan on his two passions intertwining with one another. As he developed his passion for music with singing and performing in bands, he would wind up studying the production side of music.


Amir Rao, co-founder of Bastion developer Supergiant Games, had been a friend of Korb’s since they were 8. It was through this friendship that Korb got the opportunity to work on Bastion. For the music in Bastion, Korb cites the music of Led Zeppelin, and Robert Johnsons as primary influences of the direction Korb wanted to go with. He describes the music in the game as acoustic frontier trip-hop. There are four vocal pieces in the game; Build That Wall, performed by Ashley Barrett as Zia. Mother I’m Here, performed by Korb as Zulf. Setting Sail, Coming Home performed by both Barrett and Korb. And What’s Left Undone, performed by Logan Cunningham as Rucks. Cunningham also serves as the game’s dynamic narrator throughout the entire game. Korb wrote the lyrics to all the vocal tracks.


Bastion, and Supergiant Games became an instant success story with the release of this game, thanks in part to its audio design, and the popularity of the game’s vocal pieces. Darren Korb would continue to compose for Supergiant Games, and performers Ashley Barrett and Logan Cunningham would continue to provide either singing vocals and/or voice acting for Supergiant Games.


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Rhythm Heaven Fever, composed by Tsunku, TNX, Masami Yone, Shinji Ushiroda, and Asuka Ito


http://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/wii/rhythmheavenfever/0/0


In 2006, Rhythm Tengoku was released as Nintendo’s last first party title for the Game Boy Advance. It would be Nintendo’s first official entry into the music genre. The first release in the Rhythm Heaven series outside of Japan was Rhythm Heaven for the Nintendo DS in 2009. What made the series successful, as well as stand out from other music games, was its reliance on audio cues to progress through each stage, as opposed to visual cues. And each stage did not end if you messed up too many times. Success or fail, you still got to experience each stage and its music piece in its entirety.


Rhythm Heaven Fever would be the first, and only game in the series to be developed for consoles. The staff, and the sound team all agreed that it would be beneficial for Rhythm Heaven Fever to have 2D animation, as well as only having button inputs instead of the usual motion control that had been implemented in nearly every NIntendo Wii title.


Tsunku has been a producer and a sound director for the Rhythm Heaven games since the original 2006 release. While Tsunku handled the majority of the score; Masami Yone, Shinji Ushiroda, and Asuka Ito of Nintendo’s sound team collaborated with each other on the remaining pieces.Yone has been involved with the Rhythm Heaven series since the beginning. Urishoda’s first game in the series was this one, after having accumulated experience working on the Beatmania series for Konami. Ito’s first Rhythm Heaven game was the Nintendo DS Rhythm Heaven. Tsunku’s ntertainment company TNX is credited for composing the game’s Japan-exclusive manzai minigame.


The Rhythm Heaven games provide an approach to the music genre that doesn’t require you to be a master of reflexes just to properly advance the stage. With original music, and original animation to accompany the original music, Rhythm Heaven is a series that stands out visually from Nintendo’s catalog, as well as the music genre library.


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Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure, composed by Lorne Balfe, Andrew Kawczynski, Pete Adams, and Hans Zimmer


http://www.filmmusicmag.com/?p=11915

https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1g4wkt/i_am_hans_zimmer_ask_me_anything/cagscgt/

https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1129237059587


A new way to experience games that combines the appeal of collecting action figures with platform gaming. Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure helped pave the way for a new younger generation of gamers to give them a brand new, appealing type of gaming experience. Primary composer Lorne Balfe grew up with a family devoted to the art of music and sound production. It wasn’t until he got to work with popular film composer Hans Zimmer that he was able to get his foot in the business.


He would spend much of the 2000s working under “additional music” credits for various films, and would score for documentaries like Nova, How to Look Good Naked, and WWII in HD. He would go on to be the primary composer in films like Megamind, Terminator Genysis, The Lego Batman Movie, and Mission Impossible: Fallout. He didn’t start working on video games until the 2009 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. The other games he worked on before this one would be the video game adaptation of Rango, which he was an additional composer for on the original film, and Crysis 2, replacing Inon Zur. Speaking of Hans Zimmer, a composer Balfe spent much of his professional career collaborating with, Zimmer composed the main theme for Skylanders. Additional music credits are given to fellow film composers Andrew Kawczynski, and Pete Adams; both of which have also been frequent collaborators of Zimmer.


Skylanders was the beginning of a new gaming experience for a younger audience. Integration of toys and games became one of 2010s most popular trends. All of which came together by writers, producers, and composers whose collective and extensive experience with successful films for younger audiences helped make Skylanders a stand-out hit for 2011, and one of the 2010s most popular franchises.


***

To The Moon, composed by Kan Gao, and Laura Shigihara


Eurogamer

Gamasutra


Kan Gao had always been a fan of video games, but lacked the programming skills needed to actually make one. When Gao discovered RPG Maker XP, he was able to design games in a way that was accessible to his own personal skills. Gao had been working on a project called Quintessence: The Blighted Venom for six years until he learned that his Grandfather was passing away.


How Gao coped with this event helped gradually inspire the story of To The Moon, a story about a dying man who wishes to have his memories reconstructed so that he is convinced that he actually went to the moon. It was more of a story-driven experience for an RPG Maker game than any other game built in the same engine. In addition to the writing and game design, he also scored nearly the entire soundtrack.


Laura Shigihara contributed to the soundtrack with the piece Everything’s Alright, and all the arrangements of the piece, including the vocal arrangement which she performed and wrote herself. Shigihara is best known for her scores to the original Plants vs Zombies, and has also contributed to the scores of World of Warcraft, Minecraft, and was one of the composers hired to work on the newer score of Super Meat Boy.


To The Moon became a primary example of how the RPG Maker engine can be used to design memorable story-driven experiences, much like other studios can with bigger budgets. Dealing with death in the family is never an easy subject. To The Moon helped convey Kan Gao’s emotions with real life into something that raised the bar for not just thought provoking story telling, but for games made using the RPG Maker engine.


***

Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, composed by Joe Hisaishi


Anime Nostalgia Podcast

Seattle Symphony


Joe Hisashi may arguably be best known for his works with the Hayao Miyazaki directed Studio Ghibli films such as Laputa: Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, and Porco Rosso. But his professional composition career goes above and beyond that. Hisaishi started his career releasing albums in the style of Yellow Magic Orchestra’s music. He got involved with the anime industry with his first score being Nausicaa: Valley of the Wind, the film produced by the same people who would later found Studio Ghibli. Hisaishi would also contribute to other anime titles like Robot Carnival, Venus Wars, and the Mobile Suit Gundam movie trilogy. Hisaishi would also become a frequent collaborator with comedian turned filmmaker Beat Takeshi, working on films like A Scene at the Sea, Kid’s Return, Hana-bi, and Brother.


Hisaishi was also briefly involved with the video game industry long before composing Ni No Kuni, working on titles like Zoids: Battle of the Central Continent, Zoids 2: Zenbase Strikes Back, and Tengai Makyo II: Majimaru. And then there’s Ni No Kuni, which was originally released for the Nintendo DS in 2010 as Ni No Kuni: Dominion of the Dark Dijinn. Wrath of the White Witch would be an extended, and enhanced version of the DS release, using a fully orchestrated score performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. Hisaishi claims that he got involved with the Ni No Kuni project after seeing how passionate creator Akihiro Hino was about the game.


The game contains one vocal track; Kokoro no Kakera (Pieces of a Broken Heart). In English, the song is performed by Archie Buchanan. In the original Japanese release, the song is performed by Hisaishi’s daughter, Mai Fujisawa, who has performed vocals for Hisaishi’s works since she was 4 with her first vocal work being in the Nausicaa: Valley of the Wind soundtrack.

Joe Hisaishi is one of the film industry’s most respected composers who got his start showcasing his mastery of synth rock in the 70s. He would become an integral part in many of Hayao Miyazaki’s works, and a popular contribution to some of Beat Takeshi’s dramas. For the Ni No Kuni series, including the 2019 sequel he came back for, Hisaishi was able to show audiences of the gaming industry why he is one of the most highly regarded film composers in Japan.


***

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, composed by Hajime Wakai, Shino Fujii, Mahito Yokota, Takeshi Hama, and Koji Kondo


Iwata Asks

IGN

Nintendo

Jormungand of VGMDB


Skyward Sword marked the personification of the Legend of Zelda’s 25th anniversary. It was also promoted as the Zelda game that started the official series timeline. But perhaps the most significant part of Skyward Sword was that it used orchestrated music for the first time in the series, following the success of orchestrated music being used in the Super Mario Galaxy games.


After being absent from the official score of Twilight Princess, Koji Kondo returns to the 3D Zelda games. Koji Kondo had been the primary composer of the Zelda series in the 90s. He took on more of a supervisor role in the 2000s, occasionally contributing scores, but not as frequently. In Skyward Sword, he composed the prologue theme. The sound director and lead composer for the game is Hajime Wakai. Wakai has been involved with Nintendo since the 1997 Star Fox 64. The last Zelda game he worked on was the Wind Waker. Wakai was also the composer for the game’s main theme, Ballad of the Goddess, which is actually an arrangement of Zelda’s Lullaby, one of the series’ recurring motifs, played in reverse.


Shino Fujii worked on the biggest portion of the game’s score, including the main theme for the game’s hub world, Skyloft. Fujii’s first contribution to Nintendo was the 2007 Wii Fit. This would be her only Zelda game, as she would later become known more for her works with the Mario franchise, and both Splatoon games. Takeshi Hana would help Wakai compose Ballad of the Goddess, and would also be responsible for the game’s event sequences, some of the character motifs, and some of the game’s areas like the Knight’s Academy to the Sand Sea. As a freelance composer, Hama only contributed to the scores of Skyward Sword, Super Mario 3D Land, and the 3DS remaster of the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for Nintendo.


Mahito Yokota, who was responsible for giving Super Mario Galaxy its orchestrated score, worked on the game’s event sequences for this game. In addition to Super Mario Galaxy and Skyward Sword, he also helped remaster the 3DS versions of Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask. He also helped compose one of Twilight Princess’ trailer pieces.


Like nearly every Zelda title before this one, Skyward Sword uses music as a plot device for the story via the Goddess Harp; an instrument not seen in the Zelda series since Ocarina of Time. It’s little homages like this that help make Skyward Sword not only a cumilation of the entire franchise, but an evolution of the entire franchise with new gameplay designs, quality of life improvements to the gaming experience, and more freedom to give the Zelda series the best sounding scores possible on a console.


***

Star Wars: The Old Republic, composed by Mark Griskey, Gordy Haab, and Wilbert Roget, II


https://griskey.com/about-mark/

https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/8458796/gordy-haab-star-wars-composer-john-williams-games

OverClocked Remix


The 2003 Knights of the Old Republic became one of the most critically acclaimed games set in the Star Wars universe. So in order to keep up with the popularity of MMORPGs like World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy 11, and EverQuest II, the decision was made to make a new BioWare developed MMORPG set in the Star Wars universe.


In the 90s, Griskey was a composer for various movie trailers and television commercials. He joined LucasArts in 2002 working on titles like Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter, Gladius, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords. He became a freelance composer in 2005, but would still return to LucasArts to compose titles like Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, and this game.


Gordy Haab was inspired to pursue a composition career after hearing John Williams’ score for the 1982 film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. He would take that inspiration, and study music composition, earning a bachelors for jazz composition, and a masters in film composition. He composed for film and television in the 2000s, and would join the video game industry with the 2009 Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings. This game would be his second, but he would go on to be the primary composer for some of Electronic Arts’ later Star Wars titles like the newer Battlefront games, and Jedi: Fallen Order.


Wilbert Roget II had always been a music enthusiast. Playing the piano since he was 4, and finding himself inspired by the music of the Final Fantasy series, it seemed inevitable that he would become a video game composer, and he did. He joined LucasArts in 2008 as an audio engineer before eventually becoming a composer. For LucasArts, he did composition work on Star Wars games like the Force Unleashed II, and this one. He would eventually find himself gaining more attention for his works outside of LucasArts with scores for games like Call of Duty: WWII, and Mortal Kombat 11. He can also be heard on OverClocked Remix under the alias bustatunez, where he worked on the arrangement albums of Final Fantasy’s 4, 6, and 7, Donkey Kong Country’s 2 and 3, and the arrangement album for Super Dodge Ball.


To this day, The Old Republic is still being enjoyed by many online players. As for the sound, it gave a chance for film composers Mark Griskey, and Gordy Haab to step into the lore of the Star Wars universe after already being inspired by the original Star Wars film composer John Williams. It also gave relative newcomer at the time Wilbert Roget II the chance to show the world how capable he was at producing cinematic scores long before his most recognizable works towards the end of the 2010s.


VIDEO CREDITS

1_Julia_1

Alon Moiseyev

Audiotracks

CaleoGaming

Christian Batard

Duck360Gaming2

HacknSlashMB

Hdo Ori

JediFirefly

LongplayArchive

machrazer 2612

MoonGirl Gaming

Movie Edition Games

NintenU

Pablo Acevado

PressStartOnce

Rangris

Retro Game Hacks

sorrowh

turke33

World of Longplays (Tsunao)


Monday, September 21, 2020

2010 VGM Primer






2010 VGM Primer Written

***

Iconic

Forgotten

Timeless

Innovative

These are the soundtracks that help shape and define what we hear in the video games that we play. I am Nitro, and this is the M Disk Playlist Video Game Music Primer, 2010.

***

VVVVVV, composed by Magnus Palsson

Six V's but only pronounced with one. A game that looks and plays like a Commodore 64, or Amiga platformer, but sounds like you're in a chiptune rave party. Magnus Palsson, who frequently composes under the name "SoulEye: takes pride in his style of chiptune music. He describes it on his website as "flagship triumph that transcends what is normal chiptunes and explodes into your mind, leaving your mouth open, knees trembling, and thoughts in disarray."

Palsson also states his mission to write "the best piece yet" everytime he writes a new piece of music. Other games Palsson has contributed to were Extreme Road Trip, Garden Gnome Carnage, Space Phallus, and #ModArchive Story 2. Fitting with the C64 and Amiga aesthetic, Palsson sites in an interview with Nintendo Enthusiast, how he admires and respects composer Chris Huelsbeck, who has worked on games like the Turrican series, The Great Giana Sisters, and the original R-Type. The games score was released on the album PPPPPP, largely due to the fact that the title of every piece of the score begins with P.

VVVVVV is a homage to the Comodore 64 and the Amiga in every aspect. The game design, the aesthetic, and even the score. Magnus Palsson understood what that era of music was like, and modernized it in a way that blends what made the scores of that era so catchy, with original chiptune EDMs that would make waves across the music industry this decade. 

***

NieR, composed by Keiichi Okabe, Kakeru Ishihama, Keigo Hoashi, and Takafumi Nishimura

One of the games highlighted in the 2003 VGM Primer was Yoko Taro's Drakengard. NieR takes place after Drakengard's true and final ending, with the real world that had been in complete disarray for at least a thousand years over the events that had transpired during Drakengard's finale. 

Keiichi Okabe served as the lead composer. He took part in a myriad of learning experiences to help hone his skills such as learning how to record in different ways, and working with different bands. His first professional scoring experience came with working for Bandai Namco, working on games like the PlayStation One versions of Ridge Racer, Tekken 2, and Xevious 3D/G. He also composed the original, arcade score of Tekken 3. He became a freelancer in 2001, allowing him the opportunity to score for more than just video games. During his freelance period, he formed the music studio Monaca. It is through Monaca that NeiR got two of it's additional composers; Kakeru Ishima, and Keigo Hoashi. Takafumi Nishimura was added to the sound team durectly through NieR developer, Cavia.

Also contributing to the NeiR score is vocalist Emi Evans. Before NieR, Evans was a commercial vocalist who would occassionally perform at local events. She even got to work on an arrangement album for the game Etrian Odyssey. Through chance, she met Okabe, and was recruited both perform and write the vocal songs for NieR. She would write her songs in multiple different languages, including one she would describe as "chaos language." A language meant exclusively for the lore of the game. This job was so successful for her career, she would be recruited by other composers to perform for their scores.

Keiichi Okabe and Emi Evans' contributions to NieR helped make the games of Yoko Taro stand out, and give his games a signature sound that couldn't be replicated anywhere else. After NeiR, they would collaborate with Taro again on Drakengard 3, and NieR: Automata. 

***

Red Dead Redemption, composed by Bill Elm, Woody Jackson, Jose Gonzalez, Ashtar Command, and William Elliot Whitmore

Throughout the 2000s, Rockstar Games made a name for themselves with their large open world games. But as big as those games were, there was almost always one thing missing; a largely original score. Their 2006 game, Bully, had an original score, but a lot of the music for each of their other games was licensed. Red Dead Redemption would add to the list of original scores in a Rockstar Game, as well as being the largest game developed by Rockstar Games at the time. The primary composers were Bill Elm, and Woody Jackson. The two met and collaborated with each other in 1995 working with bands like Friends of Dean Martinez. Throughout the 2000s, each would build their resumes in film and television. Elm would be known for his work in documentaries like Fast Food Nation, Cheeseburger, and Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea. Jackson would be known for films like Monkeybone, The Devil Wears Prada, and Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny.

The biggest problem with authenticating the western sound of the American frontier circa 1911, was that there was no definitive "western sound of the American frontier circa 1911" according to Jackson in an interview with Gamasutra. The idea of a "western sound" originated through 60s spaghetti westerns composed by Ennio Morricone. What helped with the composition process was the kind of instruments used. After purchasing a German guitar, which Jackson claims had a perfect tremolo to help match the Morricone style of western music, he was able to write the main theme of Red Dead Redemption. There are parts of the score where a single instrument is used. Like the campfire music, which features a sole harmonica played by Tommy Morgan. Or the saloon, primarily featuring a piano, performed by John Kirby. There were 15 different solo pieces for each instrument, to help differentiate how they were used and where they were used in the game.

This game features four vocal tracks, and some of them go beyond "enhancing the gaming experience." In one of the game's most famous moments, you control main protagonist John Marston as he is riding his horse on his way to Mexico. While you are traveling, the music normally played is replaced by the track, Far Away, by Jose Gonzalez. The way the song is used helps depict Marston's foreboding journey into unknown territory, away from the last of his friends and family. Jamie Lidell's song, Compass (Red Dead on Arrival), is used in a similar fashion. After Marston deals with Dutch van der Linde, one of the game's primary antagonists, Marston rides back to home to be with his family. Instead of the regular music, Compass is played. Part of the lyrics to the song are "and now I know the only compass that I need is the one that leads back to you." A perfect meatphor, knowing that there is only one destination for Marston at that moment, is his home with his family. The third vocal track is a cover of a 19th century folk song titled, Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie, performed by William Elliot Whitmore. This song is used after a tragic event that occurs during the game's finale. And the final vocal track, Deadman's Gun by Ashtar Command, is used as the game's credit sequence. Instead of a song depicting John Marston's life, we get a song depicting the idea of exacting revenge on the one man responsible for John Marston's whole journey in the first place, FBI agent Edgar Ross.

Bill Elm and Woody Jackson would also compose for the game's stand-alone expansion, Undead Nightmare. However, Jackson would be the only composer of the two to work on the 2018 Red Dead Redemption 2. Regardless, the original Red Dead Redemption would go down as one of the best games of 2010, and the score would serve as one of the most prominant, and one of the more modern examples of music literally enhancing the gaming experience in dynamic ways.

***

Xenoblade Chronicles, composed by Yoko Shimomura, Manami Kiyota, ACE+, and Yasunori Mitsuda

Xenoblade Chronicles started as writer and director Tetsuya Takahashi's way of increasing morale of the Monolith Soft staff after disappointing sales of the Xenosaga series forced it to become a trilogy, instead of a six-episode series. It would morph into one of the Wii's most anticipated JRPGs, even leading to multiple fan-lead campaigns to get the game localized in North America as for a moment, it seemed like it would only be released in Japan and Europe.

The music in this game consisted of three composers, and a group of composers working together under the name ACE+; ACE originally was a duo consisting of Tomori Kudo and Hiroyo Yamanaka, whose prior experience working on video games include Tamagotchi 64, and Bomberman 64: The Second Attack. When Kenji Hiramatsu joined, ACE became ACE+. The majority of the score was composed by Manami Kiyota, who according to the Xenoblade Chronicles soundtrack liner notes, declared she would become a video game composer in her elementry graduation book. Outside of Xenoblade Chronicles, Kiyota is known for her works as a vocalist and lyrisist on the Final Fantasy Song Book: Mahoroba album. 

Yoko Shimomura, who had already solidified her status as a popular JRPG composer with the Mario role playing, and Kingdom Hearts franchises, only composed 10 pieces from the game. But some of her pieces are ones you will hear more than others in the game, like the game's regular battle theme, Time to Fight! She also composed the game's main title screen theme. Yasunori Mitsuda, who has worked with Takahashi on games like Xenogears, and the first Xenosaga, composed only one piece; The game's vocal track used in the games ending; Beyond the Sky, performed by Sarah Lim.

One of the unique characterisics of the Xenoblade Chronicles score is how it enhances the game's day-night cycle. In certain areas of the game, there is a piece in the background that plays during the day, and there is a different piece that plays during the night. Usually the day versions of the area themes are more upbeat, and lifting. While the night versions are more subduded and mellow. 

Xenoblade Chronicles helped put Monolith Soft back on the radars of gamers, becoming not just one of the Wii's most popular games, but one of the most critically acclaimed JRPGs released in a long time. The game was re-released in 2020 for the Switch as Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition, featuring a completely remastered score featuring the same composers. Ten years later, Xenoblade Chronicles is still just as beloved for its gameplay, story, setting, and score as it all was when it was originally released in 2010.

***

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game, composed by Anamanaguchi

Throughout the 2000s, Bryan Lee O'Malley told the story of Scott Pilgrim and his fight against the seven evil exes of Ramona Flowers to win her heart. The story ended in 2010, just as it was getting a film adaptation, as well as a video game adaptation. What helped make Scott Pilgrim so beloved was the references to video games scattered throughout.

With a story filled with video game references, it seemed natural for a game to be made based off the graphic novel. To complete the video game aesthetic, the developers sought the music talents of bitpop group, Anamanaguchi. Before this game, Anamanaguchi had released independent albums, with their debut album Power Supply featuring a track that was used as the theme song for GamesRadar's old podcast; TalkRadar.

After Scott Pilgrim's release, they became more widely known, landing appearances on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, having their music appear in Target commercials, and even collaborating with vocaloid idol, Hatsune Miku. When describing the ending piece in an interview with Game Set Watch, band member Peter Berkman cites Queen's We Are the Champions, and Twin Peaks as inspirations. The full version of the piece made its debut at Penny Arcade Expo 2010.

The game itself was delisted from Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network in December 2014. In September 2020, however, publisher Ubisoft announced that the game would be rereleased for the Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and the PC. Between the delisting and the rerelease announcement, fans clamored for the day they would experience the game again. The music could still be enjoyed officially through streaming services, but that only amplified the memories and anticipation of the game, and it's eventual resurfacing.

***

Shantae: Risky's Revenge, composed by Jake Kaufman

Jake Kaufman in his own words; "Worked both inhouse and freelance on over 50 commercial games on GBC, GBA, DS, N64, PSX, PS2, PS3, PC, Xbox360, and Wii… despite having started out as a high school dropout with a total lack of work ethic and no concept of timeliness or organization." Kaufman started his journey as a composer working on arrangements for Overclocked ReMix under the alias, Virt. Professionally, he would work mostly on Game Boy Color games, including the very first Shantaue, regarded as one of the last great games to be released on the platform.

The cult following that the original Shantae amassed helped build anticipation for the sequel, Risky's Revenge. It would be released on the Nintendo DS' DSiWare, Nintendo's portable version of their eShop service that they started using for their digitial games with the release of the Nintendo Wii. In an interview with Nintendo World Report, Kaufman compares working on Risky's Revenge to an opportunity to arrange his works on the original Shantae. In otherwords, an opportunity "to fix all the naive song structure and melodic sincs I committed as a young lad."

Risky's Revenge was a welcome addition to fans of the original Shantae. It helped turn Shantae into a beloved franchise for WayForward Technologies to be a bigger developer name in the 2010s than they were in the 2000s. Jake Kaufman would remain the sole composer of the Shantae series until new composers were brought in to work on the 2019 Shantae and the Seven Sirens, due to schedule conflicts on Kaufman's end.

***

Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, composed by Nitin Sawhney

Enslaved had the experienced minds of the entertainment industry beyond video games to help bring the game to life. Co-written by Alex Garland, who is known for his works on the films 28 Days Later, Dredd, and his most successful film, Ex Machina. Before winning accolades for Ex Machina, he would win his first award from the Writers Guild of Great Britain for this game.

Nitin Sawhney's music experiences started on the BBC Radio-turned-TV show, Goodness Gracious Me. He would go on to release studio albums, and collaborate with established musicians like Paul McCartney, Sting, Sinead O'Connor, Joss Stone, and so many others. His album Dystopan Dream became a stage show in 2017. His film score experience includes Breathe, and Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle, both directed by Andy Serkis, who happened to be a motion capture actor for this game.

Despite all the acclaim, and experience he's had all over the world and all over the entertainment industry, he has only composed two video games. This one, and Ninja Theory's previous title, Heavenly Sword. Sawhney describes the theme of Enslaved's score as revolving around journey, transition, and resolution. To help him with the score, he worked with Garland closely to learn more about the game's animations and story.

The game contains two vocal tracks. The first is Pigsy Blues, performed by Richard Ridings as the aforementioned Pigsy. The second vocal track is the game's ending theme, No Death in Love, performed and written in Enlish and French by Tina Grace.

Sawhney has practically done it all with music. Film, television, music, theater, and of course, video games. He may not have composed another game after Enslaved, but his contribution to the video game industry helped make Sawhney's resume more eclectic and diverse, and helped give Enslaved a more polished and experienced piece of music that could only come from a composer whose resume goes everywhere that music is needed.

***

Kirby's Epic Yarn, composed by Tomoya Tomita

Good-Feel, the game's developer, had initially been developing educational games for the Nintendo DS. They were able to branch out into platformer territory with the 2008 Wario Land: Shake It, and they were able to make a puzzle game in 2010 called Looksley's Line Up, released in Japan and European territories. Their third game outside of the educational genre would be a different kind of Kirby platformer, with all of the aesthetics made from yarn and different kinds of fabric.

Tomoya Tomita had been a self taught guitar player since the age of 13. He got into the game industry by joining Konami's sound team, working on notable titles like Pop'n TwinBee, Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon, and Castlevania: Circle of the Moon. When much of the staff who worked on the Ganbare Goemon series left to form Good-Feel, Tomita joined them as well, with Wario Land: Shake It being the first game he composed for them, and this game being the second. 

Unlike previous Kirby games, which used more instrument samples, and were composed by Jun Ishikawa and Hirokazu Ando, this game had a much more mellow and minimalist sound. For the most part, this was due to the original game not being a Kirby game at all. It was originally intended to be a game about Prince Fluff without any references to Kirby. After the game was converted to a Kirby game, Tomita second guessed his scores and how the Kirby staff at HAL laboratory would perceive it. Lucky for him, he got support from HAL's sound designer Tadashi Ikegami. 

More last minute development ideas inspired newer scores that weren't even planned from the start, like the game's action sequences. And of course, it wouldn't be a Kirby game without an arrangement of Kirby's original motif, Green Greens. 

Tomoya Tomita went into this game not knowing what it would end up being. Despite all the extra pressures placed on him from the game becoming a Kirby game, and all the additional late development ideas, Tomita was able to work with what was given to him to produce a balance of minimalist and relaxing music with the cheerful nature of the music you would expect to hear in a Kirby game.

***

Fallout: New Vegas, composed by Inon Zur

In the 90s, Inon Zur was known for his works in television, most notibly shows that aired on the Fox Kids block. In the 2000s, he became known for his video game scores. Games like Men of Valor, Crysis, and Dragon Age: Origins helped Zur become one of gamings most popular composers. And then there's his work on the Fallout series. His first Fallout game was the 2001 Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel. But his name wouldn't be associated with the Fallout series until the 2008 Fallout 3, the first to be developed by Bethesda after they acquired the series from its original developer, Interplay Entertainment.

Zur's approach to Fallout was to match the setting of the game without exposing himself to the music that was licesnsed for the in-game radio stations. For New Vegas, his approach to composing the game was based on his own interpretation of Vegas; more about the deserts of Nevada versus the aesthetic of Vegas itself. Music also played a part in the development of New Vegas' setting. For example, on your way to New Vegas, you'll encounter a faction called The Kings. The Kings are all impersonators of legendary entertainer Elvis Presley. And throughout the city of New Vegas, you'll hear booming in the background the licensed swing and jazz songs, bringing to life the hustle, bustle, and booming activity of the city in the middle of a post apocalyptic desert wastleland.

As it always says in the beginnng; War, war never changes. War turned the world into a wasteland. But in New Vegas, a shining city emerges as a beacon in the middle of the wasteland you are in. How you choose to approach it is up to you. But along the way, you may experience Inon Zur's music that enhances the desert environment more than New Vegas itself. You may also come across various music influences that help enhance the gaming experience, as well as enhance the city of New Vegas, and its surroundings.

***

Super Meat Boy, composed by Danny Baranowsky

Super Meat Boy was one of the independant titles of the current gaming generation that helped raise awareness of the independant gaming scene, and how sometimes, independant games can be just as good, if not better than games worked on by developers with much larger budgets.

Danny Baranowsky had a passion for music, but didn't take it seriously at first. He was an active member of OverClocked Remix in the 2000s, even serving as panel judge, helping decide which OC ReMix tracks could be on the site and which couldn't. The judging process helped him expand how music in video games can be perceived. As fun as OverClocked Remix was for him, it wouldn't lead him to professional work. He would eventually find professional work in the Phoenix area, and would start his own business; dB Soundworks.

His first professional video game score would be this game. Baranowsky expressed a lack of fun in the more modern video game scores at the time, referring to many of them as having too much cynicism. He is quoted in an interview with PC Gamer as saying "Game music does not always have to be incredible art-it can just be complimentary to something else." 

Originally released on Xbox Live Arcade and PC, Super Meat Boy wouldn't be released on other platforms until 2015. When the game did get ported in 2015, the entire score was changed due to Baranowsky retaining the rights to the original Super Meat Boy score after leaving developer Team Meat. The new score was composed by Ridiculon, David Scatiffe, and Plants vs Zombies composer Laura Shigihara. The only way you can experience Super Meat Boy with its original score is through Xbox Live Arcade, and through the PC, which allows you to choose which score you want to hear in the game.

Danny Baranowsky had a love for music, and a fondness for the video game music he grew up. His experience with OverClocked Remix gave him the motivation to make original works for video games in a way that was fun and enhancing to the game itself. After leaving Team Meat, he would be known for games like Desktop Dungeons, working alongside former Rare composer Grant Kirkhope. And he would be known for another critically acclaimed independant gaming series, Crypt of the NecroDancer.


WRITTEN SOURCES

Big Lion Music

dannybstyle.blogspot.com

db Soundworks

Gamasutra

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Saturday, June 20, 2020

2009 VGM Primer


2009 VGM Primer Written



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Iconic
Forgotten
Timeless
Innovative

These are the soundtracks that help shape and define what we hear in the video games that we play. I am Nitro, and this is the M Disk Playlist Video Game Music Primer, 2009.

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Flower, composed by Vincent Diamante

The premise of the game is simple. You take control of a flower petal, and you explore the petals dreams. While in the dream, you interact with the petal by controlling the flow of the wind. Simple, relaxing, and emotional. That was the style of thatgamecompany. 

Vincent Diamante started playing piano at an early age, and would continue his training and education on piano performance, until he switched to electro-acoustic media when he enrolled in the University of Southern California. After graduating, he enrolled in USC's Interactive Media Division. One of the things he did while enrolled was composing music for Cloud, an indie title developed by USC students, led by Jenova Chen, who would go on to help found thatgamecompany, whose first game was Flow, then this game became Flow's spiritual successor, and then three years later, would become developers of the popular and emoitonal, Journey.

The music in Flower is dynamic in that it would change depending on what actions were performed by the player. The music would be slow if the petal barely moved, but the music would become more lively as the petal flowed through the wind. When describing the development of the game and score, Dimante is quoted as saying "Sometimes I’m thinking about the game experience as it exists in my head while I’m writing and listening to the music. Other times, I’ve got the dev kit running with an early version of the game while I’m doing my music work. Either way, the music always follows the game."

Flower took the unconventional approach to gaming. It was more of an emotional experience than a traditional gaming experience. With Vincent Dimante's experience on Cloud, Jenova Chen's first game before thatgamingcompnay, Dimante knew exactly how to make his music enhance Chen's unique approach to gaming.

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MadWorld, composed by Naoto Tanaka

Naoto Tanaka began his music career with Capcom. He was the sound director for the entire Rockman Complete Works, which were PlayStation One ports of the original six Mega Man games with modernized arrangements of each game's score. He would go on to be the primary composer for the Mega Man X series, starting with X5. He would find success with other Capcom franchises like Viewtiful Joe, and Phoenix Wright before leaving Capcom for PlatinumGames.

MadWorld would be Tanaka's first score for the new company. It was a game heavily rooted in western culture. From the graphic novel style graphics, to the music. Tanaka was so serious about the western influence, he wanted the music to sound as American as it could. So he sought the talents of local artists Ox, Doujah Raze, Sick YG, and Bandy Leggz to help with the vocal performances. One album Tanaka sites as a big influence on his approach to the score was Linkin Park and Jay-Z's 2004 collaboration album, Collision Course.

Tanaka's favorite piece, according to his interview with Original Sound Version, is the final boss theme; Look Pimpin. When he learned of who the final boss would be, he knew that he needed a rap about pimps. Sick-YG helped write and perform Look Pimpin when Tanaka requested one of his performers to write the lyrics.

MadWorld was a violent, over the top game. But Naoto Tanaka still took the music seriously. He wanted to show respect to the music that combined rock and hip-hip. And with the help of the soundtrack's vocalists, he was able to pull off the authentic style of music he sought from the beginning.

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Plants vs. Zombies, composed by Laura Shigihara

Plants vs. Zombies is what would happen if you took a strategy game with cute aesthetics, and added zombies to it. You grew and powered up the plants to stop the zombies from destroying your home. It was a very simple premise; one that would end up being developer PopCap's most popular of their catalog.

Laura Shigihara describes the score for this game as macabre, but goofy. The description is based on her early impressions of the game's artwork. She had fun experimenting with different genre's to make the macabre score sound as goofy as it can. For example, the night level features a minimalist melody at first, but as the songs progress (or rather, as the number of zombies increase), you suddenly hear big band and swing beats on top of that minimalist macabre style of music. 

Two of the games pieces; Loonboon and Brainiac Maniac were written near the end of the games production. Shigihara describes those two pieces as an accumulation of her own personal experiences with playing the game as it was being developed, and as she was composing the score. She sites film and television composer Danny Elfman as a composer she tried to emulate with these pieces. She also sites her cat, Metroid, as inspiration for the Loonboon piece, describing the piece as frantic as her own cat. For Brainiac Maniac, she sites the Mega Man series as inspiration for the piece, which was used as the game's final stage music.

The game's one vocal track, Zombies on Your Lawn, is composed and performed by Shigihara in both English and in Japanese as Uraniwa ni Zombies ga. The zombie vocals in the English version were performed by game designer George Fan, while Shigihara's father performed the zombie vocals in the Japanese version.

In Plants vs Zombies, the zombies are goofy, and the plants are cute. That was just one way that Laura Shigihara described the game. She understood the concept of the game, and was able to match her style of music with the game's unique and comedic approach to a game about defending your home against zombies, using plants.

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Ys Seven, composed by Hayato Sonoda, Takahiro Unisuga, Saki Momiyama, Masanori Osaki, and Ryo Takeshita

From 1992 up until 2005, the Ys series was never released officially outside of Japan. After 2005, the Ys series slowly started to become more accessible. And through fan translations of various Ys titles, awareness of the series started to increase. The PlayStation Portable would end up being an ideal platform for the Ys series, as it saw three different Ys titles released outside of Japan; one of them being this game, which was originally released in 2009.

Like with previous Ys titles, the score is credited to the Nihon Falcom Sound Team JDK. The members who participated in the scoring of this game were Hayato Sonoda, Takahiro Unisuga, Saki Momiyama, and Masanori Osaki. Ryo Takeshita's involvement with the game is uncredited. His involvement, along with the other composers' specific involvement with the score is cited by the Video Game Music Database to a page on the Japanese At Wiki domain. The page claims that the information is correctly cited by an anonymous ex-member of the Falcom Sound Team JDK. 

The Ys series had always been regarded for its approach to scoring in a role playing game. The consistancy of the score, blending rock, and symphonic music to the overall score. But it's not entirely safe choices for the composers. Dungeon themes like the Sanctuary of Meditation Breeze are much slower, brooding pieces than the fast paced nature of a typical Ys score. And certain motifs for characters are much slower paced, and much more minimalist, like the motifs for Tia.

Ys Seven may have evolved its gameplay style with this game, but Ys Seven continued to remind its fans and players exactly what they can expect from the game with its balance of fast paced music with beautiful melodies. 

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Halo 3: ODST, composed by Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori

Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori collaborated together frequently under the production company TotalAudio. Before composing for video games, Martin O'Donnell wrote music  for commercials in the 80s. He wrote the music in commercials for Mr.Clean, and Flintstones Chewable Vitamins, which his kids helped perform. Michael Salvatori didn't have as much experience as O'Donnell did before composing for video games. He wrote music for a band he was apart of in college, then moved to Chicago where he met O'Donnell, and the two made their first collaboration together, an independent film score for a friend. Through a family friend, O'Donnell became inspired by the soundtrack of the 1993 game, Myst. He met with some of the Myst developers, and would join the staff of Myst's sequel, Riven, as a sound designer. During development of Riven, the staff would occasionally play Bungie's Marathon. O'Donnell and Salvatori later joined Bungie to work on the music for Myth: The Fallen Lords, Myth II, and Oni.

Then came Halo, which both composers worked on equally, and have continued to be apart of throughout Bungie's history with the Halo series. What seperates Halo 3: ODST, a stand-alone expansion of the main Halo 3 game, from the previous Halo scores is the new direction the composers took with the music to match the new protagonist you got to play as in the game. Martin O'Donnell compares the ODST score to previous Halo games by describing it as a more intimate and personal human story, taking place in one Earth city, as opposed to a space opera taking place across a galaxy. Film-noir style of music is also incorporated into the score, to help enhance the different kind of experience ODST had in terms of storytelling from the rest of the series. Salvatori would join the ODST sound team after O'Donnell started working on the score. He was intimidated at first with the direction that O'Donnell wanted to take the score in, but like before, he and O'Donnell would pitch ideas to each other before finishing the score at Bungie studios in Seattle.

Halo 3: ODST's score was a risk for Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori. They abandoned the grand/epic style of music that the Halo series was known for, and opted for something more intimate and in some cases, minimalist. It was a unique approach to scoring a first person shooter title, and their efforts helped make the score one of the most critically acclaimed aspects of ODST.

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Brutal Legend, composed by Peter McConnell

Brutal Legend's entire aesthetic was the heavy metal music genre. Tim Schafer, former key developer of LucasArts, had always been fond of heavy metal, and the roadies who would tour with heavy metal bands. Schafer cites his experiences with a roadie for the group Megadeth as inspiration for a game about a roadie. To help amplify the heavy metal aesthetic, Double Fine based the art design on heavy metal album covers. Then came the cast ensemble, who were inspired by heavy metal artists. Like main protagonist Eddie Riggs, whose look was originally inspired by Motorhead's Lenny Kilmister, but then became what was described as half Glenn Danzig, and half Jack Black, the voice actor of Eddie Riggs.

And speaking of the voice acting; Lemmy, Judas Priest's Rob Halford, The Runaways' Lita Ford, and Ozzy Osbourne had voice roles for characters inspired by their own likeness and careers. The main antagonist, Doviculus, was originally going to be voiced by Ronnie James Dio. However, Doviculus would end up being voiced by Tim Curry. Licensed heavy metal music can be heard on the in-game radio stations as you drive through the game's world, as well as during important events during the game's main story. And for the guitar solo attacks, those were recorded by Judas Priest guitarists Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing. The game didn't consist entirely of licensed music though. Longtime collaborator of Tim Schafer's, Peter McConnell provided the game's original music, with authentic metal drums played by Mike Vanderhul and Harry Cantwell.

McConnell, who had composed for LucasArts since 1991 with the game Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge, helped co-produce the iMUSE audio sequencer, which allowed the in-game music to change instantly, according to what is happening in the game in real time. Most of McConnell's works for LucasArts would be for their Star Wars games. But he would occasionally contribute to non-Star Wars games like Sam and Max: Hit the Road, Day of the Tentacle, Full Throttle, The Dig, Herc's Adventures, and Grim Fandango. After Scafer left LucasArts to form Double Fine, McConnell joined him, and the two have occasionally collaborated with each other since, with their first Double Fine collaboration being the 2005 Psychonauts.

Brutal Legend was a combined product of Tim Schafer's fondness for heavy metal, and game design. Peter McConnell, who was with Schafer since the LucasArts days, helped amplify Schafer's vision of a heavy metal world, by making it sound as authentic as it possibly can, by combining original metal inspired music with the metal music that inspired Schafer in the first place.

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Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, composed by Greg Edmonson

Every PlayStation had a flagship franchise from developer Naughty Dog. Crash Bandicoot for the PlayStation 1, Jax for the PlayStation 2, and Uncharted for the PlayStation 3. Throughout the Naughty Dog developed Uncharted games on the PlayStation 3, Greg Edmonson was there to score Nathan Drake's adventures, with the second one being widely regarded as not just one of PlayStation 3's best games, not just one of the best games of 2009, but one of the best games of the 2000s.

Greg Edmonson had been a guitar player for most of his life. He grew up in Dallas, but moved to Los Angelas to pursue a career in music. He worked under television composer Mike Post, who he worked with on shows like Cop Rock, L.A. Law, and Quantum Leap. Edmonson became a television composer in his own right, composing for popular shows like King of the Hill, and Firefly. He also gained experience in the film industry with films like Blue Ridge Fall, Luckytown, and Montana Amazon. In the video game industry, he only scored for three games. And those three games were the first three Uncharted games.

Edmonson's approach to composing the Uncharted games were to match the locales with the instruments of their respective cultures. In Uncharted 2's case for example, much of the game takes place in Tibet. So to create a sound that would best match the culture of Tibet, Edmonson used the erhu, known more commonly in the west as the Chinese violin. The Erhu was used in the game's award winning piece, Reunion. Edmonson and Naughty Dog weren't sure where a piece like Reunion would be used at first, but Edmonson wanted an emotional piece for the game, and wanted to make use of the erhu, played by Karen Han who he describes as a master of the instrument.

Greg Edmonson's score helped bring to life the adventures of Nathan Drake, and add realism to the countries that are visited in the Uncharted games. For Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Edmonson's score both amplified the adventure, and invoked a sense of raw emotion that wasn't present in the previous game.

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Bayonetta, composed by Hiroshi Yamaguchi, Masami Ueda, Rei Kondoh, Norihiko Hibino, Hiroshi Kawaguchi, Takayasu Sodeoka, Takahiro Izutani, Yoshitaka Suzuki, Erina Niwa, and Naoto Tanaka

Hiroshi Yamaguchi, the lead composer of Bayonetta, describes the character the game is named after in four different ways: An unmatched beauty; Fast, agile, and has powerful attacks that spell instant death to monsters; Cool and collected, sassy, and a real princess; Concerned with looking good, loves candy, and can show hints of being cute. The music had to match who Bayonetta was, as well as make music that Yamaguchi claims "could only appear in [the game]." Much of the score relies on up-beat tempo, and Yamaguchi's idea of femininity, expressed in the form of music; pianos, organs, vibraphones, fluts, double bass instruments, and electric piano, sometimes with female vocals and/or a female chorus. 

The game's event and cut scenes were scored by Norihiko Hibino, and PlatinumGames composers Naoto Tanaka, Erina Niwa, and Takayasu Sodeka. Hibino  was primarily known throughout the 2000s for his work on the Metal Gear Solid franchise. Most of his works for Bayonetta were done with help from fellow Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots composers Takahiro Izutani and Yoshitaka Suzuki. Before joining PlatinumGames, Naoto Tanaka, as mentioned during the MadWorld segment, was a Capcom composer who stated working on the Rockman Complete Works series, eventually becoming the primary composer of the Mega Man X and Phoenix Wright franchises. Beyond their involvement with PlatinumGames, little to no information is available on Niwa and Sodeka as of this production.

Rei Kondoh first collaborated with Yamaguchi on the 2006 Okami, which ended up being first game both composers ever worked on in their careers. Kondoh scored much of the games stage and boss themes. Hiroshi Kawaguchi, a Sega composer whose works include Space Harrier and Fantasy Zone, composed arrangements of music from both games for Bayonetta. 

Masami Ueda, who also collaborated with Yamaguchi on Okami, did the largest portion of the score on his own. He composed a little bit of everything; Jingles, cut scenes, battle themes, an arrangement of the piece After Burner from the game After Burner, and all of the game's Angelic Hymns; haunting arrangements of classical pieces from classical composers like Schubert, Beethoven, Chopin, Mozart, Waldteufel, Wagner, Handel, and Holst. 

The main vocalist for the game is Helena Noguerra, who Yamaguchi describes her contributions as a mature, feminine sense of glamour and a cute playfulness both coming in through her voice. She performs the game's main battle themes; Theme of Bayonetta - Mysterious Destiny, and the Infinite Climax Mix of Bart Howard's 1954 classic, Fly Me to the Moon, originally known as "In Other Words."

Bayonetta's score was just as fun and exciting as the game itself. Taking talents whose experience covers Capcom, Konami, Sega, and Bayonetta's own PlatinumGames, to create one of the largest, most eclectic scores for an action game. 

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Dragon Age: Origins, composed by Inon Zur

BioWare over the course of the 2000s had made a name for themselves within the home console market with games like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Jade Empire, and Mass Effect. For Dragon Age: Origins, it was a chance for them to revisit the fantasy role playing game genre that they explored with PC games like Neverwinter Nights and Baulder's Gate, and to both provide a spiritual sequel to those games, while introducing console gamers to BioWare's version of a fantasy role playing game.

Inon Zur had been fascinated with classical music since his childhood, when he would compose music to match the melodies of his Mother's singing. He would develop skills as a French horn player, a piano player, and finally professional composition, all before he turned ten. After emigrating to the United States from Israel, he continued to study music under composer Jack Smalley, who had been recognized for his works on the television shows Charlie's Angels, The Love Boat, and Murder She Wrote.

Zur would go on to compose for independent films like Yellow Lotus, and would be a composer for Fox Kids. As a composer for Fox Kids, he would contirbute to shows like Power Rangers, Big Bad Beetleborgs, Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog, and the Fox Kids dubs of Digimon, and the Vision of Escaflowne. Zur's last score for Fox Kids was Power Rangers Time Force. After this, he became primarily a video game composer, receiving acclaim for his works on games like Icewind Dale II, SOCOM II: US Navy SEALs, Men of Valor. 

Zur describes the process of composing for Dragon Age as approaching things from the perspective of the characters in the game, not necessarily providing an enhanced experience for the player. The entire score was composed using a live orchestra performed by Northwest Sinfonia, whose performed for games like the original Halo trilogy, the Medal of Honor series, and their first video game score, the 1997 Total Annihilation. Northwest Sinfonia has also performed for movies like The Grudge, Blade: Trinity, and Brokeback Mountain. The score was recorded twice with a 44-piece orchestra, with the two recordings layered together to sound like the score was composed with an 88-piece orchestra. The vocals in the game are performed by Aubrey Ashburn. The insert track, Lelianna's Song, took less than a day to compose and record. 

Inon Zur's resume is traced to television, even learning from television's best composers. He took what he learned from the television industry, and implemented his skills into the video games he worked on. But sometimes composing simply isn't enough. He would experiment with sound design to go beyond what the game would have gotten if he had stuck with a score using a 44-piece orchestra. 

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Final Fantasy XIII, composed by Masashi Hamauzu

Final Fantasy XIII would be a "first" for the franchise for a number of reasons. Musically, it was the first in the main entry series to feature a single composer since Final Fantasy IX, and it was the first in the main entry series to not feature longtime Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu in any capacity. Masashi Hamazu's first experience with the Final Fantasy series was being one of the composers for Final Fantasy X. The games Hamazu was a primary composer on before Final Fantasy X was Chocobo Mystery Dungeon, and SaGa Fronteir 2. Hamauzu's other experience with the Final Fantasy series includes being the primary composer of Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII. Hamazu grew up in Germany with music in his family. His Mother taught piano, and his Father was an opera singer. He was influenced by Koichi Sugiyama's score for the Dragon Quest series, and was inspired by the effort Square placed in the scores for their video games. 

The soundtrack wasn't in full development until late into 2008. But a few pieces were composed to help promote and announce the game when it was announced as early as 2006, like the game's battle theme, Blinded by Light, which was used in various promotional trailers. There was also more of an emphasis on vocals than previous Final Fantasy scores. The vocalists include Frances Maya, Mina, and Matsue Hamazu. The game's main themes, Eternal Love and Kimi ga Irukara were performed by Sayuri Sugawara. Eternal Love is used as an insert song depicting a moment between characters Snow and Serah, and Kimi ga Irukara, which Hamauzu describes as his favorite in the whole game, is the ending theme. 

Both of Sugawara's songs were removed from the western release of the game, with Eternal Love replaced by Serath's Theme. And Kimi ga Irukara was replaced with the licensed track, Leona Lewis' My Hands from the album Echo. Then-president of Square Enix, Yoichi Wada, wanted a brand new song exclusive for the western audience. It ended up being much easier to license a track for use, rather than attempt to come up with a new song from scratch.

Final Fantasy XIII continued what Final Fantasy XII started, by providing fresh experiences to the main entry Final Fantasy franchise. Masashi Hamauzu helped amplify those fresh experiences by providing a unique kind of sound for the game, as well as the sequel games Final Fantasy XIII-2 and Lightning Returns. A unique kind of sound that could not be heard in previous Final Fantasy games, no matter how eclectic they may have sounded in the past.

WRITTEN SOURCES
1up
atwiki.jp/falcom_staff
Destructoid
Gamasutra
Game Informter
gregedmonson.com
Official Xbox Magazine
Original Sound Version
OXM Podcast
platinumgames.com
RPGFan
Sound Byte
Video Game Music Online