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Sound Test - Interview with Wally Shaw |
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RPGamer: When first assigned to the Summoner project, how were
you approached? Was it just an idea, had the writing team have a sample of the
story for you to set the mood to, or were you brought in after the fact; when
the visuals had been established and you had game-play and vision to set the
soundtrack to?
Wally Shaw: I was hired after the game had been in production for
several months. I had story and quite a few visuals to write to.
RPG: What was the process involved in writing the music? Did
you start with an overtone as foundation (such as the tribal sounding drum
sequences in Carados) and build up from there or do you simply start from point
A and finish at point B; pattern by pattern, riff by riff, movement by
movement?
WS: Each piece was very different in approach. With some of the levels that were finished,
I just walked around a level and got a feel for what was going on. I'd read the story elements that pertained
to the level and get a sense for the overtones. Then I'd write. For some
pieces, I'd receive an inspiration completely outside of any finished piece of
game. Then I'd write it and save it. Later, as levels popped into
existence, I'd remember that a piece had been written that worked for this
situation. For the cutscenes (like Carados) each piece was crafted to fit the finished visual·much like a movie
score.
RPG: How much time did you put into a single piece on
average? Were there pieces that took longer than others? How many songs did you
write and how many were used in the game?
WS: Usually a day or so to write and a day or two to
polish. That's an average. Some were magical and happened right
away. Others took longer. There are approximately 150 pieces of music
in the game. I wrote almost 200, but as the game progressed, some were
definitely not working anymore. That's how it goes.
RPG: Do you feel you've successfully attained the "Be felt
but not heard" aspect you noted in the Chapter 7 Designer Diary? What is your
favorite ambience section of the game where you felt you've achieved this goal?
WS: For the most part, I do. Musically, there is very little I'd change.
If you mean ambience section as in ambient music·my favorite
was the Random Ice Encounter and the Forest of Liangshan. Liangshan is just freaking creepy and I love
it. I feel the ambience music really accentuated the feel of the level. The Ice Encounter just felt really cold and stark to me.
RPG: What kind of hardware did you incorporate into Summoner?
Did you use live instruments, purely synthetics, or a mix of both?
WS: A broad mix of both. We sampled a ton of percussion. There are live guitars, both acoustic and electric.
I even scored an oboe and trumpet part for the Forbidden City.
RPG :The acoustic guitar in "Iona2.mp3" has a flawless tone to it. I don't think I've ever heard
such a good guitar sample. Was it pre-made or did you create it yourself?
WS: That was made by me by sampling with my Korg Triton. That's an amazing machine.
It handles sampling in a way that you don't get with Akai's and Kurzweils.
RPG: There is a lot of feeling in these samples I've
downloaded from the Summoner homepage. A general theme seems constant
throughout each song. And while each piece may be radically different from the
previous, they all still bear a reflective aspect to one another. And it is
truly amazing. Was this your intent or did fortune smile upon you and tie all
of your songs together with an invisible thread while you were in the can?
WS: Well, my office is right next to the can, which can be good
and bad :) I've work through much inspiration there, as does any real musician.
Actually, the general theme was very much intended. What I decided to do was to use an old
classical music convention: movements. In many classical
pieces the composer develops a musical theme, called a motif, and uses it in
various ways throughout several sections of the piece. A terrible analogy would be the music for
the Brady Bunch. It's basically the same 6 note theme, but if Marcia did something funny it will sound
comical. If Greg lost his father's favorite pen it will sound menacing. In
Summoner, there were two basic motifs. There was a main motif that you'll find in various forms throughout the
level music. There was also a boss motif that lets you know you're in for a whippin'.
RPG: What was your muse for creating such an extraordinary
soundtrack? What did you look to for inspiration? Were there other composers
you looked to for ideas?
WS: I did a lot of research into various cultures and their
music. I spent a lot of time studying
scales and instrumentation. But most ofmy work came from being in awe of the amazing visuals our artists gave me to
work with. I mean, Iona is an incredible looking city and it inspired a cool track.
I would have dreams about the lichen on the walls in the Caverns
of Wolong and wake up with ideas floating around.
As for other composers I really get into Eric Serra (The
Professional, The Messenger, The Fifth Element, Goldeneye). He's a great orchestra conductor and a great
electronic artist. His marriage of both
disciplines is light years ahead of anybody else. I also like the way Israeli producer Izhar Ashdot does pop
music. He takes elements of traditional
middle eastern music and twists them through synthesizers and samplers.
I spend a lot of time seeking out unknown experimental
electronic artists like Mirwais (well, unknown until he produced Madonna's new
album) and Amanda Ghost. And of course,
I wouldn't be worth my salt if I didn't pay homage to Danny Elfman (Sleepy Hollow,
Edward Scissorhands, The Simpsons).
RPG: In regards to sound effects, your description of all the
elements utilized to bring the "Three Headed Gorgon Stalking His/Her Prey" was
probably the best, and probably the most innovative, explanation I've ever
seen. How long did it take you to develop this theory and did you incorporate
it to all of the sound effects in the game? If so, how are you still sane? It
must take a degree of and control and undying ambition to go through such a
process I can't even fathom it.
WS: Most of the sound effects were done in this way, but not
all. I hit a period where the workload
around here reached critical mass and I couldn't spend as much time as I
would've liked.
To answer if I'm still sane or not, one would have to assume
that I had started out sane, which·
RPG: Were there times when the other developers came to you
with an idea and you just did a "you want me to do what?" If so, did any of
them make it to the game, how many tries did it take before you were able to
give them what they wanted, and were you even sure that in the end it was what
you thought they wanted in the first place?
WS: The way Volition develops games is very interactive. Everyone gets to voice their opinions even
if it doesn't concern their specific discipline. Artists and designers generally comment to me after a sound or
piece of music is made, not before. And
I usually here more if they think its wrong than if they like it. No news is basically good news.
RPG: Any inside tips for aspiring Video Game Music Creators
out there? Suggestions? Steps in the right direction? Number for a good shrink?
WS: Learn your craft. Inside and out. Know your music
theory and your software so that you can do it in your sleep (during crunch
time, you'll be expected to). Just
because you can write cool tunes doesn't mean they'll work in a game. There's a lot of stuff to know about
equalization, sample rate, compression (both audio and hardware) and general
acoustics that goes into it. And
unfortunately, you'll be expected to handle both disciplines of music and
audio. I don't really feel like these
have much in common, but you won't get the gig if you aren't excelling in both.
I'd give you the number for my shrink, but he's not very good.
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