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Originally Posted by Noam sane?
Although the type of music *does* seem to fit well everywhere, the impressive part for me are not the compositions themselves but the way they are integrated into the drama of the game in an unobtrusive way that is, I think, completely transparent to the game play. It's done as well as any movie. The whole team of game programmers probably have to be given credit for that not *just* the composers.
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Actually it has a lot to do with the composers and their team. Not to take away from the game programmers and what they've done (they've truly created a masterpiece) - they definitely get to take credit for that heroing accomplishment. But Jeremy and Julian get to take credit for the music and its effectiveness. You guys may know me from the work I did on the Super Trailer (directed/edited), but I also played the part of Music Supervisor on Prey. As a part of Jeremy and Julian's team (and Scott + George's), I had to become intimately familiar with the game, its characters, and the huge story that Tommy and Jen are unwillingly thrust into. Coming from a filmmaker's POV and having somewhat of an informal (but adequate) music education of sorts, music itself has always been one of the most important parts to me when experiencing a film or video game. This is of course my own biased opinion, but I'd be willing to bet a lot of you feel the same way. Sucky music contributes to a sucky experience. Great music contributes to a better one. Of course stellar gameplay, a good story, great level design and art direction - all of that stuff is mega-important. The music design is really the icing on the cake, but it's the super thick high-calorie icing that accents the cake and really contributes to that sumptuous first bite you take.
In creating a music design for the game, I spent a lot of time examining the game and story and talking over a variety of dramatic approaches and ideas with Scott, George (3DR) and Chris (HH). Being the guy who introduced Prey to Jeremy and Julian, it was my job to then take Scott, George, and Chris' relatively loose music parameters and work with the Soule Bros. to create something of impact. I'm still so thankful that they (3DR and HH) trusted us with a majority of the decisions when it came time to really tell the story from a musical standpoint. That took some major cajones and more often than not trusting your artist to do his thing will pay off, rather than messing with his work while he's working on it.
The beginnings of this entire creative process involved some very subjective decision making on my part. I played through the game countless times capturing video of every moment or area I instinctively felt would benefit from music. Not every part of the game has music, as the sound design is extremely effective on its own. That said, there is 3+ hours of music in this game! Wowzers. It was basic moviemaking for all intents and purposes. A specific environment might have really spoke to my senses (there are some stellar environments), or the weight of what's about to happen may have inspired a musical trigger. Or, as with most cases, I'd just listen to my inner-Tommy (haha!) - I wanted the music to really speak for him and his struggle as he makes his way through the Sphere. Of course, knowing the story I made a list of all the major characters and helped figure out who would have his or her own theme, and how these themes would interact with the different parts of the game. Again, it's moviemaking.
Jeremy and Julian did the brunt of the work: they took the videos I created (over 100 of these suckers), my notes on the characters, where things were happening in the story, how the player's emotions should be manipulated, and then made it all come to life. I'd then take their music, re-integrate it into the video, provide trigger points and on-screen notes, which would then be delivered to the scripters at HH. This made it easy for them to know where music should go without having to shift gears or divert the creative energies they were pouring into all the other portions of the game.
The Soule Bros. talent astounds me everyday (I work with them constantly). The music in Prey really is a testament of good music planning and development on both Scott and George's part, as well as Jeremy and Julian's. You'll experience a true story in the music as you play through the game, and you will be affected by it. So much so that we hope you'll want to experience it again w/ the albums that DirectSong has released. It's all very good stuff.
By the way, check out BITE ME!: Music Inspired by Prey... Great compilation album out w/ new music from a lot of different artists. A lot of this stuff is new and truly inspired by Prey (it's not a random mish-mash of commercial shit). Worth looking into if you're not into this orchestral stuff... or hey, it's good even if you are.
http://www.directsong.com/index.asp?game=biteme
Well, if you made it through my dissertation, thanks for reading!
Peace,
Jeron