Prey: Videogame Music Finally Grows Up

[Joe Siegler]

Originally Posted by SuicideRUN

Please Joe, tell me you have some Steppenwolf in the full version!!

Not that I'm aware of. Heck, if it was up to me, there would have been Black Sabbath.

In youre next game, you should really hire John Powell.. I would buy any game with John Powell´s music. And i think his music would adapt very well to games. You who do not know who he is, he is the composer behind movie score´s like X-Men 3 - Last stand, Bourne Identity, Bourne Supremacy!! These three movies have three of the best scores ive ever heard... I love the scene in X-MEn 3 with Jane Grey/Pheonix and Magneto/Xavier... Where Xavier dies, and the scene in the end with phoenix and logan. That theme song is so powerful, and emotional... listened to it yesterday on mp3, and damn i almost started to cry!!! So beautiful... so yes i love the music in the prey demo, and hats up for soule, but he is no match for John Powell or Howard Shores score in LOTR!!! Wow... that is music...

[avatar_58]

Originally Posted by Joe Siegler

Not that I'm aware of. Heck, if it was up to me, there would have been Black Sabbath.

I noticed, I was hunting through the jukebox for Sabbath and when I found none I immediately thought "Hmm....Joe must not have given his input on this"

[Morry]

Originally Posted by HaZe303

In youre next game, you should really hire John Powell.. I would buy any game with John Powell´s music. And i think his music would adapt very well to games. You who do not know who he is, he is the composer behind movie score´s like X-Men 3 - Last stand, Bourne Identity, Bourne Supremacy!! These three movies have three of the best scores ive ever heard... I love the scene in X-MEn 3 with Jane Grey/Pheonix and Magneto/Xavier... Where Xavier dies, and the scene in the end with phoenix and logan. That theme song is so powerful, and emotional... listened to it yesterday on mp3, and damn i almost started to cry!!! So beautiful... so yes i love the music in the prey demo, and hats up for soule, but he is no match for John Powell or Howard Shores score in LOTR!!! Wow... that is music...

I agree. He nailed the X3 soundtrack for me. I've been listening to it almost every day for the past month.

[Denz]

Since a long time Final Fantasy musics have been excelent. And the last OST of FF 12 is simply amazing.

[Denz]

Ok hum, now i'm as much hyped for the Prey music than the game itself.

[Joe Siegler]

Originally Posted by Denz

Ok hum, now i'm as much hyped for the Prey music than the game itself.

Get it now.

http://www.directsong.com/prey

[Micki!]

Joe, wasn't there something about getting a free album from Directsong when buying the LCE..?
I am sure we have discussed about this before...

[Joe Siegler]

Yeah, the LCE comes with a voucher for DirectSong.

Whether said voucher is for one of both soundtracks, I have to inquire. I've not seen the final product yet - I don't know what it actually says.

[Joe Siegler]

That was fast. I wrote 2K right before I posted that. Heard back already.

The voucher is for the first volume only. Not both.

[Denz]

Can we in like, 1 or 2 years still get a LCE version? My comp is slow. And i intend to change it in, well some months or maybe years.

Damn that is really cheap for that quality music, 15$ ! \o/

[Joe Siegler]

First off, the game inside the LCE is the same as the "regular" version. That won't change.

Now the LCE is a limited time thing. Only so many are printed. When they're gone, they're gone.

[hiob]

Originally Posted by Denz

Can we in like, 1 or 2 years still get a LCE version? My comp is slow. And i intend to change it in, well some months or maybe years.

i don´t think so, that´s why it´s a limited edition.

EDIT: Joe always is faster than me, but that´s why they call him "webdude" i guess

[John]

Heh, the composers Julian/Jeremy Soule seem to almost have the same last name as mine. (Excluding the S and adding an H )

I love the music though. Good atmospheric vibes.

[Denz]

Okay then i'll get the regular version with the music albums from directsong.

[Micki!]

Originally Posted by Joe Siegler

That was fast. I wrote 2K right before I posted that. Heard back already.

The voucher is for the first volume only. Not both.

That's great, thanks for clearing that Joe...
I've said a few times before, that i really liked the soundtrack in Prey, and i'm so damn glad that a full album is following with the LCE...

When i like this album (i suspect i will) i'll probably get the last album as well... Damn that's great...

[Denz]

Okaay, i guess i will stick with the 2 CDs in their case from a physical Music store, i won't buy anything related to music from the net. I downloaded the free pack on the DirectSong website, to find out i couldnt do whatever i wanted with it, only using WMP or deleting it. It's a shame Microsoft force you to use their things. Maybe i can on Winamp, but it needs a update. And i may be able to rencode by burning into a CD, but if i want something from a CD, i would prefer it from the original CD.


Now i understand why some people are against DRMs. It mostly screws the ones who don't bend over to Either Apple or Microsoft.

[Joe Siegler]

Originally Posted by Denz

Okaay, i guess i will stick with the 2 CDs in their case from a physical Music store

That's not an option. The Prey soundtracks won't be available that way. It's a DirectSong exclusive.

[Denz]

*Crying in pain*


Ok i'll get it from directsong and burn it.

[Aegeri]

The music is quite interesting. I'll probably just see how it sounds in game, some video game music works a lot better in game than out of it I find.

[Pazer]

I thought the score was great, and along with other games it's a step up for gaming music composition. However I didn't enjoy some of it as it sounded highly compressed and warbled. I hope it's just a space saving excercise for the demo and that it'll sound better in the full package.

BTW I found a cool site for game music recently: http://gh.ffshrine.org/

[Noam sane?]

Originally Posted by Pazer

I thought the score was great, and along with other games it's a step up for gaming music composition.

Sure, how could you do much better than the Soule brothers? http://archive.gamespy.com/interview.../soulebrothers

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.

Originally Posted by Pazer

However I didn't enjoy some of it as it sounded highly compressed and warbled. I hope it's just a space saving excercise for the demo and that it'll sound better in the full package.

Some of the ogg files are as low as 35 kbps but most seem to be about 90 - 96 kbps which make the bar music sound just about right for a noisy bar but I wouldn't bother to download it, even for free, for a personal listening collection.
I also notice some wav files of various voices mixed in with the data base of sounds. I wonder why?

[Nathrak]

Originally Posted by Joe Siegler

Get it now.

http://www.directsong.com/prey

I wish. Takes around 2 weeks till the order is complete and I can download the songs.

The main menu music? I swear I sit and listen to it loop at least once before I even start the demo each time. Then there's the "The Power of the Keepers" sample on DirectSong on Volume 2 of the Prey soundtrack that is putting images of serious fast-paced sequences, possibly a frantic boss fight, in my head. Which for me, is a nice change from the usual guitar chords in the background. I can't wait!

I am curious as to who had the initial idea of turning to Jeremy and Julian Soule for the music though, and why?

[Jules Verne]

Originally Posted by ercdevious

Will Ferrell forever ruined the seriousness of that blue oyster cult song.. All i could think of when tommy was getting sucked into the spaceship was Will Ferrel wailing away at that cowbell and it made me laugh.

IMO, that song was used in the scene as a tribute to the cult movie "Heavy Metal"; in that movie, people are abducted by a UFO with a rag-tag band of aliens who also like to listen to that song.

[Kupferdrache]

Prey may have a cool soundtrack, but wait till Gothic 3 comes out (i feel save to say this here since those titles are totally different). I assume this game will again be another step on the scale... its not different from the quality of major movies...

Prey rocked, the music in the scene when the bar gets abducted totally rocks the scene...

[Morry]

I bought the soundtrack from DirectSong today. I definately find it a lot easier to see where the music is playing and relate to it from there, so I can't really judge the quality of the tracks until I play through the game sometime next week. So far, it sounds like some of the best ongoing music in a game thus far. The title theme seeps of courage and determination, before going in to the more solemn abduction areas of the game. It doesn't pick up again until about (15) Strengthened Resolve.
From the titles of the tracks, it sure looks like a fantastic game.

[0marTheZealot]

Won't someone find a way to get the mp3s out of the game data anyways?

[Denz]

They aren't of the same quality and they aren't in order and properly cut like in the CD music. Everything is arranged to make it into an album.

[Nathrak]

Originally Posted by 0marTheZealot

Won't someone find a way to get the mp3s out of the game data anyways?

The game music is in .ogg format. Yes it's possible to take them out, no I won't tell you how as I think I might get in trouble.

Originally Posted by Denz

They aren't of the same quality

That's right. The ones in the game are around 90-100kbps, the ones from Direct Song are 320 and in my opinion sound a lot better.

[0marTheZealot]

Originally Posted by Nathrak

That's right. The ones in the game are around 90-100kbps, the ones from Direct Song are 320 and in my opinion sound a lot better.

ah okay, if the quality is that much better, then I'll definately look into DirectSong.

[Jigen]

Originally Posted by Joe Siegler

That was fast. I wrote 2K right before I posted that. Heard back already.

The voucher is for the first volume only. Not both.

Fantastic! That's a great incentive for buying the LCE (among everything else that comes with it), and incentive to purchase the second volume. Thanks for letting us know!

[Chaos Marine]

Winamp for all your music needs.

[HiPingLee]

They should have included some tracks from The Cult. Great hard rock with a slight Native American flavor.

[SuicideRUN]

Originally Posted by Joe Siegler

Not that I'm aware of. Heck, if it was up to me, there would have been Black Sabbath.

Oooo I can picture it now. Facing the first alien boss and you hear Ironman startup in the background.

[Jeron Moore]

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.

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

[CameO73]

That was a nice read! It's cool to hear how this game came together. As mentioned before, the music really adds to the game's atmosphere. Looking forward to the full game even more!

(Btw, you have almost the same first name as me: Jeroen --> Dutch name)

[Noam sane?]

Originally Posted by Jeron Moore

. . . 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.
. . .
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.

Thanks for the look "back stage" and congratulations on a great job. I look forward to playing this game on Tuesday (the day after tomorrow!)

[Micki!]

That's cool...
Now there are 3 Prey related albums...
I can't wait to get one of them...

[hive33]

Too bad these guys weren't in the juke box.

http://www.videocodezone.com/videos/..._nameless.html

Oh well.

I think one of the 3drealms guys said there are more songs. Curious to see what those are.

hell yah... they definitely deserve a spot in the jukebox.. "everything ends" might be a lil more appropriate