Update #14: The Music of Project Eternity

[Archmage Silver]

@Justin

Do you have any estimate on the length of the soundtrack yet?

[Kaz]

Congrats Justin for these beautiful pieces!

I'm no musician, but in the Dirge track there was a longer hold before that settling note hits (around 3:40 in the trailer, 1:38 in the soundcloud ver). I loved that extra hold in the trailer and thought it added character and mixed up the pace. Wondering which version will make it into the final product? Keep up the great work!!

 

-k

[Ovocean]

@Justin

Do you have any estimate on the length of the soundtrack yet?

I think I read Feargus or Adam saying they were aiming around 50 minutes of music.

[Aedelric]

Great update Justin.

 

I never heard your music before, but after listening to each of the tracks and reading your thoughts on the music for Eternity, I have to say I am very glad you will be the composer.

 

I am so impressed, it really sets quite the mood.

[NerdBoner]

Really love the music. Reminds me of PS:T without copying it. This is just great.

Justin Bell should really be the composer for this game.

really? i felt it had a touch of IWD to it...natury but more mystical.

[Cantousent]

I agree with Ov about using a variety of instruments. Spanish guitar, for example, and maybe even a full orchestra. I don't know what kind of expense you'd be talking, but that would appeal to me. It would be ridiculous to expect you guys to have provided a complete score complete with a fully orchestrated soundtrack at this point. We have to listen critically to the samples keeping in mind where we are in the process. This update bodes well for the music in the game.

[Archmage Silver]

@Justin

Do you have any estimate on the length of the soundtrack yet?

I think I read Feargus or Adam saying they were aiming around 50 minutes of music.

I must have missed that one, thanks.

[anek]

Why no .mp3 download?

.wav file sizes are so big...

Edited October 2, 2012 by anek

[drgonzo]

Great music. Personally I'm pretty fed up with pompous choruses but apart from those parts ( ) I love it.

[LazarusMP]

Wow. Very nice work. I'm finding the 'Prelude' track to be somewhat evocative of some of James Horner's work for Star Trek II - not that it's derivitive, just that it immediately brought to mind the work of one of my favourite soundtrack composers.

[Zeckul]

This is a great update! The music is looking solid and seems to already have found its style and instrumentation. Female choirs, glockenspiels, full strings, all sound pretty good, albeit a bit too synthetic. Your bass drum is rather underpowered though: something with more resonance and "oomph" would be great.

[Lord2]

So far I'm really impressed with the tracks... The part from 0:27 to 0:50 in prelude is really epic. If you keep this up, this will be one of the better game soundtracks. A big thank you for offering it for download as well (in wave too so people can compress to what format they like)

Edited October 2, 2012 by Lord2

[Phekdra]

The second one, Dirge, is brilliant. Makes me want to play the game!

[Waywocket]

Wow, that music was top notch. Even better than Inon Zur, which is saying something!

Maybe it's just me, but I can think of at least 3 other composers known for their video game scores I'd rather hire than Inon Zur.

 

I wonder if they're the same three I'm thinking of...

 

(Actually, I'm thinking of four, but I'm pretty sure the fourth isn't one of them. No wait, five. How could I forget Darren Korb?)

Edited October 2, 2012 by Waywocket

[anek]

I still prefer the

(including the quiet part starting at 0:52).

 

Although maybe it's just the nostalgia?

 

I guess I'll have to wait till I can actually play PE, and "feel" the music in combination with actually playing the game, before I can judge.

[Piccolo]

I still prefer the

(including the quiet part starting at 0:52).

 

Although maybe it's just the nostalgia?

 

I guess I'll have to wait till I can actually play PE, and "feel" the music in combination with actually playing the game, before I can judge.

Honestly, I think I prefer the PE tracks already. You're right though, actually experiencing the music in game makes a big difference.

[czinczar]

I like what I have heard, especially "dirge".

 

For me, the ultimate master when it comes to video game music, is Nobuo Uematsu, his melodies are just WOW. And this is what I would like to see in PE, more touching and unforgettable melodies, not just generic ethereal orchestral ambient music. Uematsu has the capacity to really catch the moments in the game and transcend them with incredibly epic melodies. The music and melodies in PS:T were also unforgettable, I often listen to the soundtrack of PS:T.

 

I think it's clear... I WANT MELODIES

[Monte Carlo]

Can the battle music have the skirl of bagpipes and the urgent beat of war drums? Along with epic chanting and wailing?

 

Because that would be neat.

[rjshae]

Can the battle music have the skirl of bagpipes and the urgent beat of war drums? Along with epic chanting and wailing?

 

Because that would be neat.

 

Bagpipe-blowing scottish dwarves in kilts would be wicked!

 

Joking, of course...

Edited October 2, 2012 by rjshae

[Armand]

Great update and great fan service in giving the songs away for free!

[Celsius]

Listened to the tracks on Soundcloud. Uninspiring, to say the least. Perhaps they will blend well with the game, but I sincerely can't say I would listen to it outside of it.

 

Icewind Dale II had the best of IE games, if only PE could capture the soul (haha soul - get it?) of what made it so good.

[Cantousent]

Kind of like the composer thread, I'd like to hear Justin create a theme and develop it throughout the breadth of the game. There are so many moments in a CPRG, from dramatic to comedic, that the composer will have plenty of room to maneuver. I don't think he should be confined, however.

 

Mostly, it's just difficult, especially for a complete music noob like me, to put into words exactly what I expect out of the score. I could give examples, but those always seem to fall short in expressing the sorts of things I want from what I hear. I want a beautiful, vibrant world with music that brings out my longing for a fresh world to explore. I want exciting battles with inspiring music. I want a dangerous chase with music that highlights the suspense but also somehow manages to convey the note of despair I feel even as I run for my life because it turned out my most valued companion was a traitor and I was forced to kill her in order to escape. How the hell do you explain to someone what that music sounds like?

[Justin Bell]

I'm not crazy about the first track which sounds a bit too... "epic fantasy" for my taste, though it's most certainly not bad.

Really like the Music so far though I hope there won't be a massive use of choirs in every song [...]

Great comments. I would say that the "epic screaming choirs" (for lack of a better term) Prelude is more about the "litany" of classical RPG titles flying at the screen and Obsidian and it's history than it is about Project Eternity specifically. I just wanted it to saturate your senses, and that's the first thing that came to mind. That said, we know we don't want the entire score for PE will sound that way.

I would add, since Justin is a sound designer, I would expect some unusual sounds and instruments, which would give more character to the music. Using some real instruments is also a must!

I kinda hope the score will be a bit more creative and "experimental" (within the confines of the context of the game, of course, not going crazy with it) than what I heard in the tracks.

Yes and yes! As a matter of fact, we have talked specifically about using non-traditional instruments in the actual score. We want the instrumental pallet to diverse and interesting, but also appropriate to any given moment in the narrative. Another way to put that; the story is the master and the music is it's servant. So if a part of the story calls for traditional european instruments, we'll use that. If it calls for an interesting texture, we'll use that too.

 

In many ways, the music that you hear was really just written for the trailer and the message it was trying to send. Specifics of the story were just being developed (and still are in fact), so representing the actual sound of PE wasn't really that high of a priority. Though when we do finally get around to doing that, I can gaurantee we'll spend as much time as is necessary to really create that "unique" voice I mentioned in the update.

This is a great update! The music is looking solid and seems to already have found its style and instrumentation. Female choirs, glockenspiels, full strings, all sound pretty good, albeit a bit too synthetic. Your bass drum is rather underpowered though: something with more resonance and "oomph" would be great.

You have good ears... I suspect you are a musician or have a musical background... Am I right? I agree with your assesment of the synthy strings, and I think I know which parts you're talking about too. Interesting note, I had sort of a digital orchestration "breakthrough" as I was wrapping up the music for the trailer, and those especially synthy bits were written beforehand.

 

RE the bass drum... Low frequencies are such a tricky thing aren't they. I'm always wrestling with them. Those bass drums are really just sub hits more than anything. Truth be told, I rolled back a lot of low end right before we launched the campaing because I was concerned about how well the mix would translate across an untold amount of listening devices. I'll think about what you said though, there's probably a middle ground here that I just haven't found yet.

[aVENGER]

Kind of like the composer thread, I'd like to hear Justin create a theme and develop it throughout the breadth of the game. There are so many moments in a CPRG, from dramatic to comedic, that the composer will have plenty of room to maneuver. I don't think he should be confined, however.

 

Good idea.

 

I'd also like Project Eternity to have a distinctive main theme, parts of which could surface in other tracks, when it is appropriate. Kind of like the Gothic games.

Edited October 2, 2012 by aVENGER

[aluminiumtrioxid]

Dirge of Eir Glanfath is just... hauntingly beautiful. Also, Prelude 0:22 has kind of a nice, Icewind Dale-ish vibe.