Pillars of Eternity main theme (orchestral version)

[Justin Bell]

 

It's very interesting to hear all of your responses. What I've done is create something that works against tradition and therefore some of your expectations. There are other amazing themes that don't come out of the gate swinging with the big percussion and brass. Morrowind has one of the greatest themes of all times imho, and it starts off low and slow. What about Final Fantasy? Just a solo arpeggiated harp, but it's a classic.

 

I think though that its a given that some will like it and others won't. It's music after all, very few music is universally enjoyed! Here's my guess, some of you are going to play a lot of Pillars of Eternity. Hundreds of hours with multiple play throughs. Out of those who don't think the theme is thematic enough, about half of you are going to change your mind because you won't be able to disassociate the theme from your experience playing the game.

 

Only time will tell, right? And that time is right around the corner!

IMHO I love every track of Morrowind and the first time I listened to it, I got heavy vibes that I was listening to a more "civilization" Morrowind theme music. While Morrowind gives the feeling that ur going to travel wilderness, this gives off the same impression and vibe but with a feel that there's civilization where we are going to, places that are somewhat modern. I loved Jeremy's work in that game and this just gives me the same chills and vibes, BUT as something new and different.

 

Bravo sir! This is a work of art and I LOVE it! Tyvm

 

 

Quite a compliment, thank you!  I'm humbled by the comparison.

[BrainMuncher]

BG1 theme always reminded me of The Terminator. Those first three notes are pretty much identical, and on top of that you're looking at a skull with glowing red eyes when you hear it.

 

 

My favourite IE track is probably the kuldahar music. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kMsj9Pb6Ms

The PoE track has a similar kind of vibe, which is OK by me.

 

Also that track in the kickstarter video, the start sounds really similar to the kuldahar start.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oR0QsmFMTG4

[Sensuki]

I actually prefer the percussion in Wilderness tracks - like BG1's Exploring the Plains and stuff like that. Percussion helps simulate the feeling of walking, so it adds to the atmosphere of walking in the wilderness. It also helps add warmth to the track.

 

It is also used well in tracks like Hrothgar's Home in Icewind Dale.

 

I thought it would go well thematically with Eir Glanfath in this game, so we'll see if you went that direction.

Edited February 8, 2015 by Sensuki

[MacRamius]

After listening to it several times, i have to say: great mixture of IE-game-music with a bit of Conan, but with its very own identity! Looking forward to listen to the whole OST in a few weeks and to explore all the music.

[Rostere]

I would say that themes that come out of the gate swinging can become tiresome in later date even if you love them first, like for example I loved Dragon Age: Origins theme when I heard it first time, but know it is bit tiring. Where some themes don't impress me much when I hear them first but latter after constant hearing they become some of my favorite themes of all time, like for example Civilization 4's theme.

 

That's funny, I think of Civ 4's title track as one of the most in-your-face themes of all time. After hearing it once, you can hum it. When I first heard it I remember staying in the main menu listening to it about 4 times before moving on. Music does not need to be "loud and blaring" to be memorable, it needs to have a distinct and clear melody or rhythm. This for example is very memorable with an in-your-face melody that's not load and blaring:

 

Anyways, what we've heard of the soundtrack so far is better than most games. And we'll only truly know what we think about it when we've heard it over and over again

[Gairnulf]

 

We do have different loot pickup/drop inventory sounds, similar to the way Diablo does it...

Though not a necessity, that actually adds a nice bit of tactility to something as simple as looting. Kinda anchors you in the game world when it comes to item interaction, since you get a feel of things being hefted/bumping into other things, rather than just "I clicked a button and variable values are moving from not-in-my-inventory code to in-my-inventory code."

 

It was especially satisfying, in the Diablo games, to hear a gemstone drop from a foe, for example. Not that I'm suggesting we get tiny-cyclone sounds for weapons falling to the ground, and treasure sounds every time we kill something and it drops so much as a coin. But just, it was pleasant to hear that sound for that item.

 

"What's that sound? I think it's... VALUE!"

 

I agree about the importance of sound effects. I can't think of many things more satisfying than hearing the coin sounds after a boarding in Sid Meier's Pirates. You can hear a sample of the sound here:

Normally this sound loops for as long as it takes for the rolling number of looted gold to fill up from zero to however much you've plundered from the other ship.There was an option to cancel it but I almost never did :D

 

 

 

Justin:

 

If you can find the time after the release party and the following hangover, I would *love* to see an article where you speak your mind about each track, telling us how you came to write them, what inspired you, how you find them successful (or not).

I’m thinking about something similar to what Matt Uelmen did for the Diablo II soundtrack there:

http://diablo2.diablowiki.net/Sound

 

I understand I’m asking you for more work, none the less for free, but the article I linked here was a very interesting reading about a soundtrack I love.

Good idea!  I guess if there's enough demand for that we might be able to accommodate

 

I'd love to have a detailed article about the music as well!

 

Just listened to Baldur's Gate 2 main theme 5 times in a row, and it sends me a shiver down my spine in the first 30 seconds, god...so beautiful.

 

Nevertheless, Justin did a great job with PoE's theme and it really grows on you throughout the 2 minutes and the climax at the end is beautiful.

 

The theme of Infinity Engine games should put you into "I'm going on an epic adventure" mood and Justin definitely succeeded in that.

Exactly my thoughts. Listening to it made me think "this is a theme for the beginning of an epic adventure story" and I could practically feel my expectations of the game rising as I listened

 

I'm not such an expert on fantasy game and movie soundtracks so I can't describe in much detail it or compare it to other main themes, but this made me picture LOTR or something on par with it.

[Justin Bell]

Gairnulf, thanks for the link.  Great example.  

 

Truth is we don't really need to be an expert of something to know we like it.  That's especially true for music.

[Snoozer]

Can't wait to hear the whole soundtrack.

 

On a side note, I thoroughly enjoyed PS:T soundtrack because the main theme was always somehow present in nearly every other song or tune in the game. Like an undercurrent that keeps rising. It's why I enjoy the Zelda games as well; a shared link or thread between each game.

[Lephys]

Regarding the "it's not epic enough" sentiments, I definitely think that, while a crazy "epic adventure is occurring!" theme is great in-and-of-itself, it kind of leads to epic overload. Main menu? Epic legend-making music. Traveling around on the world map? Epic legend-making music. Combat? Epic legend-making music.

 

I mean, you've gotta have something that acts as a foundation, a contrast to the dramatic pinnacles of conflict and narrative crescendo. It's kind of like... if you just yelled all the time, how would your yelling a bit louder really signify that you're angry? Whereas, someone who "never" yells, suddenly raising their voice even a bit... that carries a lot of weight.

 

Subtle/atmospheric doesn't = bad, and epic does not = good. So, sure, it's still capable of being bad music, either way. But it's not-being-epicly-dramatic does not inherently make it bad.

[Gairnulf]

I just remembered something I disliked in the Backer Beta and that's sound-related. It's the clicking sound that's identical no matter what kind of interface element you're clicking. I found that to be too repetitive and too "click-y" as a sound in itself. I am also very strongly convinced that the game doesn't need a clicking sound for selecting a conversation option. I've pointed this out as feedback in the past. But since that's a thread about the theme, don't let me sidetrack the conversation.

[Justin Bell]

I just remembered something I disliked in the Backer Beta and that's sound-related. It's the clicking sound that's identical no matter what kind of interface element you're clicking. I found that to be too repetitive and too "click-y" as a sound in itself. I am also very strongly convinced that the game doesn't need a clicking sound for selecting a conversation option. I've pointed this out as feedback in the past. But since that's a thread about the theme, don't let me sidetrack the conversation.

 

We're looking into ways to address this.

[Starwars]

Though I must say, I love the clinks and clanks, the whoosh and bangs, the flops and the schwings of inventory management. While I still think the sound levels need a lot of work (in the latest backer beta version), a lot of sounds need to be brought down and ambient sounds needs to be turned way up, I *love* tinkering with the inventory due to the sounds. Just opening the inventory is great, love that sound.

 

And yeah, the ambient sounds in Dyrford for example are actually quite nice but it's really hard to hear them atm. 

[Justin Bell]

Agreed.  Mixing a big game like this in Unity is an extremely painful process, but we've come up with some hacky but "better" solutions to get around it.   We'll make it so everything is in the right place!

[Sensuki]

We also need those extra volume sliders and checkboxes, but I understand those are going to come in a patch instead.

[Justin Bell]

I've mentioned it a few times, I definitely agree.   Hopefully we can get it patched in eventually.  

[GreyFox]

I agree volume options/sliders is a must.

 

While replaying BG2 I did notice that it does sound clicky as well and does use a click sound in the dialogue and for almost anything you do....so maybe that is just the way IE games are/were.

[Sensuki]

The click doesn't bother me that much, but variation of the sound is fine as long as the sounds are not annoying

[dffgmmj]

Morrowinds main theme is one of my favorite,its ups and downs like a complicated plot that want to tell you many things even beyond a story,i also like NWN1s main theme,It can bring back so many memorys,hopefully poe can do the same.i like OPs music,but it feels like lack of something,i dont know,maybe i just need to hear it a few times.Thanks for your hard work,Mr.Bell.

[SophosTheWise]

Listening again one can most certainly hear the Poledouris influence towards the latter half, rather mournful but quite charming.

 

Definitely! The similarities are almost baffling. 

[Namutree]

Great theme for a large city. Not well suited as a main theme; it simply isn't boisterous enough. This issue is especially bad at the beginning of the theme. Not a bad track at all in and of itself though.

[Namutree]

 

It is a nice piece of music on its own, but I have to be honest Justin, it is not like a main theme in its current form. This is fitting for an ingame music, where it has time to build up. A main theme has to have more impact IMO. You only hear it in the main menu I assume, so people will only listen on it once or twice, and many of them only listens the beginning. It has to have more oomph right from the start.

 

I disagree. I really like the idea of starting up the game and going through character creation with this. Now, to be sure, this requires that the game actually keeps playing this when going from the starting menu to character creation, which I just realized it may not, but I much prefer it to the ear-grating bombastic nature of the BG2 theme that hits you when booting up.

 

I'd rather have something nice to listen to that lulls me into the game during my initial forays into the game, and then stays calmly out of the way when I feel like I'm just in a hurry to load my game or whatever.

 

I hated the BG2 theme. I really like BG1's main theme though.

[Ganrich]

That is pretty wonderful. Very excited for the soundtrack. Great job, Justin!

[Freshock]

I can't believe how good this sounds - this is a future classic right here! Brings me back to Morrowind for some reason, and I love it! Incredible work, Justin!

[White Phoenix]

I like it, it sounds really good, but I wish it played in character creation.

[Sam-R]

Haven't actually listened to theme yet because I want to preserve my first hearing for when I first play the game, but I loved the Dryford music so I'm very hopeful about it. Also glad to hear it's not overly bombastic.

 

Just wanted to register my great interest in you writing an article about all the tracks on the soundtrack after the game comes out Justin, that would be a super enjoyable insight into your work. I absolutely loved your long blog post on the music development you made a while ago, you have an enjoyable writing style that really delves into the thought behind your work, and I'd love to see a breakdown of many tracks in the game in that manner.

 

Can't wait for the game and to hear all your music. Must be very exciting for you knowing how many people will be hearing your work in around two weeks