Recently I spoke with The Flight about their score for Assassin’Creed Shadows
How does scoring a game compare and differ with other forms of composing such as television and which do you prefer?
We don’t necessarily prefer one form of composing over another, both have their own challenges and expectations. With games, you’re coming on the project a lot earlier than in TV, and so I think you have more of a chance to really become part of the team and influence the feeling and direction of the game. You’re also expected to write a lot more music, so it’s useful to have plenty of inspiration for themes and sound palettes, more so than you would need for say, a short TV series.
Where do you find your inspiration when composing?
From all forms – other music, films and shows, even artworks and images. As a composer, I think it is really important to keep searching out new things, to keep widening what you listen to and watch.
What challenges does scoring music for a past historical setting present compared with a more modern setting?
Well, if the score wants to reference the historical setting (and not all do), then it is interesting to go back to music of that time and place to study instrumentation, harmony, arrangements, feeling – and then combine that with how we write, which is in a very modern style. We love this process; having musical directions specific to a project that you have not worked with before keeps things fresh and moving forward.
Does scoring a game change much from studio to studio or is the process fairly consistent?
Fairly consistent, yes, but each developer definitely have their own way of doing things, which you have to be aware of and adapt to, to some extent. The best music supervisors and audio directors that we work with let us be ourselves, and concentrate on writing good music, rather than worrying too much on how they will then go and implement it into the game.
Compare/contrast this score to the prior games in the series.
I think one of the strongest things about the AC franchise is that the scores are all so different. Different composers, different historical settings, so I don’t really want to compare them too much. Having said that, Shadows is definitely one of the darker of the AC games, and the score mirrors this.
What have been your biggest challenges and your greatest triumphs with the score?
The biggest challenge was to write for the dual protagonists, to give each Naoe and Yasuke their own themes, instrumentations and sound, while still feeling part of the same score. This was one of the first things we did, writing ‘story suites’ for each of them, but also writing a main theme which gives the feeling of the two of them working together.
How much music was created for the game?
Around three and a half hours. But then lots more new pieces are created from the stems of those too.
At what point in the process do you see any gameplay and how much information are you given at the start?
Once we were on board, we flew out to Ubisoft Quebec and spent a week with the team seeing as much of the game as we could. Obviously, not all of it has been created, and very little finished by that point, but we could get a strong sense of how it would turn out in the end. We also got a lot of information and artwork relating to the story, the main characters, the setting and the environments.
Do you play the game to get any ideas for music or just to relax?
We mainly worked with gameplay videos on AC Shadows, as we could not get a build back at our studio. But they are invaluable for checking musical ideas against.
How long was the process of creating music for the game?
From getting the job, to finishing the main game, around 16 months.
What sorts of composers inspire you? Are there any composers in particular you listen to when preparing for a project?
Joe and I both have so many different inspirations and artists that we look up to, and it all depends on the project as to where we might begin our listening journeys. On the whole, we both love composers and artists who are trying something new, which gets harder and harder the more music that is created!
What do you like to do when you’re not composing?
Spending time with our families, eating and drinking, going on holidays. I also seem to spend quite a lot of time getting disappointed by my football team!
What else do you have coming up that the readers can look forward to?
We’d love to tell you, but we can’t right now. NDAs and all that, I’m afraid.
Looking back on your first game score until now; what would you say is the biggest thing you have learned about scoring games?
That it is a process of teamwork.
Be First to Comment