Heavy Melody Music Interview
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Q: How long does it take to finalize the score for a given level/scene/environment for NWN2? Can you walk us through the process? For instance, do the composers play the game without sound and just hum what they think sounds right?
A: When composing for a game, it's important to know each level very well, including its geography, history, creatures, characters and storyline. We're fans of NWN1, so we had some idea of the lore going into this project, then we consulted the current game's toolset to get specific about each level. We also took direction from the game's producers. All of these things combine to tell us what emotions we are going to evoke in the player whether it's the foreboding feeling an enemy causes, the intensity of battle, or the thrill of victory.
Then it normally takes us 3-4 days to write, orchestrate, record and produce a two-minute piece of music. This all varies with the complexity and layers involved in any given piece. For instance a more maniacal theme for an epic battle always takes longer to orchestrate and produce that a simple village theme.
