Wings Over Flanders Field. Below is a copy and paste of a post made by Mat Milne the composer for OFF phase 3 and the soon o be released WOFF. I know its a wall of text but its really worth a read. If you find it hard reading here I will link the forum post. Oh and the OFF soundtrack was amazing. Prob the best soundtrack Ive heard on a game. As promised, and in grateful thanks for the communitys continued support and patience, here is a brief article on what went into scoring woff, enjoy. On scoring a war: Weve got players ranging from their early teens, right up to the age of 96; from the Jazz era, through rock, to pop and electronica. How do you write orchestral music that appeals to 4 generations, with completely different musical tastes? One big advantage that the orchestra has, is that it can connect with your thoughts and feelings directly, and it does this almost universally, regardless of your music tastes. Creating a sense of scale and history, you allow it to enhance and guide your experience, and thats all it needs to do. A big temptation for a war game is to score a heroic suite for the allies, and an evil suite for the central powers, however the First World War was not that simple. It was inappropriate to write something too glorifying, or too melancholy; the score had to be true to what it was put to, so I avoided those simplistic clichés. The main theme suite was written separately about 4 months before the rest of the score. All other themes in the score are derived from that suite, binding it together. It’s a simple melody, with basic chords, preparing you for the inevitable conflict and unfortunate death that follows. It includes the phase 3 theme, and is also set to its rhythm (beat/timing). The Great War Suite consists of 4 tracks covering the main years of the war. It starts optimistically, ‘maybe it will be over by Christmas’, spends two tracks in more involved conflict; difficult stalemate, punctuated with activity. It ends stately and mournfully, ‘thank goodness it’s over, the war to end all wars’, yet sadly not. The Flight Suite consists of playful tracks highlighting the optimism and uncertainty pilots operated in. The climbing takeoff, descending landing, and playful aerial acrobatics are my personal favourites. It also includes a track where the pilot has landed but his wingmates didn’t make it back. You shared life and death together, and though you may have survived, a great part of you died with them. A win but lose track, which was important to include in the score. There is also the no mans land track. This features some haunting sound design, solo horn, assorted brass, and choir. To remind the player of those countless unknown soldiers who are still there, under the poppy-covered fields. And of course there are 2 combat suites that cater to generic combat music. I could go into great detail about each track and how each instrument represents a particular aspect, or event. But in truth, it was all written from a single in-game screenshot. I knew what needed to be written from that fraction of a spotting session, I wrote it down, and thats all there was to it. I use a program called a sequencer to write music. I am always more comfortable with a digital piano roll, than with music notation, and I find it much faster and more efficient. There are always a few tracks that have to be cut from the final score. I had written a credit song, about a pilot who lost his brothers in each major event in the war. It would have been a depressing note to end the game on, and in many ways I’m glad I dropped it. Not everything that’s cut is a loss, and less is often more. So why score it? War is a tragedy and the point of remembering it a century later, is to acknowledge the mistakes of the past, so that we dont repeat them in the future. Those who served in a global war, gave what a great man once called the last full measure of devotion; their lives, so that we wouldnt have to. Perhaps it’s not just about your pilot, and the assortment of sticks and canvas and paper he’s flying in, or even the people he served with, the missions he flew or the medals he won for doing so. It’s about those men and boys in the trenches, the people back home, and the free and prosperous world we live in today. There’s more to it than just flying and shooting. That’s what the devs put into the game, that’s what I wanted the score to convey, and I hope it does that. I loved scoring every minute of it, and I was sad when it was over in just a few short days. The enormous canvas a war project provides is something no composer should pass up, and I continue to be grateful to have been asked and allowed to do it. simhq/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/3869654#Post3869654
Posted on: Sat, 30 Nov 2013 22:08:10 +0000
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