Interviews

Inon Zur Gets Musical with GameZone Online; Talks About His Work on Champions: Return to Arms, SOCOM II, His First PSP Title and More!

by Louis Bedigian

 

“When there is no music for a while, and then the music suddenly kicks in, it has a very strong effect, much more than if it was there all the time.”

 

One day Timmy, a hardcore gamer, started blipping.

 

Blip.  Blip.  Blip.

 

In time he got very good at it.  Before you knew it he was turning blips into bleeps.

 

Blip bleep-bleep.  Blip bleep-bleep-blip.

 

This got old very quickly.  The sounds were more fulfilling than dead silence, but it eventually came to the point where silence seemed more appealing.

 

One day Timmy’s friend, Inon Zur, came over to his house to play a video game.  Unable to control his urge to blip and bleep, Timmy’s mouth began its routine.

 

Overjoyed, Inon felt the need to join in.  He whistled for his orchestra, filling the room with talented musicians.  Their music could be heard for miles, entrancing the city with memorable compositions from SOCOM II, Baldur’s Gate II: Throne of Bhall, Shadow Ops: Red Mercury, and Prince of Persia: Warrior Within (cinematic themes).

 

Timmy realized that his blips were not necessary anymore.  It was hard, but he quit bleeping as well.  Whenever he needed music, he knew to who to call.

 

Inon Zur, the composer of games like Champions of Norrath: Realms of EverQuest, is going to go farther than he ever has before.  His music has already appeared in Champions: Return to Arms.  You’ll hear his tunes while watching the trailers for The Pacifier and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.  His next release will be his first PSP game: Twisted Metal: Head On.

 

 

 

 

What does the man who’s composed so many great soundtracks think of the PSP?  Is he still in hot pursuit of greater musical interactivity?  What does he believe the next generation of consoles will do for composers?  We caught up with Inon to find out.

 

 

You said before that you were working on techniques that would hopefully lead to more interactivity with video game music.  Are you closer to achieving that goal?

 

Inon Zur: I’m always looking for new ways improve the way music works in games. During the last game projects I’ve been working on, I started to develop the concept of better interaction of the music by separating the musical cue into several components – orchestral, percussion, synth, solo and so forth. Utilizing these components helps the game producer to vary the music during the scene, without changing the actual nature of the cue, the tempo or the key. Imagine (like in Men of Valor for example) that you start off only with the percussion component of a cue, then you progress and add the orchestra, and eventually bring in the synth part and the solo. This enables the music to “grow” with the scene. That is just one way to enhance the drama with music, rather than loop the same piece again and again which will eventually grate on the player’s experience.

 

Is that something that you are still actively pursuing?
 

IZ: I think we’re constantly improving the role of music for games, and I’m trying as much as possible to be involved in the process of placing the music in the game. I think that good communication between the composer and developer is crucial for the implementation of the music in-game, and I’m always happy to be a part of this process where possible.


What other things are you hoping to accomplish with music?
 

IZ: Music in games, like in other media, is meant to enhance the dramatic and emotional aspects of telling a story. It magnifies our feeling (happiness, fear, etc.), and this is what I consider to be my main mission as a composer on the projects I’m involved with. If the player is moved on an emotional level, then we have been successful. This is always what I’m trying to accomplish when composing for film/TV as well as video games.  

 

Inon conducts the Hollywood Studio Symphony during the recording of Men Of Valor
at Eastwood Scoring Stage, Warner Bros Studios. His main theme for the game earned him the
award for Best Original Instrumental Song at the GANG awards during the 2005 Game Developers Conference.

 


Were you pleased with the way the music for Shadow Ops: Red Mercury turned out? Was it as dynamic and as interactive as you had hoped?
 

IZ: I’m quite happy with the way the music functions in that game. For Shadow Ops: Red Mercury I was involved from a very early stage until it went Gold. I composed the music and, with Zombie’s audio director Joe Zajonc, placed the music in the game. Then we decided which parts of the music would play, when, and for how long. Atari and Zombie allowed me total freedom in these decisions, and I’m very grateful for that.


How did Men Of Valor turn out?
 

IZ: For Men Of Valor I utilized some of the techniques that I had started to experiment with on Shadow Ops: Red Mercury. Valor is quite a different game, but those methods also seemed to work very well there. 2015 and Vivendi Universal also allowed me lots of freedom with regards to the placement and function of the music, and I’m very happy with the music in this game. I think that on both games each of the respective audio teams did a great job of mixing and combining the sound effects, dialogue and music.


You've composed the music first for Champions Of Norrath: Realms Of EverQuest and now for Champions: Return To Arms.  Is this your favorite type of game to write music for – RPGs or just online games in general?
 

IZ: RPGs are more fantasy-driven so the composer is often able to write more “classical” symphonic music. This is one of my favorite genres to compose for. However, every game presents different and exciting challenges for the composer, and I enjoy aspects of all the various gaming genres.


How has the music progressed in the series?  Will players notice a sort of musical evolution?
 

IZ: In Champions Of Norrath: Realms Of EverQuest we set the musical style for this gaming world and style of gameplay, and for Champions: Return To Arms we expanded on the battle music in particular. The music does evolve throughout these games, but the style remains consistent. 

 

Just another day in the life of a Champion in Return to Arms.

 


Could you describe the music for us, both Champions Of Norrath: Realms Of EverQuest and Champions: Return To Arms?
 

IZ: The games feature a hybrid, orchestral score. In addition to using a traditional orchestra, I also employed some ancient wind instruments and percussion. This enables the player to be more engrossed in a familiar but unique fantasy world, and supports the overall atmosphere of the game.


Champions: Return to Arms' music has been compared to The Lord Of The Rings movie trilogy.  Is this what you were trying to accomplish – a big, orchestral, hypnotic, immersive sound?
 

IZ: I think that the music in the LOTR movies very successfully represents the spirit of the magical worlds of Dungeons & Dragons-type stories. But this style existed well before the movie trilogy, as you will hear in my earlier works such as Baldur’s Gate II: Throne Of Bhaal and Icewind Dale. Although this style has since been brought to the big screen and to a larger audience, I don’t think it is accurate to credit this style of music only to those movies.


Movies like Black Hawk Down and Tears Of The Sun influenced your music for SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALS.  What influenced the music for this game?  Specific movies, or something else?
 

IZ: A discussion will usually take place prior to every game about the style of the music in the game to determine what will work best for that particular title. Often developers and producers will request a composer to listen to select scores from movies and to compose something in the same spirit; this is also the case for many of the composers working on today’s Hollywood films. Therefore, the challenge is to deliver music that supports the vision of the director/producer but also to retain an element of my own character in the musical score by including personal experiences, cultural background and musical repertoire.

It’s also worth noting that the gaming/film audience also expects a certain type of soundtrack for certain genres of movies/games. If it’s an action/military title like SOCOM II, for example, then there is usually a specific musical style that is best suited for that project. And this style is obviously used in other movies/games that deal with similar subject matter.

 

Do you think it's good or bad that online games tend to have less music than offline games?  Do you think there are times when music truly is unnecessary in games (as some online developers believe)?
 

IZ: It might sound surprising to you, but the answer is yes, music is not always necessary in games, and even in the biggest action/dramatic games I would like to see a break in the music from time to time. I was never a believer in wall-to-wall music because I think that it defeats the purpose of music in games. Music needs to kick in at an important moment from a story and dramatic point of view. Music needs to say that something significant just happened, and you better be tuned into it. When there is no music for a while, and then the music suddenly kicks in, it has a very strong effect, much more than if it was there all the time. Regarding the issue of online versus a single player campaign game, I think that each game dictates the amount of music it has to have, and of course, there are always the bandwidth/memory/technical constraints.

 

 

Inon composed the music for SOCOM II: US Navy SEALs.  Will he return for SOCOM III?

 


Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu recently said that, when it comes to the PSP and the Nintendo DS, people might have to keep the sound muted while playing in the city.  Do you think this will lessen the potential for great music to be heard on those platforms, as opposed to a home console like PlayStation 2?  Or might it just lessen the number of people who actually hear the music?
 

IZ: The Sony PSP has very good sound capability. Last year I composed music for Twisted Metal: Head On, which is going to be released on the PSP, and I expect the sound quality to be quite good. Hopefully people will recognize quality audio on the handheld game devices as much as they have on the regular consoles.


Are you working on any soundtracks for games that will appear on either of those platforms, or a soundtrack for a game that will appear on PS3 or Xbox 2?  You don't have to say the name of the game, just confirm the platform :)
 

IZ: Right now I can only mention I’m working on titles for the current platforms.

 

You've yet to write music for a GameCube game – what are your thoughts on that platform?
 

IZ: I’d be as excited to compose the music for a GC title as much as the other platforms.


What do you think the next generation of consoles will bring to game composers?  Will there be any major differences (technologically), or just more of the same?
 

IZ: Memory in gaming platforms is always a huge factor. One major difference on the new platforms is that they will have the capability of hosting multiple stereo tracks for music, and to stream them all together at the same time. This will allow a much greater degree of interactivity with the music and much smoother transitions between musical cues. I’m looking forward to these new platforms, and as composers, I’m sure that they will allow us a greater amount of creative freedom.


What will you be working on now that Champions: Return To Arms is complete?

 

IZ: I’m involved with a few new titles, but I cannot mention anything about them yet – sorry! Be sure to check my website www.inonzur.com for updates :)

 

I guess we’ll have to use truth serum next…er…I mean, thank you for your time, Inon! :)