Paraworld
Ever since the enormous success of Steven Spielberg’s film Jurassic Park in 1993, dinosaurs have become famous and beloved. It didn’t take long for video game developers to get hold of the setting to explore its interactive side. While some attempted to incorporate dinosaurs into action-driven games ( Turok) or suspense adventure games ( Dino Crisis) it was German developer SEK who took the opportunity of incorporating them into a strategy title. In ParaWorld, dinosaurs have been domesticated and trained for war by three different peoples. It’s up to the player to lead their dino-armies into combat, in addition to other troops like spearmen, axe throwers or even ninjas. The impressive graphics and solid yet incredibly difficult gameplay made for a satisfying playing experience. Unfortunately, the poor sale results proved the concept wrong and lead to bankruptcy for developer SEK.
Scoring a dinosaur adventure title is certainly a composer’s dream project. For Dynamedion-founders Pierre Langer and Tilman Sillescu this dream became reality. Having made their first steps into epic game scoring in 2003 with Spellforce: The Order of Dawn, they would expand on this style and deliver an effort that is uncompromising in its epic scale and grandeur. The big budget of the game allowed for the hiring of the Philharmonic orchestra of Magdeburg to bring the score to life or rather to unleash it. The game’s “Maintheme” bursts with energy: heavy-weight drums in schlepping succession combined with majestic brass fanfares set the tone for the score. The theme is humable and has an almost tongue-in-cheek over the top heroic quality. The slow moving percussion mimicking a dinosaur’s heavy slow-paced movement deserves special attention, especially in combination with strong brass performances on top of it. Just as interesting is the middle section of that particular cue for it introduces ethnic writing in the form of a tribal woodwind symbolizing the primitive and natural world the game takes place in. It even offers a little motif that gets hinted at here and there. The focus, however, lies on the glorious main theme that the composers manage to incorporate into many orchestral arrangements being it action-oriented material or soft string underscore.
Luckily, Langer and Sillescu did not settle on that one theme: in fact, the score offers notable motifs for all the three different factions in the game. For the desert tribe of the Aje, the composers went for an oriental approach: tribal percussion and Eastern string harmonies dominate “Maintheme Aje” and radiate the typical desert-sound usually associated with that geographical region. The Northlander tribe called Hu is given snaring brass, Viking choir and other majestic writing. The most ambient theme is reserved for the Jungle people called Ninigi. Their material primarily features female vocal and subdued strings. The quality of these themes does not so much lie in their melodic structure or memorability as in their versatility. Indeed, Langer and Sillescu know how to work their themes into background and action pieces so they are always present but never overbearing.
The big and epic quality of the main theme returns in the action pieces. As a matter of fact, it’s in these battle cues that the writing for big orchestra shines through: pounding drums build the underline for fast-paced string writing and brass fanfares. All is complemented by ethnic snippets and thematic material depending on the peoples’ specific battle music: all the established themes are thus presented in action arrangements as well. Occasionally, the main theme makes its appearance in some of them, linking and holding the score thematically together.
Of course the score was composed to accompany a strategy title which means the writing gets more subdued in some of the pieces on the album. Still, it’s the thematic hints and quotations that make even the most ambient pieces an engaging listen. Although the score is a long one, almost 80 minutes, and appreciating every piece of it is no small feat, the listening experience is rewarding and challenging at the same time. Overall, the score is an impressive effort.
Spellforce 2: Shadow Wars
Ever since Blizzard’s Warcraft III, the genre mix of role-playing and strategy has become a trend in the gaming industry. It’s no big surprise, then, that Phenomic’s Spellforce 2: Shadow Wars, the follow-up to the successful Spellforce 1, builds upon that formula. While critics generally enjoyed the immensely detailed graphics and the intriguing storyline the game offered, the gameplay elements for both role-playing and strategy were judged to be rather weak and unsatisfying.
After having worked on the original Spellforce, composers Pierre Langer and Tilman Sillescu would again collaborate with developer Phenomic to work on the sequel. This time around, the score was performed by real orchestra. Langer and Sillescu were able to employ the services of the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Theatre Altenburg-Gera and the choir of Artful Voices Frankfurt. The result is a much more vibrant and full musical quality than was the case in Spellforce 1. It also allowed the composers to work with solo performances of instruments, most notably a solo violin, as featured for example in “Freedom”. That cue in particular is an impressive ambient cue introducing thematic material associated with The Realm, one of the three factions the player can choose from. This theme gets its most spectacular and heroic treatment in “The Realm”: fast-paced strings, epic brass and even choir elements form a cue that is both massive and triumphant. For the other faction, The Clans, the composers wrote a percussive piece with soaring brass and deep male voices (“The Clans!”). This second theme is also featured in other cues, for example “Karash”. Additionally, some of the towns in the game get their own music: a rhythmic and percussive arrangement for the dwarfs of Underhall (“The Mines of Underhall”) and a calm and sad cue for the humans at Sevencastles (“Sevencastles”), which again uses the Realm-theme. There are a few heavily ambient cues that have been banned to the end of the album in a so-called “Bonus Section”, but overall, the album offers thematic variety and musical depth.
The battle tracks were the biggest flaw in Spellforce 1. In the sequel, they surely are the highlight. The big arrangements for orchestra and choir give the in-game battles an epic quality, even though their implementation into the game leaves much to be desired. The transition from ambient to battle music and back is far too abrupt and the rather short in-game battles make you hear the beginning of each battle cue many times, but seldom their ending. As a stand alone listen, however, the battle cues, such as “The Shaikan” or “Attack of the Nightblades”, make up the score’s greatest asset.
One thing that film score fans will immediately notice is the influence Howard Shore’s The Lord of the Rings had on Spellforce 2. “The Clans!” is clearly derived from the thematic material Shore wrote for Saruman and Isengard. “Dun Mora” will remind you of the music for the Elves with its soft combination of warm strings and ethereal female voice. Although this might bother you as a film score fan, the quality of Langer and Sillescu’s effort certainly comes close to Shore’s musical writing.
Overall, Spellforce 2: Shadow Wars does a great job in underscoring an epic fantasy game. The use of real orchestra helps the music to become more natural and emotional and the thunderous brass and percussion in the action cues sound spectacular. If you are a fan of fantasy role-playing/strategy game music and don’t mind some derivations from LotR, this is definitely a score for you.
The Moment of Silence
The Moment of Silence is a classic adventure game that tells the story of Peter Wright, a communication’s designer, who starts investigating the sudden detention and kidnapping of his neighbour Oswald. As he uncovers more and more pieces of the puzzle, Wright is drawn into a world of corruption, global dominance and power. Set in 2044, the game aims to create the cold, clean and desperate atmosphere of a futuristic New York. To underscore this vision, composers Pierre Langer and Tilman Sillescu took an obvious but effective route with their music: synthesized drum loops serve as background for the futuristic setting while piano or string melodies provide emotion and carry the thematic material along.
There are basically two primary themes in The Moment of Silence: one for the main character Peter and one for his neighbour Oswald. Reflecting the role of both friend and victim, Oswald’s theme displays an emotional quality that is intriguing. Its best quotation is in “Oswald’s Apartment” that also showcases the score’s interesting mixture of soft electronics and emotional piano writing. Peter’s theme is very similar and also gets the same electronics/piano treatment, for example in “Peters Apartment”. Langer and Sillescu managed to put these two themes into different arrangements throughout the album. A good example of this is the sad and lost theme presentation in “Peters Apartment” that develops into claustrophobia and menace in “Peters Apartment Revisited”.
As pointed out before, the composers tried to incorporate orchestral elements, above all strings and piano, into their electronically driven score and most of the time they did a good job. The whole score has a very futuristic and ambient feel to it and, especially at the beginning, provides an enjoyable listen. It is in connection to the game, however, that the score unfolds its true potential. All the areas have their own cues and the stylistic electronic drum loops serve as connection between all these pieces. “Brooklynpark” and “Mac Dougal Street” are among the highlights of these more ambient tracks. Nevertheless, the score suffers from a few problems. For one, the emotion is often created by piano coupled with a synthesized backdrop. This proves to be very effective at first and establishes a cold atmosphere. Still, one might wonder why no other solo instruments were chosen. The orchestra is full of instruments capable of conveying emotional depth and a more extensive variety would’ve been a very effective addition to the synthesized elements. The overuse of piano tends to be tiresome over the course of the album. Furthermore, the score is not as thematic as the first couple of cues suggest. The beginning and ending feature great themes, but the mid-section of the album is characterized by numerous ambient tracks, which sound very much alike. Due to this fact, the overall listening experience turns out to be somewhat limited.
All in all, The Moment of Silence is an atmospheric, futuristic and, above all, very effective score. The combination of synthesized and orchestral elements shows thematic expertise and, apart from fitting the game like a glove, makes up a solid score in every respect.
Battleforge
BattleForge is an intriguing mix between a real-time strategy and a card game. The player takes control of one of four factions (Frost, Fire, Nature and Shadow) and builds up his armies not traditionally by use of production buildings and resources but rather from a constructed deck of cards he has purchased online or won in-game. He can spend these cards at will on the battlefield which make the clever combination of cards and the moment of playing out essential components for victory. Created by experienced RTS developer Phenomic, the game has a good chance of mixing up the RTS genre after its release later this year.
The sound and music studio Dynamedion has had a long working relationship with the developers at Phenomic starting in 2003 with the score to SpellForce. For BattleForge, they would again join forces. It has become custom for Dynamedion sound productions to have the scores composed by a total of four composers: Tilman Sillescu, Alexander Roeder, Alex Pfeffer and Markus Schmidt. Each composer’s individual involvement is hard to grasp, yet the musical result is surprisingly coherent. To support the composers’ epic musical vision on paper the State Orchestra of Frankfurt was hired to bring the full score to life maintaining Dynamedion’s tradition of having their game scores performed by live orchestra.
Epic conflict and clash of mighty armies certainly demand powerful music and BattleForge is not afraid to show it. As a consequence, the album doesn’t start quietly: a clash of bass and racing strings lead to the full performance of the Frost Faction theme (“The Lords of the Sky”) later joined by male choir. It’s a straightforward melodic line that benefits much from the arrangement of its instrumental surroundings. Indeed, its full epic potential is realized more convincingly in “A Light of Winter” while its dramatic qualities are set free in the emotional “Shores of Wintershade”. Derived from it is a returning action motif associated with the Fire Faction. It is most notably heard in the thrilling “A Storm of Fire”, easily one of the best cues on the album. Snaring brass and earth-shaking drums unleash a riveting powerhouse of excitement. Another cue of particular note is the exotic, duduk-lead “Brannoc at the Forge”. In contrast, the Nature Faction is musically delicate, uplifting and ominous. Harmonious and light arrangements for strings and woodwinds are the dominating elements. It’s not until the martial cue entitled “The Soultree” that nature’s music turns bold. Like the Frost Faction, Nature has an identifying musical idea with its most memorable rendition in “Whispering Ruins” colored with Celtic flute. Furthermore, a particular melodic reference in the strings pays tribute to the Elves’ music of Howard Shore’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The fourth playable race, the Shadow Faction, features the most peculiar instrumentations and arrangements. From synthesized droning to percussive bangs and clangs to resounding bass their sound is heavy, brooding and smells of destruction. Overall, the quality of the arrangements varies. They work considerably better in the game than they do on the album. The orchestra does a reasonable job in bringing all these elements to life, even though you might wish for a more intense performance and a larger ensemble at some points. The score is ultimately not as powerful as it could’ve been.
The listening experience on album is only part of the score, however. For one, it only presents us with a selection of all the music written. Secondly, the composers’ greatest achievement probably lies in their ability to write the music for its in-game context. There, the score is incredibly dynamic, changing tempo and intensity on the fly. This probably results in the album’s perpetual sense of movement. However, what might be judged as an advantage to the gaming experience leaves the album with a bitter aftertaste. Often, the score feels hurried and hardly ever significantly shifts tempo. It is rhythmically strong, yet monotonous at times. This also translates over to the melodic quality which is somewhat understated and seems to feel more comfortable playing in the background. As such, there are few tracks that will satisfy outright, but the album will gain on you. It’s an engaging score, one that primarily enriches the gaming experience yet still provides an entertaining if somewhat uninspiring listening experience. Still, it remains to be amazed at the outstanding overall quality of Dynamedion’s output for the RTS genre.