Hitting the Right Notes
From the short, sharp plinks of a harpsichord to fuzzy, flowing arpeggios emanating from a synthesizer, music can set the tone not just for a game world but also a specific moment made more memorable thanks to the right melody. Music is more than just a tool to fill silence. It’s a language that tells its own story. It sets a mood and propels you forward. Sometimes it’s the hectic rhythm of combat, and others it’s soft, yearning notes that subtly encourage you to take a moment to look around. For the team at Arkane, music isn’t just ancillary ambiance. Music is a part of every world they build, an essential element in every game they’ve made.
Hitting the Right Notes
Arkane uses music to help set the tone for their games and worlds – from the decaying, urban vibe of Dishonored to Prey’s retro-futuristic, sci-fi atmosphere, and beyond. And the first step to identifying the type of music is often determining the instruments the teams feel would best fit these tones.
“During the pre-production of Dishonored, we defined two main guidelines for our music,” says Thomas Mitton, Senior Sound Designer at Arkane Lyon. “We knew we wanted to avoid brass instruments and instead favor stringed instruments – especially the cello and harpsichord – to support the nostalgia of a once-flourishing empire in decline. From there we established our second main guideline: our music had to be part of the city of Dunwall. We need to make sure it was directly integrated into the game as living material, not as a simple aesthetic dressing. This is hugely important to every project we take on.”
But the process of finding the exact right musical elements to incorporate is not an easy one. Sometimes it requires a little outside-the-box thinking, and that’s when the Arkane team turned to the talents of composer Daniel Licht, who sadly passed away in 2017.
“We were so privileged to work with the late, great Daniel Licht,” says Harvey Smith, Studio/Creative Director at Arkane Austin. “Our initial approach was to ask for period music through industrial instrumentation, and no one could have done it like he did… the alternation of high drama and creaky creepiness, perfect for a stealth game set during a totally corrupt, plague-ridden UK city in the 1800s. There was a moment during the development of Dishonored 2 when we were in a video conference with Daniel, explaining to him how Dishonored 2 would differ from Dishonored 1 in terms of location and characters; the culture of Karnaca versus Dunwall. He stood up, walked to the back of his studio and grabbed a bouzouki [a Greek guitar] off the wall and returned to where he’d been sitting. Daniel started to play Dishonored music with this Romani flavor and we all got chills. It was exactly what we were looking for, and he just nailed it.”
“We had the chance to work with Dan again on Dishonored 2 and Death of the Outsider, just before he passed,” Mitton says. “He will be missed, and I know his work will be remembered. His music is inseparable from the universe we collaborated on for almost seven years, and we will be taking inspiration from his work for years to come.”
New Music for New Worlds
What about Arkane Lyon’s upcoming DEATHLOOP? The island of Blackreef is a far cry from the vibrant shores of Karnaca and the bleak Victorian streets of Dunwall. How do you capture the spirit of chaos in music form? The answer: You can’t. Or, not with one specific kind of music, in any case.
“First, we define the most important elements we want to be clear to the player and highlighted in the game,” says Michel Tremouiller, Audio Director for DEATHLOOP at Arkane Lyon. “Usually you have to focus on a few keywords that describe the game, and that’s a good starting point for our work on the audio team. With DEATHLOOP – as with all previous Arkane productions – we have a host of interesting key words and layers that make up this universe. DEATHLOOP has keywords like magical, military, scientific, mysterious, Northeim, carnival… the list goes on. But of course, all these concepts cannot be injected into just one style of music. We make complex and original universes, so it’s impossible to copy a pre-existing music style.”
So how did Tremouiller’s team manage it? How did they take the visual identity of the island – 60s-inspired pop art meets Cold War-era military structures – and interpret that into the sound that will become the score for Colt’s journey?
“If we had to sum up the main feeling of DEATHLOOP’s music, we would say it’s a psycho-rock style that’s a bit crazy like the inhabitants of the island of Blackreef,” Tremouiller explains. “It’s tinged with experimental synthesizer from the late 60s and early 70s, blended with some of the ingredients from the Dishonored music – string instruments and some orchestral touches – that made it so special. There’s this very unique feeling you get when you walk through Blackreef’s neighborhoods and it’s unlike anything we’ve ever attempted at Arkane before.”
Tremouiller and the audio team at Arkane Lyon, along with lead composer Tom Salta, have enjoyed the challenge of translating DEATHLOOP’s unique setting, storyline and chaotic energy into music. They created a rich musical universe that truly helps make Deathloop a one of a kind experience.
“I think we capture that crazy spirit well,” Tremouiller says. “Creating a new sound for each new game is always an exciting and unique experience. I can’t wait to see where our games take us next.”
For more Arkane music, pre-order the Dishonored Series Soundtrack Box Set, a 5-disc, 69-track vinyl collection.
