Please note: This interview is outdated, and as a result some of the information may be incorrect.
The music for Twin Skies is amazing, don’t you agree? So lets find out who is behind it all:
Hello Adam, how are you doing?
Fantastic, thanks for asking!
When did you start work on Twin Skies? How are you finding it?
I started writing about a week after I was brought on board, which was sometime early spring. This project has been a blast so far…there’s such a diverse array of music that I’ve really had to stretch my arrangement chops, and my pencils. I’ve used quite a bit of lead.
What other projects have you worked on?
My first big MMO was ‘Pirates of the Burning Sea’ (Flying Lab Studios/Sony Online), and since then I’ve been hired by SomaTone Audio Interactive to do upwards of 30 game scores including Diner Dash: Hometown Heroes, Chocolatier 1 & 2, various Luxor titles, work for Disney, Karaoke Revolution: American Idol Encore, and Sierra Mini-Golf (XBLA) to name a few. I also do some film and TV work. Recently I’ve been doing some work for Boston Sound Labs on a few DS and Wii games, but if I talk about them now scary men will come after me with baseball bats. Or at least that’s what my contract says…I think…I dunno, I’ll have to go back and read it…
What exactly is your title and role at Meteor Games?
‘Most Awesome Guy Who THINKS He Works Here But Kinda Doesn’t, Well, At Least Full Time That Is’…Currently I’m the ‘Lead Composer’ for Twin Skies, but I’m not in house. I work out of my studio about 60 miles from the office. I do like to go in and hang out with the crew, check out the killer art and play the game, drink their free sodas, bug people, you know…all the stuff you’d do if you got to hang out at a development house. Though I will write some of the minigame scores (Legends of Laundry, Om Nom Nom, for example), I’m primarily responsible for the music you hear while in the game world.
What kind of atmosphere(s) do you want to create with the music in the game?
The feeling that you’re being chased by thirty armored rhinos while reading a copy of your favorite sports periodical as three frog-men recite haiku through straws while standing on their heads…or yours…again, I’ll have to go back and check that…
Mostly, I want a real Bagpipe-Accordion experience, with much, much more accordion than first anticipated. Go figure!
How important do you think music is to the game?
Is this where I beg for you to not turn on your mp3 player while you play Twin Skies?
Were you briefed by Adam or Donna as to what music they would like, or were you allowed to get creative?
Heh…hehe….heh…ahem…um….
‘THE MUSIC IS EXACTLY WHAT I WANT IT TO SOUND LIKE’
Actually, it’s been a really enlightening experience. Since I joined the team so early in the process, I’ve had a killer opportunity to see the game grow from a few scribbles on a legal pad to a real gaming experience, and I feel like the music has come a long way too, but not as long as my run on sentences can be, which can really be quite long, when I’m allowed to ramble on a bit. Regarding the creative direction of the sound, I went full force-no holds barred and eventually we honed in on the sound of the game. During a development process, everyone has their own ideas about what the game should sound like, but the game really delegates it’s music. There are places you can push the sound to create an ‘out of the box’ experience, but the reality of the game’s world lets you know when things work and when they don’t.
Some developers I’ve worked with in the past have given me ‘temp music’, which is music that ‘temporarily’ fills the space of the game, and the developers want you to create a sound similar to that of the temp. Temp could be rock songs, popular film scores, etc. In Twin Skies, Donna and Adam had a basic idea of the vibes and emotions they wanted to create, as well as some character and location art. It was great to have no temp this time…it really allowed me to play around with some ideas and to experiment a lot. This was really the ’sketching’ stage, where ideas are developed and honed in on. When the game was far enough in development I got the art package, I was so inspired I went to work right away and wrote the first few game cues, which they ended up liking quite a bit…or at least thats what they say…
I’m super excited for you to hear the final works…in all honesty, I think it’s some of my best. There’s quite a mix of styles and emotions, which will hopefully enhance your journey in game, and provide a fun and cinematic experience.
We would love to hear what you have created so far, would you be able to give us a sneak peek?
Sure! Ok…ahem….
Dum da da dummmmm de deeee de de dummmm…..
See? Seriously some of my best stuff.
It was great to talk to you, all of us can’t wait to hear the finished products.
To find out more about Adam, go to his personal website at: http://www.adamgubman.net
