Chaotic Compositions Are Sure to be a "Hit" With Gamers - Jesper Kyd Talks to GameZone About His Work on Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory

by Louis Bedigian

"I approached the cinematics just like a continuous 25-minute film soundtrack."

"I have always felt that a great soundtrack can make a weak game better, since it will make you want to stay longer in the game world. The longer you stay in the game world, the more forgiving you are going to be regarding the poor controls or whatever is wrong with the game. Hey, you might even end up completing the game just to hear the rest of the music tracks!"--Jesper Kyd

He's exactly right. I love the Hitman series, so I don't need an excuse to play it. However, there was one insanely frustrating game that wasn't worth sticking out for its gameplay, but was worth sticking out for its music: Parasite Eve. I couldn't bear to play through the game more than once (the story is good but the ending boss is pure trial-and-error torture), leaving me only one option: import the soundtrack.

I did that, just as thousands of other gamers have. Over 50,000 American gamers imported the soundtrack for Final Fantasy VII. All this importing got the attention of American publishers who finally realized that those living outside of Japan care about game music too.

Not nearly enough game soundtracks are released over here, but the ones that are happen to be some of the best you'll ever hear: Freedom Fighters, Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, and Hitman: Contracts. Each of those soundtracks were composed by Jesper Kyd, so it shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that we're interviewing him again.

Nominated for multiple awards for his work on Contracts (including Best Original Music in the 2005 BAFTA Games Awards and Best Cinematic/Cut-Scene Audio in the Game Audio Network Guild Awards), Jesper has gained continuous acclaim from gamers and game critics alike. You can hear his latest work in the highly-anticipated Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, for which he provided additional music and composed the cinematic themes.

You've done the cinematic music for Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. Is this closer to the work film composers do - write music for something that is seen, but not interacted with?

Jesper Kyd: Yes, very much so. Writing music for game cinematics/cut-scenes requires a different kind of writing technique and if you want a good score for cinematics it's important to hire a composer with experience in writing for cinematics or film scoring. I have written about 10 film scores for both feature films and shorts as well as cinematics, trailers and commercials for Freedom Fighters, the Hitman Series, Robotech: Invasion, and Brute Force.

How many cinematics are there in the game and how much music did this amount to?

JK: I have to tell you I was blown away by the awesome cinematics directed by Andy Davis (director of The Fugitive, Under Siege, and Collateral Damage) and decided right away to treat the cinematic scenes like a 25-minute movie score. You do have to be somewhat aware of what the in-game music is like just before each cut-scene, but apart from that, I approached the cinematics just like a continuous 25-minute film soundtrack.

I can't mention how many cinematics but I can tell you I also wrote four additional in-game music tracks, as well as music for the end credits when completing the game. UbiSoft will be using tracks from my cinematic score in-game also, but I don't really know exactly how much of my music will be featured in-game.

http://a248.e.akamai.net/f/248/5462/2h/images.gamezone.com/screens/21/9/78/s21978_xb_5.jpg

Jesper Kyd is great at intensifying an already intense moment.

Are there advantages to working with the cinematics? Any disadvantages?

JK: Well, it's a lot of fun writing music for such great visuals. The biggest challenge was to apply my own music style in a way that it would fit together with Amon's in-game music. After coming up with the music style, I added cinematic elements and themes, and applied film music techniques to follow everything exactly as it happens on-screen in the cinematics. It ended up being quite an interesting mix of elements. Sometimes, I use mostly orchestral elements and other tracks are purely electronica sounding.

Did you get the same kind of materials for Chaos Theory that you get when composing gameplay themes?

JK: Most of the cinematics were delivered to me in nearly completed form. This is quite different from writing in-game music, where sometimes all you have to work with is a background story, screenshot or, if you are lucky, a video clip. With the cinematics I was able to see exactly how the music would work right away. When writing in-game music tracks, I was provided video clips of the gameplay.

The Hitman series is officially yours now that you've composed each game in the series. Have you begun to develop a "zone" that you go into when working on a Hitman title?

JK: I try not to develop any "zone" or specific Hitman writing technique, since each Hitman score has been quite different from the previous one. However, being a hardcore gamer myself, I do think I have a very good sense of what will work and what would be cool. With each score for Hitman I try to perfect the atmosphere and interactive elements.

For example, while Hitman 2 had a more heroic score to go with the epic storyline, the implementation and music for Hitman: Contracts was tweaked even further. When you play Hitman 3, there is music playing pretty much throughout the whole game, whereas with Hitman 2 we focused more on playing music at key moments. We received a great response for both techniques, but I would say it is far more difficult writing a score that plays constantly, yet never drives you crazy or makes you turn the music off. We had a very positive response from the Hitman 3 score and I was really impressed how people took notice of this, especially since it's much easier just to pay attention to epic orchestral scores. Also, the fact that people really responded to an original, experimental electronica soundtrack was awesome for me because dance music is a major part of my background.

For anyone who might not have experienced Hitman: Contracts yet, tell us about its award-winning soundtrack.

JK: The Hitman Contracts score has a dark and gritty approach in DJ style electronica. Since the game takes places mostly at night, I added a late nightclub feel to the soundtrack. It is also a deep and brooding score with lots of cinematic elements and themes. I wanted the score to be modern and interesting to listen to on its own, full of melodies, strange background beats and cinematic, suspenseful elements.

I tried to write an authentic, original and unique electronica score that would fit and work in the game as closely as possible, and would be appreciated as credible music from an electronica album release. I think we achieved this and I was invited to perform the music live for a DJ session at the game's launch party in Europe early last year. The Hitman: Contracts soundtrack album was released on Sumthing Else Music Works and has won awards from several magazines. Most recently the music was nominated for a BAFTA :)

If only Sam Fisher could hear the music. Perhaps then he wouldn't be so glum?

How important is it to have continuity with a series? How important is it to keep the sound fresh?

JK: Well, regarding the Hitman Series, if the Hitman: Contracts storyline had been a direct follow-up to Hitman 2 it would have made sense to use some of the same themes and elements from the Hitman 2 score. But because the mood is so different in Hitman Contracts, we thought it was important that the soundtrack helped to convey the shift in style and atmosphere. Therefore it becomes essential that the composer is versatile and able to write different styles in order to re-invent the music style for a franchise.

I am very thankful to IO Interactive and Eidos for their support and trust in me to produce what was, for the videogame industry at that time, an edgy, risk-taking score for Hitman: Contracts. I think prior to Contracts, no one had really embraced fully the concept of a DJ-style electronica album soundtrack. Of course, with the success of such a high-profiled title others will watch/follow this trend and we will likely see more of this kind of approach.

We probably surprised a lot of people with the shift in music in Contracts, but we also surprised fans of Hitman: Codename 47 when we brought in an orchestra to perform the Hitman 2: Silent Assassin score. I guess what we are saying with the music for the Hitman series is, you don't know what the next game is going to sound like, but it should be cool :)

Do you tend to have more or less time with each successive game in the series?

JK: It's different with each game. With the first Hitman game, Hitman: Codename 47, I spent a lot of time learning an interactive music system called Direct Music and the challenge was to make the music sound good within the limitations of that music system. Hitman 2: Silent Assassin was my first big live orchestra score and we spent a lot of time preparing for the orchestra sessions. Hitman: Contracts was the first full on DJ/electronica score and so we were on our own as far as figuring out how to use this kind of music in-game. We spent a lot of time implementing the music, but I could always use more time! Hitman 4 - I can't talk about yet.

Dance Dance Revolution is known for its quirky, fast-paced Japanese music. How did you get involved with DDR Ultramix 2?

JK: I have been working with Konami for several years now and I remember telling them I was a big fan of DDR Ultramix (hey, I have the big sturdy dance pad and everything!). Once Ultramix2 for Xbox was in development they asked me if I would like to write some music for it.

How much did you contribute to that game?

JK: I wrote two original tracks and a remix of one of the classic DDR tunes called "59." Writing music for DDR was quite a challenge, since you have to apply a completely different music writing technique. The music has to keep changing, in order for the player to have the most fun and variety of moves when dancing to the track. But the track can only be 2 minutes long! Also, you have to apply a more mainstream pop sound, since we are talking about dance music that would benefit from pop hooks and instantly recognizable melodies. These songs should be immediate and hit you hard over the head the first time you hear them. With game soundtracks I usually try to do the exact opposite. When writing cinematic in-game music I write in a way so that the 4th time you hear the same track, you will still find something new in there you did not notice before.

Tell us about your work on Robotech: Invasion.

JK: Robotech: Invasion was a great experience. I was asked to come up with something new, so we did not use the music from the 1980s TV series. I wrote an action driven score with live vocal performances by the Hungarian Radio Choir. It's kind of like Freedom Fighters on acid, with more beats and electronics but less cinematic in scope.

After Chaos Theory, what's next for you? More experimentation? Do you
have another game lined up?

JK: I am currently working on Hitman: Blood Money as well as my first Xbox 2 title, but I can't talk about these yet. I have a few other soundtrack albums in development - stay tuned to my website www.jesperkyd.com for upcoming details!

Jesper Kyd returns for the fourth game in the Hitman series.

What do you feel has been your greatest accomplishment thus far? You've composed amazing soundtracks, won awards for those soundtracks, and gained the attention of thousands of gamers.

JK: I'm just really glad that people are starting to pay attention to good quality soundtracks. I remember when writing Sega Genesis scores; we developed our own music program that could do all these insanely cool things. Back then, it seemed that no matter how much we worked on writing interesting scores, the press barely noticed it. Of course this might have to do with the limited sound of the Sega Genesis, but still, that was the music of the game industry back then, yet the scores were barely mentioned.

I am really excited at how far we have come with the quality of game soundtracks
these days and I feel the media attention has helped us come this far. Today when a big, fantastic game does not have a fantastic written soundtrack to go with it, the press and gamers complain about the lack of good music. Equally, when a game has good music the press and gamers respond. This is a huge step forward and I really think it has helped the game producers be more aware of good and bad music.

I have always felt that a great soundtrack can make a weak game better, since it will make you want to stay longer in the game world. The longer you stay in the game world, the more forgiving you are going to be regarding the poor controls or whatever is wrong with the game. Hey, you might even end up completing the game just to hear the rest of the music tracks!

Thanks Jesper for another great interview.