During the spring afternoon of 2016, during the E3 video game event at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, he crossed the stage between the packed auditorium and the Symphonic Orchestra, performing an original, never-before-heard version of himself. led the theme. Even before the game’s title was announced, audiences experienced an epic, symphonic score featuring Nordic folk instruments, choirs, and powerful melodic themes. After my overture, the curtain opened and visions of old Kratos emerged from the shadows to announce that a new entry in the PlayStation blockbuster God of War series was on the horizon. This is one that ages the characters and promises a more mature narrative.The game launched in his 2018 to critical acclaim and fan enthusiasm around the world, the vengeful god Kratos and his sons. Atreus has cemented himself as the most beloved video game character of all time.
In the spring of 2019, I found myself back in the office at Santa Monica Studios for a creative discussion about the game’s sequel, God of War: Ragnarok. Here, the game’s previous director, Corey Barlog, introduced us to Eric Williams, the director of this new game. Cory and Eric have worked together on this franchise for years. I sensed Eric’s shared passion for material and depth of experience immediately. After reading the script, the scale of War God Ragnarok became clear. This ambitious sequel storyline expands on his drama of intimate characters between Kratos and his son Atreus, and introduces at least twelve of his new characters in all nine of his realms of Norse mythology. did. The set pieces and action scenes were even more bombastic, but the dramatic arc was just as poignant as that of the first story. Ragnarok needs to be filled with new musical themes. At the same time, it should be interwoven with my material from God of War (2018).
In that original game, I dived into the score with feverish abandon, ready to completely reinvent the sound of the franchise to match this entry’s more sophisticated tone. I felt the pressure of writing a song in the shadow of the previous work. Gamers around the world have developed an emotional connection to the themes of my music, and my work has won several major video game industry awards. The thought of expanding on these ideas, and daring to think that I might improve them, both exhilarated and terrified me.
I started composing God of War Ragnarok in the summer of 2019. I knew I was at the beginning of the most creative challenge of my career.
WARNING: The following contains moderate spoilers for God of War Ragnarok.
A new theme for a new family
God of War Ragnarok tells the story of a broken family struggling to rebuild. To support that story, I needed two additional themes of his, representing the families Kratos and Atreus encounter on their journey.
Theme: Fuldra Brothers
Huldra’s brothers, the dwarves Brock and Sindri, were supporting characters in the previous film. Not only did they support Kratos’ arsenal, but they provided some hilarious comical relief and a heartwarming story of the reunion of estranged brothers. Their role in God of War Ragnarok has been greatly expanded, and now gamers travel to their hometown of Svartalfheim. I had to create my own theme that taught me something about dwarven culture.
Brock and Sindri’s theme opens with a lilting ompa ostinato played by viola da gamba and nyckelharpa.
The playful nature of the theme is punctuated by a distinctive rhythmic meter, 7/4, which provides an asymmetrical imbalance. The groove is bouncy, but gets heavier and heavier as the theme unfolds.
The real charm of “Haldra Brothers” lies in the melody, which features a hurdy gurdy solo. (I am credited as the performer of this solo, but personally I like to think I hear a character named Ræb playing their theme. More on him later. ) The snap is a common rhythm in Scottish folk music.
The middle section of the Huldra Brothers’ emotional B-theme hints that there is more emotion in their stories than just comedic relief. In fact, this theme evolves over the course of the story, perhaps more than any other: at the end of their track, their theme he hears one last time. It’s a dark and melancholy cello solo. A shocking departure from the initial hilarious tone. “Ræb’s Lament”, near the end of the soundtrack album, is built around Hardy’s gurdy and orchestral variations of this melody. I don’t mean to spoil the story here, but if I’m doing my job right, this comedic, light-hearted little tune will get you going before the final credits roll for God of War: Ragnarok. will break the heart of
Theme: Ragnarok
The final major new theme I created for this game was for another family representing the antagonists from Asgard, Thor, his father Odin, and the impending prophesied events of Ragnarok itself. It was a daunting task to create a musical force that could threaten Kratos (his theme begins with a powerful, low male vocal that radiates menace and strength). It was a silly errand to try to write a villainous theme that overwhelmed Kratos in terms of strength and raw power. So I turned to the script for inspiration.
Odin, played by Richard Schiff in God of War: Ragnarok, defies audience expectations. Eric Williams described him as a snake in the grass. He has a slight frame and his immense power is implied most of the time.He is not afraid to use force, but he uses psychological means to achieve his ends. I want to I also thought about the impending and sinister doom of Ragnarok itself, which looms over the horizon of the story like a storm cloud. These ideas inspired Ragnarok’s themes to revitalize with a sly, dangerous yet restrained ostinato. I wanted it to have the rhythm of , and suggest power and threat.
This ostinato grows bigger and bigger as the story progresses. The overlying Ragnarok theme theme carries a dark nobility and ominous foreboding, often sung by a male choir in Old Norse texts.
We spent about six months sketching the theme for this game, collaborating frequently with our creative partners at Santa Monica Studio. Some of them were easy to make, while others went through 5 or 6 drafts before getting to something promising. I was initially crippled by the intense pressure of writing a theme to rival my two most iconic melodies from . I was convinced that it would be comparable to the melody I wrote in .
become love
The scoring for God of War Ragnarok is an extension of everything we did for God of War (2018), culminating in one of the biggest orchestral scores of my career to date. But my contribution to the game will go beyond music.
In the spring of 2019, Eric Williams and Cory Barlog wrapped up the first creative meeting on the project with concept art. I was dumbfounded when I saw at the bottom of the stack a sturdy dwarven companion holding a beautiful hurdy gurdy with a familiar, perhaps dashing, handsome face! I thought art director Raf Grassetti drafted a sketch of me as a dwarf as a gift. I was even more stunned when Eric and Cory told me this image was no joke. Do some motion capture and give him some voice acting!
More than two years later, in the summer of 2021, I stepped into PlayStation’s Santa Monica studio not as a composer, but as an actor. Once we got to the motion capture stage, the crew attached tiny sensors all over my body and my hurdy gurdy. I learned that my body movements were captured by these sensors and instantly converted into animation data for my digital avatar.
When I stepped onto the stage, I was struck by how barren it was – like an industrial warehouse with hi-tech gadgets clustered on the edge of an empty space. When I looked, I saw real magic, a digital fantasy environment representing a tavern in Svartalfheim. When I walked into the digital tavern I noticed Ræb and immediately realized he was walking as I was walking! I started jumping and swinging my arms, watching my digital avatar recreate all my movements in real time. I giggle uncontrollably as I move and Ræb imitates me.
To become a video game actor, you need to capture motion or do a motion capture session. The crew said he usually has one or two sensors attached to his hands to capture arm movements, but all the detailed finger movements will be animated later. But a lot of my motion capture work involved playing musical instruments, so they decided to try putting sensors on all my fingers. They had never done this before! Sure enough, when they were done, I sat down and played some hurdy gurdy, watching my digital rave fingers ripple to his own hurdy gurdy keys on the screen and following my exact movements. rice field.
Recording a Hurdy Gurdy performance turned out to be the easy part. I also had to pretend to be in a crowded tavern environment and mimic the physical quirks that resulted from my various interactions with Kratos and Atreus. I tried not to think about the nasty reality of pretending to be a dwarf in polka-dotted pajamas with a hurdy-gurdy. In the middle of the room with people staring at me.
I liked the physicality in doing the motion capture. But as fun as it was, I wasn’t ready for the thrill of recording Ræb’s dialogue a few weeks later.In a small recording studio in Los Angeles, writer Matthe worked with Sophos. . I’ve never acted properly before, but my creative process as an actor working with Matt has helped me work as a composer alongside directors and producers when scoring stories. It turns out that it is the same as doing In both cases, our common goal is to make the audience feel something tangible about what they are experiencing. Use chords, rhythms. I quickly discovered that the only difference when I was an actor was using the rhythm, inflection, and tone of my voice to achieve the same goal.
I felt the electric thrill of creating Ræb from God of War Ragnarok. As I interacted with Matt, I came to understand his feelings for Rave’s situation, especially for Kratos’ pal Mimir. On the drive home from the recording studio, his eyes were giddy and his chest was pounding. It’s safe to say that the hours I spent recording Ræb’s dialogue rank him among the most exhilarating creative experiences of my life. I don’t think I’m quitting my day job anytime soon, but I would love the opportunity to explore this art form further!
You can read more about my work on God of War Ragnarok here. full blog post on my official site.
