But one thing we haven’t yet discussed is audio. With Dead Nation, it’s vital that we create a skin-crawling atmosphere; more importantly, the music needs to adapt to the intensity of the on-screen carnage. I thought it would be fun to address some common questions related to Dead Nation’s audio design, everything from the zombie groans to dynamic music to soundtrack inspirations. I hope you enjoy it, and be sure to listen to the sample track below.

How did you start working with Housemarque?

The first game that I worked on with Housemarque was Super Stardust HD, the original soundtrack and sound design. I was in-house audio director in Frozenbyte Inc. back then and working outsourced. SSHD was a awesome project for me since I’ve grown up with retro arcade games and I got my chance to finally make style of my own.

What was your reaction when Housemarque originally came to you with the Dead Nation concept?

I’m a huge fan of apocalyptic and zombie movies and games, and when I first time heard about making a “really nasty R-rated zombie shooter” I was thrilled! Harri (the creative director) explained me of all the cool things you could do to the zombies and how gory everything would be. If you’re gonna do a great zombie game or a movie, it’s gotta be R-rated! The top-down perspective allows an interesting angle for the game audio design, too. You perceive the big picture of the soundscape much more broadly than in FPS games.

Has the music changed a lot since you took a first pass on it?

My first tracks for the game were a bit too slow and we ended up setting the tempo up to 162bpm for the highest intensity levels. The soundtrack is a mash-up of different genres like industrial, orchestral and ambient. We wanted it to sound dark, gritty, and dynamic so we ended up having six different intensity levels for every dynamic music group. It works really great — the music adapts seamlessly to the in-game events.

How difficult did you find putting together a concept soundtrack for Dead Nation?

It was not an easy task! There was not much reference for the Dead Nation soundtrack, I had to invent almost everything from scratch. The closest resemblance was found in the Dawn of the Dead remake OST, but I still had no reference for the highest intensity levels. The in-game music is almost sound design in some parts, since it doesn’t have much in the way of melody and it relies heavily on dark tones and gritty sounds. Overall, I achieved the feeling that we were after, it does sound unique and it fits in the game atmosphere perfectly.

What can you say about the sound design?

Well, first of all, I have to mention that Dead Nation has a huge amount of sounds. It features over 8000 unique sound files and craploads of near-authentic zombie vocals. The aim of the sound design was to make Dead Nation feel as gory and gritty as it plays — players will have to endure (or enjoy) quite twisted sounds! This is my most ambitious and biggest audio design work so far, I’m hoping players to have just the right feeling while playing.

What is your favorite part of Dead Nation?

I really like the feeling of nailing down the zombies. It just has this realness to it, feels like the zombies are really getting hurt in every way possible! I like the overall atmosphere too, I’m already hooked to the game!

1. Kratos PSN Avatar (More here)
2. Original Soundtrack
3. Legionnaire Skin
4. PSP Theme
5. God of War Live (Creative Directors Documentary)
6. PS3 Dynamic Theme

Joel Yarger, the Music Supervisor of God of War: Ghost of Sparta leads the charge this week with a behind-the-scenes look (and audio samples) for the Original Soundtrack.

I’m Joel Yarger, Music Supervisor on God of War: Ghost of Sparta, and I bring the sound of music to the PlayStation.Blog today. As you probably already know, God of War: Ghost of Sparta is the second God of War game from Ready At Dawn Studios and I think it outdoes their previous effort, Chains of Olympus, in pretty much every way! I’ve personally been involved with the music for the God of War franchise since God of War 2 and it’s always fun to see where we can go with it.

The original music for Ghost of Sparta was written by Gerard Marino and Mike Reagan, both of whom have worked on the previous God of War games. They really had the hard jobs of creating something new yet keeping it all within the God of War musical universe. That’s no small task as there are four other games worth of music written, so kudos to Gerard and Mike for nailing it! Dana Jan, the game director for Ghost of Sparta, really wanted the new music to contribute to the game’s identity: You know you’re playing a God of War game, but it still feels fresh. Some quick factoids: There were roughly 13 minutes of new music composed for Chains of Olympus (all Gerard writing) and then we re-worked music from the other titles. Ghost of Sparta features roughly 37 minutes of new music and uses significantly less cues from the previous games.

There were many new elements in this game to draw inspiration from, everything from the new story and main characters to the new environments and cities. We had plenty of concept art, good screenshots, some gameplay videos, and of course both the script and game director (Dana) to help us along the way. Here are four samples from the game that I think help showcase some of the inspired work both Mike and Gerard contributed.

Atlantis and The Caldera are both pieces written by Mike Reagan. Mike did some really interesting things given our tight budget on the project. Since we weren’t able to record most of the music with live musicians, Mike took it upon himself to record some of his own live elements. He bought a double bass, a cello, a didgeridoo, and even modified a hammer dulcimer to have a curved bridge so you can reach individual strings with a bow. The sounds he achieved were just awesome and worked very well for establishing that “fresh feeling”, but sounded much older, even ancient. The hammer dulcimer especially lends itself to Atlantis, an ancient, mysterious city that has hints of splendor and regality. In The Caldera you can hear the cello and bass as they carry both the melody and rhythm that are very much inspired by the ebb and flow of lava.

For Gerard’s contribution we should mention the story for a second (don’t worry, it’s all vague and spoiler free!). The story in Ghost of Sparta has some very strong emotional moments and we felt that the music needed to pay appropriate attention to them. Kratos goes through what amounts to an emotional roller coaster and that was yet another opportunity to introduce something musically new for this title. We leaned heavily on Gerard to turn on the emotion for the 2 pieces highlighted here. Both cues are based on the same theme but they each showcase very different emotions, and different character’s perspectives, which was essential for this score in order to have a good balance. One more factoid: If you listen even more closely you can hear that these themes are based on non-other-than the original Gof of War melody — one part of it, anyway. Because much of the actual story in the game is for you to discover when you play it, I won’t say any more than I already have.

Be sure to pre-order the game to get the full soundtrack directly through PSN starting November 2nd, 2010.

What Inspired you to write “Even Gods Cry”?

Noah Belson: What inspired DaVinci to paint The Last Supper? Or Mike Angelo to take brush to the Sistine Chapel? No one knows where inspiration comes from, but in the case of “Even Gods Cry,” it’s as though some divine force placed the seed of an idea in my head, then poured thought juice on that seed and then that seed grew into a mighty oak, inside my head.

Matthew Cappiello: Also, someone said we could make $100 off this and that’s pretty decent walkin’ around money. If you think about it, that’s probably why DaVinci painted. I mean the guy had to eat, right?

How do you think you are most like Kratos?

NB: Kratos and I both have slight anger management problems. Ask anyone on the highway that fateful day when I smashed 11 windshields with a 9 iron if they think I have anger issues and they’ll probably go “and how!” So there is a little Kratos in me, yes. But you know, another trait the K man and I share is vulnerability. The big guy may be tough as nails but inside he’s hurting and I know what it is it to hurt. But I also know that ripping the heads off monsters (literally or figuratively) isn’t the way to deal with that hurt, so that’s where Kratos and I part ways. Frankly I think if Kratos were around today, he’d benefit from calming influences such as yoga, pilates and maybe even a course of hug therapy. You don’t need a prescription, you just need arms, and heck you can even hug someone if they don’t have arms.

MC: Let me tell you a secret. We’re ALL Kratos. Every single one of us. Some of us are Kratos because we’re fighting internal demons like alcohol, chocolate or heroin. While others of us are the REAL Kratos, fighting demons and shooting lasers (he shoots lasers, right?) at evil demons and demigods and what not. I never actually played the game because I’m still using a Playstation 1 and I just can’t swing the upgrade right now. In any case, to answer your question- yes, I had a lot of fun writing “Even Gods Cry.”

Why do you think this song has such universal appeal?

MC: We write songs for the common man. When we ride in the Turtlecopter and point down at the tiny people below us, we point to them and say, “That guy. That’s who we’re writing this song for.” and I think it shows in our music.

NB: But in this song we did something different. This song was written for the gods. We wanted this to be the kind of song that when people heard it for the first time they would finally understand what ears are for. We wanted lovers to kiss harder after hearing it. We wanted mothers to weep for the joys their children will know. Flowers to bloom brighter. Cotton to feel softer. This song has universal appeal because the universe needed this song, just like the universe needs the Turtlenecks.

The video, filmed during the recording sessions for the God Of War III-inspired track, gives an intimate look in to the creation of the song. Trivium’s singer Matt Heafy says about the song and how it relates to the game, “Metal is that imagery, metal is that grandiose thing, that violent energy that the game creates. Our song is inspired by the excitement of being involved with God Of War III and it’s inspired by the energy of the game.”

God of War: Blood & Metal is available for sale on today (March 2) and of course God Of War III is out on March 16. You can get the album for just $1.99 on March 2 through Shockhound here.

And hey, while we’re at, check out the entire streaming Killswitch Engage track, “My Obsession,” along with 30-second samples from the rest of the bands on our site.

Rock on!

Now that Darksiders has been out for a few weeks, what do you think about the fans’ reactions to the game?

Joe: We are incredibly excited to finally get Darksiders into people’s hands! The response has been fantastic. We already have armies of ravenous fans clamoring for a sequel, and that’s a dream come true for us. For Vigil, the development of Darksiders was almost as epic a journey as War’s is in the game—so of course, we’re excited to finally see it through to its end. We look forward to hearing from even more gamers over the next few months as they check out the demo, and news of the game spreads.

Let’s talk about the demo. What can fans expect from the demo, and where does this take place within the main story?

Joe: In this demo, War has been tasked with retrieving the heart of one of the Destroyer’s chosen. Tiamat, a massive demon queen is not about to give it up without a fight, so you’ll have to pry it from her cold, dead body. Luckily, this is just the sort of thing that the Horsemen of the Apocalypse are good at—and War is probably the toughest of the bunch. Of course at this point, War’s powers have been stripped from him, so he’ll have to use every weapon at his disposal, and locate the ancient artifact called the Cross Blade. Its mastery is vital to navigating the Cathedral, and ultimately bringing down Tiamat. The Cathedral itself is chock full of puzzles and other hazards, and of course, it is home to a host of the Destroyers minions. Be especially wary as you approach the walking pile of cadaverous flesh that is—the Jailer! When you meet him, you’ll see why…

Darksiders is obviously a game with an epic scope. Why choose to focus the demo on the Twilight Cathedral?

Joe: It’s true, there is so much to do, and so much to see in Darksiders, that it was difficult to pick one area to feature. We liked the Cathedral because it’s a self contained chunk of the game that’s fairly early on, so it’s easier to pick up and play. It’s also the first ‘dungeon’ experience in the game, so it’s a good one for players to learn the game’s structure. The dungeon exploration, using keys, solving puzzles, mastering the dungeon’s gear item ( Crossblade ) and of course, introducing tougher enemies and boss battles. It really gives you a taste of the adventure aspect of Darksiders, and hopefully will show gamers just how far from being a typical hack-n-slash Darksiders actually is.

After playing the demo, what do you want fans to know about the rest of the game?

Joe: By the time you beat the demo, you’re going to realize one thing—this is an adventure game! That’s right, you can go back to any area even after you beat it. You’ll want to do this because War is not equipped to find everything his first time through most areas. As War gains new abilities and items, he will be able to unlock areas of the levels previously unattainable. This creates an interesting pace, where combat is carefully balanced with exploration and puzzle solving. It’s not just a button mashing combat drill! That said, I do think it’s important to note that we at Vigil just LOVE to create kick ass enemies. There are some truly cool looking creatures in this game that make for fun and memorable battles! The bosses in particular are a lot of fun and end in a rewarding mess of gore! So what are you waiting for? Check out the demo, and pick up a copy today. YOU MUST OWN THIS GAME PEOPLE!!!!

If you’ve been on Home lately, you may have seen the occasional Angel, Demon, Horseman, or Man-Horse walking around. We wanted to give the denizens of Home a chance show their allegiance to Heaven, Hell, or the Horsemen. We tried to pick some of the more iconic images from the game – including angel wings and demon horns. It’s a real credit to Joe and the rest of the team at Vigil that the characters and costumes look just as cool in the “real-world” Home environment as in the “comic-inspired” game environment. What’s most impressive is that we were able to take some of the in-game models and port them directly into the Home environment.

We recently released War’s armor with the Mask of Shadows. My favorite item, however, is the Ruin horse head mask. It’s at the same time awesome and disturbing. I can’t deny the fact that I was partially inspired by a certain burlap-skinned character from one of my favorite side-scrolling platformers. If you’re a Darksiders fan, or just want to show your good, evil, or creepy side – go check out the Darksiders virtual items!

Lastly, I spoke with composers Mike Reagan and Cris Valesco about the incredible music in Darksiders. You may not know their names, but you definitely know their work – God of War and God of War II being two of their most well-known titles.

What other games have you worked together on?

Mike: This was really the first project that Cris and I truly collaborated and wrote a theme together. Previously, we had both been hired individually to work on the God of War series.

Cris: Mike and I have previously worked on the God of War series together as well as Van Helsing. However, this was the first time that we were actually able to collaborate on actual music. In the past we’ve always just worked on our own music independently. This time we were really able to brainstorm on the Darksiders Main Theme and I think it really shows.

What was your inspiration for the “sound” of Darksiders?

Mike: Spiritual warfare was a key motivator, and we wanted to create a sound that could be heard in complete darkness and convey a haunting experience. The Choir as well as the solo boy soprano sung by Zack Weisberg really added something special to the sound.

Cris: Darksiders clearly has some religious connotations attached to it and we wanted to take advantage of that with the choir. They’re singing in Sanskrit throughout. This language dates back as far as 1500 BC so we thought this would help give the music a sense of weight and age.

What is your favorite track?

Mike: I’m really proud of the Main Theme that Cris and I did together, and the pieces with longer melodies that work really well over the Boss themes as well.

Cris: The Main Theme that Mike and I wrote is probably the stand-out track in the game. It’s definitely my favorite piece. I also really liked the boss music that Mike wrote for the Greaver. Of my own music in the game, I am partial to the final boss music. This track and the Main Theme were actually performed live at the Night In Fantasia ’09 concert in Sydney this last summer too!

Thanks for reading. I hope everyone enjoys the demo!

It was a pleasure – and great news for the many Edmonson fans – that we were able to “get the band back together” and work with Greg a second time on UNCHARTED 2. We couldn’t be happier with the results.

As of today, there are not one, but two ways you can get your hands on the original soundtrack to UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves. While the soundtrack has been previously available on iTunes, we’re glad to see the original soundtrack released on CD TODAY and it is available at stores around the US and on your internet retailer of choice.

You definitely don’t want to miss this release, as the CD version of the UNCHARTED 2 original soundtrack includes three previously unreleased tracks:

Take That!

Tunnel Vision

The Heist

If you haven’t picked up the soundtrack yet, this CD release with the additional tracks would probably be a good time to do so. We hope you enjoy it!

This definitely ranks up there with one of my favorite interviews I’ve been a part of. You’ve already met Jonathan Mayer. This time we’re adding Senior Music Manager Clint Bajakian and Music Editor Scott Hanau, who discuss all things music here at PlayStation. In this six-minute video, the team touches on topics including what it’s like to work alongside game developers like Naughty Dog, the huge orchestral sessions at Skywalker Sound and beyond, how the music was crafted for the UNCHARTED 2 train sequence, the percussion in God of War III and much more.

And you’ll also notice UNCHARTED 2 composer Greg Edmonson doing his thing along with Leslie Ann Jones, Director of Music Recording and Scoring for Skywalker Sound.

Hope you enjoy it!

Provided below is an interview we conducted with Amon Tobin regarding his involvement in the game. Check it out!

Q: What drew you to this particular project? How’d you get involved?

A. It was an opportunity to try something I’ve been wanting to do for some time, which was to make a musical score based on sound design. My last album “Foley Room” explored the use of foley recordings as the building blocks for rhythm and melody. This score took the marriage of music and sound design further still, using the environments and materials being interacted with in the game as the basis for the music itself.

Q. What was it like collaborating with other composers on the score? What was the collaboration process like?

A. It was an honor to have such a wealth of talent providing me with material to write with. Jonathan Mayer, Clint Bajakian and others all worked hard with me in the foley room to create unique percussive sounds that formed the basis of the music. Jonathan was like a machine constantly sending me new drums he’d laid down and we also benefited from the general enthusiasm of the people in the department who weren’t even supposed to be recording but who lent a hand. One of my favorite sessions was with Chuck Doud who spent a day with us recording these wicked bass lines which turned out to be extremely useful material to me. In addition I had these awe inspiring strings that Jim Dooley had written for the cinematics which I was given free reign to incorporate into my own arrangements. A highlight for me was working with Martin Tillman whose cello work inspired us all.

Q. What’s your favorite in-game track? Why?

A. There’s a track I submitted quite early on with the working title (“Nightcrawler”) which to me was very satisfying in the sense that it did what I set out to achieve. It had a balance of electronics and weird acoustic instruments that I felt worked. Later on there are whole sections of related music for gangs like the ‘Dustmen’ in the game which I really love.

Interested in learning more about the soundtrack? Take a look at Music4Games’ recent review, or better yet, experience it for yourself by downloading the soundtrack, available now on iTunes.

LISTEN TO A CLIP OF THE SOUNDTRACK HERE