Jeremy Soule Interview at HLF

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(Originally posted by Mollusken)

Jeremy Soule is the composer of the music for Neverwinter Nights, and he answers a few questions over at HomeLan Fed. Here's a couple of them.

Music and sound in PC and video games have sometimes not received as much attention as other aspects of a game. Why do you think that has happened in some cases?

For starters, if a game doesn't have enough volume, or gives the user the option to shut it off right away, you'll see less interest in that game's music. Music is of the quality these days that giving the user the option to shut off a score is tantamount to letting them shut off the graphics. There's still some major holdouts from the old school mentality surrounding music and games. I also think that games should take more advantage of music and sound. We're still seeing multi-million dollar games out there that are shipping with no dynamic mixing capabilities between sound and music. Most games initiate the music and sound levels up front and just leave it.

What are some of your favorite game soundtracks that you have worked on and why?

I have to say that Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter has a few themes that still resonate with me. All of my projects have something in the way of memories for me. Morrowind: The Elder Scrolls and Dungeon Siege are also two of my favorites.