http://scowlingcassian.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-music-of-wildstar-q-with-jeff.html
The Music of WildStar: Q&A with Jeff Kurtenacker and Exclusive Video!
News:
Carbine has been all over this last week, providing us with plenty of tasty tidbits to keep us going! If you haven't yet, check out these three new WildStar articles!
Behind the Scenes/Artwork article on Polycount- This has some AWESOME screenshots, concept art, and even shows the incredible level of detail that went into animating Agent Voxine's face!
Check out WildStar's Economic Game by the Senior Systems Designer Bull Durham
WildStar Wednesday- Stress Test Postmortem- Carbine continues to excel at keeping their community up to date on their beta testing. So come check out the information from the first stress test and their followup from yesterday!
I would also like to give a big shout out to the Carbine devs, especially for Chad Moore and Troy Hewitt for stopping by WSRP lately to visit with all the fine folk there! We really appreciate you stopping by and taking the time to talk to us! We are especially flattered for Chad adding his opinion on Luminai lore in our thread and some exciting news from Troy!
Chemical Cutthroat of WSRP has made some fantastic WildStar themed drinks for the community including the Scowling Cassian, the Psyblade, the Logic Bomb and many others! Troy stopped by to talk about potentially bringing these recipes to PAX and other community showings for fans to try these exciting themed drinks! Thank you CC for your wonderful creations and thank you Carbine for showing once again, how much you love your fans and take our efforts into consideration!--------------
Okay now. Are you ready? I have such a treat for you today, my dear readers! I have right here a Q&A with the talented Lead Composer of WildStar, Jeff Kurtenacker as well as an exclusive video for the Scowling Cassian!
And so without further ado, let me talk about one of the most powerful and exciting aspects of WildStar: the Music.
Not long ago my friend brought to my attention, a comment from someone online in regards to the music from Mass Effect. They were saying that those who created the music were 'cheating' by forcing fans to 'feel' specific ways for certain scenes. They seemed so insulted by the idea that they felt that people only felt sad or excited thanks to the 'manipulative music'. I had to chuckle a bit because this is one of the aspects that makes music such a powerful and unique tool to use!
Take, for instance, the soundtrack to the recent Doctor Who seasons. Personally, I am not the biggest fan of the music. Or rather, by itself it is interesting but nothing super fascinating to me. Now...put this in alongside the acting and scenes in the show and I am blown away! The music integrates so flawlessly with the scenes, helping to encourage grief during the sad times and excitement when the Doctor tries out some daring plan. With the use of such clever compositions, this series turns into an epic adventure, pulling you completely along for the ride with sight and sound!
To me, this is so important and so very wonderful. That music has the power to make us feel and creates an experience for us. We have been trained to recognize sounds and tones to create ideas and emotions in our minds. You hear dissonant chords and you become discomforted. You hear harmony and it carries a sense of power or perhaps a clear voice brings peace. Fast scores get our blood pumping while slower ones might bring on the tears. So you can see, music is such a powerful tool, especially in the hands of a talented composer.
Enter Jeff Kurtenacker, the Lead Composer for Carbine Studios. If anyone understands the power of music, it is certainly this man and his entire talented team working on the music of WildStar. When I first took the time to check out the pieces he had on his soundcloud I found myself utterly blown away! These pieces aren't just a pleasure to listen to, they are gateways into an exciting world full of adventure and sound! From the powerful and heroic “Defend The Gates” to the “Character Creation Screen” that invokes a sense of wonder and mounting excitement, these pieces are a brilliant window into the world of WildStar.
I began listening while I blogged. It seemed appropriate. Then I found myself humming the tunes around the house and at work. Not long after, I was flailing with excitement and enthusiasm to Jeff himself on his Twitter, eager to tell him how much his music had moved me and how it made me even more excited for WildStar!
And here I am today with an amazing treat that I am so very honored and excited to share with you all!
Thanks to Jeff, Troy and all the wonderful folk on the Carbine team, I present to you my Q&A with Kurtenacker and a Scowling Cassian exclusive video of the recording of none other than the AMAZING Dominion Faction theme (and my personal favorite ) “Systematic Domination”
WildStar Music Q & A Questions for Kurtenacker for the Scowling Cassian.
After that, I’ll jump in the game and go to that zone to get a visual representation of what is happening. WildStar’s art style is a really big influence on me, so when I walk into a zone for the first time I definitely get a mood and vibe based off the art. The last thing I do is talk directly to the people who are working in these zones. They are the experts on these places, so they can sit down with me and walk me through the content players will be experiencing, and I can get a sense of the emotion and moods within the zone as the player progresses. After all that, I pull up a piano patch on the computer and start to sketch out some ideas. Usually just plunking through some melodies or chord progressions and jotting it down. I keep the game open on one computer screen so I can make sure that what I’m doing matches the mood of what I’m seeing. When I find something that feels right, I take it to the next stage and start to really develop it.
Strong and powerful, this piece certainly represents the courage and might of the Dominion! And if you close your eyes and just listen, you can almost feel the heroes of the Empire marching by...
----------
I want to extend my sincerest thanks to Jeff Kurtenacker for taking time to share with the Scowling Cassian. It has been a pleasure not only with this interview, but chatting with you on Twitter and being able to share in your enthusiasm and excitement in your work. I look forwards to more talks in the future!
I would also like to thank Troy Hewitt for all your hard work in helping to get this all together and in taking the time out of your busy day to talk with me!
And I would like to say thank you to all the rest at Carbine Studios! I simply cannot express how amazing they have been for the community. They fly their fans to Arkship events to share in their excitement of your game, they chat with us on Twitter and visit our sites to say hello or share information. They ask us what we think and feel and then thank US for being such devoted fans. As I said before one of the most exciting parts of WildStar is that, thanks to Carbine, this isn't just some game we are watching being made, but a game we are a part of. The devs are certainly listening!
And that makes WildStar very special indeed
The Music of WildStar: Q&A with Jeff Kurtenacker and Exclusive Video!
News:
Carbine has been all over this last week, providing us with plenty of tasty tidbits to keep us going! If you haven't yet, check out these three new WildStar articles!
Behind the Scenes/Artwork article on Polycount- This has some AWESOME screenshots, concept art, and even shows the incredible level of detail that went into animating Agent Voxine's face!
Check out WildStar's Economic Game by the Senior Systems Designer Bull Durham
WildStar Wednesday- Stress Test Postmortem- Carbine continues to excel at keeping their community up to date on their beta testing. So come check out the information from the first stress test and their followup from yesterday!
I would also like to give a big shout out to the Carbine devs, especially for Chad Moore and Troy Hewitt for stopping by WSRP lately to visit with all the fine folk there! We really appreciate you stopping by and taking the time to talk to us! We are especially flattered for Chad adding his opinion on Luminai lore in our thread and some exciting news from Troy!
Chemical Cutthroat of WSRP has made some fantastic WildStar themed drinks for the community including the Scowling Cassian, the Psyblade, the Logic Bomb and many others! Troy stopped by to talk about potentially bringing these recipes to PAX and other community showings for fans to try these exciting themed drinks! Thank you CC for your wonderful creations and thank you Carbine for showing once again, how much you love your fans and take our efforts into consideration!--------------
Okay now. Are you ready? I have such a treat for you today, my dear readers! I have right here a Q&A with the talented Lead Composer of WildStar, Jeff Kurtenacker as well as an exclusive video for the Scowling Cassian!
And so without further ado, let me talk about one of the most powerful and exciting aspects of WildStar: the Music.
Not long ago my friend brought to my attention, a comment from someone online in regards to the music from Mass Effect. They were saying that those who created the music were 'cheating' by forcing fans to 'feel' specific ways for certain scenes. They seemed so insulted by the idea that they felt that people only felt sad or excited thanks to the 'manipulative music'. I had to chuckle a bit because this is one of the aspects that makes music such a powerful and unique tool to use!
Take, for instance, the soundtrack to the recent Doctor Who seasons. Personally, I am not the biggest fan of the music. Or rather, by itself it is interesting but nothing super fascinating to me. Now...put this in alongside the acting and scenes in the show and I am blown away! The music integrates so flawlessly with the scenes, helping to encourage grief during the sad times and excitement when the Doctor tries out some daring plan. With the use of such clever compositions, this series turns into an epic adventure, pulling you completely along for the ride with sight and sound!
To me, this is so important and so very wonderful. That music has the power to make us feel and creates an experience for us. We have been trained to recognize sounds and tones to create ideas and emotions in our minds. You hear dissonant chords and you become discomforted. You hear harmony and it carries a sense of power or perhaps a clear voice brings peace. Fast scores get our blood pumping while slower ones might bring on the tears. So you can see, music is such a powerful tool, especially in the hands of a talented composer.
Enter Jeff Kurtenacker, the Lead Composer for Carbine Studios. If anyone understands the power of music, it is certainly this man and his entire talented team working on the music of WildStar. When I first took the time to check out the pieces he had on his soundcloud I found myself utterly blown away! These pieces aren't just a pleasure to listen to, they are gateways into an exciting world full of adventure and sound! From the powerful and heroic “Defend The Gates” to the “Character Creation Screen” that invokes a sense of wonder and mounting excitement, these pieces are a brilliant window into the world of WildStar.
I began listening while I blogged. It seemed appropriate. Then I found myself humming the tunes around the house and at work. Not long after, I was flailing with excitement and enthusiasm to Jeff himself on his Twitter, eager to tell him how much his music had moved me and how it made me even more excited for WildStar!
And here I am today with an amazing treat that I am so very honored and excited to share with you all!
Thanks to Jeff, Troy and all the wonderful folk on the Carbine team, I present to you my Q&A with Kurtenacker and a Scowling Cassian exclusive video of the recording of none other than the AMAZING Dominion Faction theme (and my personal favorite ) “Systematic Domination”
WildStar Music Q & A Questions for Kurtenacker for the Scowling Cassian.
- What/who are your biggest inspirations for your music?
- Can you tell us a bit about the creative process when you make a new piece? Do you visualize what you are working with or perhaps look at screenshots?
After that, I’ll jump in the game and go to that zone to get a visual representation of what is happening. WildStar’s art style is a really big influence on me, so when I walk into a zone for the first time I definitely get a mood and vibe based off the art. The last thing I do is talk directly to the people who are working in these zones. They are the experts on these places, so they can sit down with me and walk me through the content players will be experiencing, and I can get a sense of the emotion and moods within the zone as the player progresses. After all that, I pull up a piano patch on the computer and start to sketch out some ideas. Usually just plunking through some melodies or chord progressions and jotting it down. I keep the game open on one computer screen so I can make sure that what I’m doing matches the mood of what I’m seeing. When I find something that feels right, I take it to the next stage and start to really develop it.
- What programs do you use when you record?
- What fuelled your passion for music?
- What other projects have you worked on prior to WildStar?
- What is your favorite WildStar song so far?
- What is your favorite part about WildStar?
- Is there anything else you would like to share with us?
Strong and powerful, this piece certainly represents the courage and might of the Dominion! And if you close your eyes and just listen, you can almost feel the heroes of the Empire marching by...
----------
I want to extend my sincerest thanks to Jeff Kurtenacker for taking time to share with the Scowling Cassian. It has been a pleasure not only with this interview, but chatting with you on Twitter and being able to share in your enthusiasm and excitement in your work. I look forwards to more talks in the future!
I would also like to thank Troy Hewitt for all your hard work in helping to get this all together and in taking the time out of your busy day to talk with me!
And I would like to say thank you to all the rest at Carbine Studios! I simply cannot express how amazing they have been for the community. They fly their fans to Arkship events to share in their excitement of your game, they chat with us on Twitter and visit our sites to say hello or share information. They ask us what we think and feel and then thank US for being such devoted fans. As I said before one of the most exciting parts of WildStar is that, thanks to Carbine, this isn't just some game we are watching being made, but a game we are a part of. The devs are certainly listening!
And that makes WildStar very special indeed