19 January 2009
Award winning composer Inon Zur (Prince of Persia The Two Thrones, Prince of Persia Warrior Within®) and celebrated musician Stuart Chatwood (Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Prince of Persia Warrior Within, Prince of Persia The Two Thrones) have created a compelling and epic original score for Ubisoft’s new Prince of Persia video game. Developed by Ubisoft’s Montreal studio, the game opens an entirely new chapter in the Prince of Persia universe in addition to introducing a fresh illustrative art style, evolved combat system, and open world structure.
The new Prince of Persia score features eastern ethnic instrumentation blended with a cinematic orchestral approach, combined with a different musical treatment for each of the game’s four lands. Lead composer Inon Zur contributes dramatic and majestic orchestral music performed by the Northwest Sinfonia and recorded with Arabic flutes and duduk. Zur’s compositions, which include the Main Theme, capture the complex emotional evolution of the characters as well as immersing players during gameplay and in select locations.
Stuart Chatwood, a member of the renowned Canadian rock band The Tea Party, brings his distinct rhythmic style and unique palette of world music instruments that draws upon the cultural sounds of Persia. In addition to augmenting world music library sounds and mixing his own recordings of multiple instruments from his travels worldwide, including Santoors, Sarods, Sitar, Zournas, and Tamboura, Chatwood performs ethnic instruments such as the Oud, Zourna and snake charmer flutes. The intricately layered music mechanism playing musical variations by both composers enhances the gameplay in such a way that is totally adaptive and embraces the gamer’s performance, as if the composers were scoring in real-time, following the player’s action.
Set in a land rooted in ancient Persian mythology, the Prince finds himself caught in an epic battle between the primal forces of light and darkness: the God of Light, Ormazd versus his brother Ahriman, the destructive God of Darkness. The Prince arrives just in time to witness the destruction of the legendary Tree of Life – an act which threatens to plunge the entire world into eternal darkness. Manifested in the form of the Corruption, a dark substance that physically contaminates the land and the skies, the Prince must partner with Elika, a deadly companion, to heal the world from the evil Corruption.
Music4Games caught up with composers Inon Zur and Stuart Chatwood to discuss their original score for the new Prince of Persia.
M4G: First of all, we’re receiving numerous enquiries about the availability of the soundtrack so we have to ask: Will there be an official soundtrack album release?
Inon Zur: As far as I know, unfortunately no. There is a soundtrack in the limited edition of the game with some tracks, but as far as a standalone sound track it is not planned to be released at this point.
Stuart Chatwood: To the best of my knowledge there isn’t an “Official” soundtrack planned.
M4G: How and when did you get involved in writing the music for the new Prince of Persia?
Inon Zur: As early as summer of 2006 I was informed that this game was in motion, and I started to write some ideas for the preliminary version. The bulk of the work was made in 2007, and the recording and finalizing was done in 2008. As you can see, this was quite a long process.
Stuart Chatwood: After appearing on all the prior releases of the Prince of Persia, I was asked to return to compose for the new next gen title. We had an initial briefing in 2006 at GDC in San Jose. This led to demoing ideas for the theme, and an initial first playable prototype.
M4G: What was the music brief for the new Prince of Persia?
Inon Zur: From the beginning we knew that this Prince of Persia would be more cinematic, more romantic and very much story-driven. In the beginning we focused on the relationships between the prince and his lover, and tried to compose specific themes for them, that could also be also played together as counterpoint melodies. Later on we concentrated on the bosses in the game and developed the musical materials for them. One thing that was highlighted significantly in the brief was the composing methods to support the interactivity of the score. We used different techniques to enhance it, mainly variations on cues.
Stuart Chatwood: It’s quite a long brief and it changed over the course of the game, but it mainly consisted of three parts. Firstly, interactive platforming music that changed intensity-based on the player’s actions, secondly was the orchestral combat music, with 7 levels of achievement, and thirdly the more traditional scripted music for cutscenes. A unique aspect to the platforming pieces where it was the first time I had written pieces that contained five separate layers of intensity that could be cross-faded by the programmer as the gamer proceeds through each level. Sonically, the platforming had a more percussive approach while the combat sequences were grander, orchestrated pieces.
M4G: How does the score for the new Prince of Persia compare to the previous games?
Inon Zur: It is more cinematic, more orchestral and film-oriented. It is also using some classical influences more than rock and pop influences.
On the technical side we used a lot of interactivity methods to adapt the score to the game, unlike the previous ones that we were more limited because of the previous platforms. Over all I think from a musical point of view this one was planned very carefully and was very much attached to the game itself.
Stuart Chatwood: This dynamic system is new. We had utilized three layers in the past, but sometimes the music didn’t quite fit the intensity of the events onscreen. There was more orchestral music recorded for this game as well.
M4G: We understand you wrote your music separately from each other so how much collaboration was involved?
Inon Zur: Actually, almost none. However, I love to listen to Stuart’s music and put it against mine to see how well they are played together, and I must say that as different as they are from one another they complement and support each other greatly.
Stuart Chatwood: We have collaborated on quite a few pieces over the years, but this game was more of a parallel process, where we were aware of each others’ work, but we wrote cues separately.
M4G: What kinds of musical styles are featured in the score? Did you take a thematic approach at all? Did you each write different themes for the various characters and locations, for example?
Inon Zur: The musical styles in the game can vary, and also both Stuart and I have our own composing style, however the Prince of Persia style is already well-developed throughout the previous games, so we based the score on that and then took it further. When I say further I mean that each one of us has his own idea as to how to develop this style, so the outcome is definitely different but well-suited together.
As far as themes, yes, this score is very thematic, and both of us came out with different themes in the game. There are several characters and bosses, not to mention the main theme, so we divided the work quite equally between us, and each of us took what our musical producer thought would best complement our style.
Stuart Chatwood: The score’s style could be described as epic orchestral middle eastern music. Thematically, the game features 4 main enemies to conquer and each area utilized instrumentation to highlight the evil character’s attributes. For example, the concubine features some lighter harp melodies that slowly reveal a darker, ominous side.
M4G: How did Ubisoft decide who wrote what sections of the game?
Inon Zur: Like I previously mentioned, based on our style Ubisoft decided what should go to whom. I think that over all they made very good calls, and I have to compliment them for that.
Stuart Chatwood: We split enemies, and wrote platforming and combat cues for our assigned regions. I think Ubisoft played off of Inon’s epic scoring abilities and my melodic abilities.
M4G: How much music direction were you provided by Ubisoft?
Inon Zur: For some areas they were very specific and for others they gave me more of a free hand. Overall they knew what they want to hear and were pretty decisive about it. Once I locked in the style they were looking for, they were happy.
Stuart Chatwood: As always, the audio team came to the table with great direction and great feedback. Behind every successful game is a good collaboration. Ubisoft provided extensive examples of the direction they wanted us to follow, but as always, it’s up to the composer to interpret, and this interpretation is very important for making or breaking a game, musically speaking.
M4G: The new Prince of Persia features a beautiful illustrative art style. How much experimentation and creative freedom were you allowed musically to match these unique visuals?
Inon Zur: We definitely aimed toward something that would support this beautiful artwork, and thought that the classical orchestral style could work well for it. Ubisoft was very open to suggestions and they did have a lot of input and ideas.
Stuart Chatwood: With art, it always inspires an initial subconscious reaction. Taping into that with your conscious mind is the challenge. The artists at Ubisoft also always inspire me to write so it measures up to their graphic standards. I hope the music can inspire them as well.
M4G: What were some of the challenges involved in the writing process? Did you have to consider the legacy and past of the Prince of Persia?
Inon Zur: I definitely took the previous games into consideration and mindset. I think it is always a good idea to try and establish a tie-in between sequels. On many occasions I had drawn from the same pallet and then used creative freedom in putting them to work. Since the game looked different I thought the music should follow suit as well. It took a few tries, brainstorming etc. to make this transition between the previous scores to the new one while at the same time following the current game dynamics, and giving it the maximum support.
Stuart Chatwood: Of course. I view the entire series as a whole. However in saying that, I believe the series should grow and push boundaries.
M4G: What kinds of materials were you provided? Did you get to play the game during its development?
Inon Zur: Unfortunately no. I was given mainly scripts, pictures and some videos of game capture. Playing the game during the composing process is always on my wish list but sometimes it is not possible.
Stuart Chatwood: It’s not often that you get a game that is playable, but we did receive lengthy captures of gameplay.
M4G: How much interaction did you have with the development team at Ubisoft Montreal? Were you involved in the process of placing your music in the game?
Inon Zur: I was aware of what they were doing with the music at any point, but was not physically involved. I believe in teamwork and letting each team member do what he/she is supposed to do. I was very close in terms of where and what and how the music was being implemented, so I felt comfortable on this issue.
Stuart Chatwood: We were aware of their plans on how the music was being utilized, and it appeared to work well. As it’s not my main role, I would only comment if I felt things were going awry.
M4G: How much music did you write for the game and how long did the process take?
Inon Zur: I wrote close to 90 minutes for the game, and the actual composing started from summer of 2006 until the fall of 2008.
Stuart Chatwood: I think I ended up submitting just over 60 minutes. The process started in March 2006, but the bulk of the work took about four months. After having music on seven of the Prince of Persia titles, I am always collecting melodies, and ideas for pieces.
M4G: Tell us about the orchestra recording sessions and live vocal performances featured in the score.
Inon Zur: I was very excited to record the score in Seattle with the Northwest Sinfonia orchestra. I’ve known this orchestra for about 11 years now, and they know me very well also, which makes working together always a pleasure. The recording went very smooth, and I was surprised as to how well they adjust to the semi-Arabic style so quickly and adequately. At one point I had to ask them to play intentionally “out of tune” just to create this ethnic feel, and they were very humorous about it, saying that they always do that even if not asked to do this.
M4G: Tell us about the world music samples and different orchestration techniques you employed in the score.
Inon Zur: I employed some Arabic styles and modes, and used many ethnic instruments, like the Duduk, the Oud, the Darbuka, the Ney, the Zurna and other Middle Eastern instruments. Most of them were performed live by Chris Bleth, and I used some sound libraries to complete the pallet. As far as orchestration – I played the ethnic solos over the classical orchestra, which created very interesting and unique combinations.
Stuart Chatwood: Over the years, I have built up a nice library of sampled world music instruments, that nicely augments the three or four popular world music sample libraries. On hand I have quite a collection of instruments from the percussive family, woodwinds, and stringed instruments, including Ouds, and Santoors. Whenever possible, I tried to play Oud and some of the snake charmer/zurna lines to augment other sampled parts. In the past I have worked extensively with vocalist Maryem Tollar from Egypt.
M4G: What do you think is the most unique aspect of the score for the new Prince of Persia? What makes this score stand out from previous PoP titles and/or your other works?
Inon Zur: I think that over all we spent more time and attention on every aspect of the score – quality of composing, production and finalizing. This led to an overall better score. The other aspect that is WAY better in this game is the implementation of the music. In this game we used some new techniques of implementation that were not available on previous platforms, and it made a HUGE difference when it comes to the way the music is supporting the game.
Stuart Chatwood: Simply put, I think the quality of the soundtrack took a step up.
M4G: What are your favorite tracks from the score and why?
Inon Zur: My favorite tracks are the “Healed Land” tracks. In these cues I got to put together all my romantic and orchestral tools to try and support the great cinematic animations.
Stuart Chatwood: Probably the Concubine exploration pieces. When you hear the placid first layers, you wonder how it could transition into an aggressive piece of music, but it does, and I find that interesting. I guess it’s not dissimilar to a punk rock band performing a nice Christmas anthem, but in their twisted manner.
M4G: How would you describe each other’s skill sets and musical contributions for the new Prince of Persia? How and why do you think your music complements each other?
Inon Zur: Stuart doesn’t need my compliments. He is a pop and rock star on his own, and a great composer. It is my honor to work with him. His music is very good to create the right ambience of the game, and his ethnic abilities are impressive. Our music is very different, but we made sure during the course of the composing process that it could work together, and I think that the 2 styles are complementing each other very well.
Stuart Chatwood: Inon has extensive scoring experience, and I think that really helped when it came to the strong theme that the game is based around. He effortlessly intertwines it into several parts of the storyline.
M4G: The new score is receiving wide critical acclaim and is nominated for awards so can we assume you are both signed on to score the next installment of the new Prince of Persia together again?
Inon Zur: I can’t comment on that, sorry!
Stuart Chatwood: People tend to think change is good, and sometimes it is, especially in politics, but in gaming, my advice would be, don’t mess with success. When thinking about the future, I feel that Inon and I have been intrinsically linked to the games for a number of years now, so I can only hope that it continues.
In my near future, I plan on returning to Morocco and Turkey in the coming year, so I hope that I can talk Ubi into doing some location recording with players from that part of the world, to heighten the authenticity of the score.
M4G: The Prince of Persia music has become increasingly cinematic and orchestral in scope. For the next installment in the new Prince of Persia, where would you like the music to go from here…? Develop the existing music palette with a bigger live budget? Or create a darker, so-called “hybrid” music style (which seems to be the popular trend in many games now)…?
Inon Zur: It is all depends on what (and if) this will be. Again, we will always look for the best and most effective way to support the dramatic and emotional aspects of the game.
Stuart Chatwood: I would enjoy a larger budget to record live world music players and small ensembles.
M4G: What other projects are you working on?
Inon Zur: New titles from BioWare and Ubisoft, and 2 other projects that haven’t been announced yet.
Stuart Chatwood: I have a future involved in an undisclosed project due for a 2010 release. I also have been working with some scientists in NYC on music to downregulate people, especially people suffering from Sensory Perception Disorder. This is a multiyear project in association with Duke University.
For more information on Prince of Persia, visit www.princeofpersiagame.com.
[Disclosure: Music4Games Editor Greg O’Connor-Read is Inon Zur and Stuart Chatwood’s PR representative.]
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