Interviews
“Evil Genius” and “Freelancer” Composer James Hannigan is Determined to Score [Part 1]
“I think music can directly affect the player's sense of immersion in a game.”
“I really believe some games don't need music at all.” That’s not something you’d expect to hear a game composer say. But James Hannigan isn’t your average music composer. He’s talented, dedicated to his work, and determined to change the way things are done in the game industry.
James told me that the more a game leans towards realism or simulation, “The more I feel music has no place.” But because no game is completely one way or the other (filmic or a simulation), he feels that it has pushed music and sound into a new gray area where they meet and coexist in some way.
James Hannigan has worked on a number of key games over the last decade, including Freelancer, the BAFTA-nominated Republic and Brute Force, and once held the position of in-house composer at EA UK, working on many of the studio’s titles. He’s appeared on the cover of Develop, an industry journal, and has shared a BAFTA award for sound with Bullfrog Productions for Sim Theme Park. Most recently he finished the music for EA’s Catwoman and the highly anticipated Evil Genius.
This week I got the chance to talk with James about the creation of Evil Genius. He also shares his views on music and its use in movies and video games.
Let's start by getting into the music of Evil Genius.
James Hannigan: It's difficult to categorize the game, but I suppose you might call it a strategy game, a kind of God game, but Elixir might be cross with me if I get the description wrong! It’s a fun game, seeing the player adopt the role of a criminal mastermind who must manage his island lair, control his minions and carry out his plan for world domination.
The problem with a game like this, musically, is that players are creating stories for themselves so you have to be quite careful how much you impose on the game with music in terms of narrative support. There are so many things [taking place that] the player could focus on at once. How do you pick one thing for the music to comment on?
It differs in that way from, say, a more linear or episodic game. So, a choice was made by all involved to give the music a kind of scene-setting function rather than complementing everything you do in-game. The game's overall sound effects and some of the musical stings I hope work well together and take care of the game flow. The more upbeat elements of the soundtrack are heard around the edges, such as in menus – again, to set the scene.
You can’t be an evil genius without blueprints, even if they aren’t blue.
What more can you tell us about the music?
JH: Well, there was an obvious need for something stylistically appropriate. I wouldn't say it's like any one single thing or an existing franchise out there It's more of a generalized 60s big band sound in the menu tracks, coupled with some orchestral material used for various sections of the game. The game's main theme hopefully evokes a kind of sweeping spy film feel. But we didn't want to be really heavy-handed with the music, and Elixir was good about that.
It's funny, but when people remember music in spy films, they often imagine a lot of wall-to-wall music and think of a soundtrack as perhaps denser than it really was. There is a tendency to remember certain moments and, then, when it comes to replicating the experience in some way, say, in game form, to then concentrate those elements and not think about what happens in between. It’s the ‘in between’ that gives the more evocative moments power and significance, I feel. Music is often used pretty sparingly in films, ‘spy’ or otherwise, and if we as an industry are really so interested in importing film values, this is perhaps something we need to acknowledge. It isn’t just about crash-bang-wallop. I sometimes feel the industry is in love with film but doesn’t really understand film in the first place, but wholeheartedly believes it does If we had a relentless sort of 'jukebox' approach to music, it might get on your nerves after a while. And, worse still, what relationship would there be between the music and the game?
My personal opinion about music in games is that music ought to be as much about restraint as pulling out all the stops especially when you consider how many hours people can play for. Maybe in a linear or episodic game, it might be possible to progress through a soundtrack as you might a film. With each episode or location players pass through, there can often be a certain uniform atmosphere or goal to be achieved within it, which is part of an over-arching or pre-existing storyline. In this situation, using music for narrative support as might happen in a film is probably going to work fine, providing there is a way of overcoming the indeterminacy of time it takes to complete the task or move between locations. Composers tend to use loops to overcome that problem, but there are other options as well – such as ‘branching’, where musical segments are organized into pools which can flow together seamlessly. But, how ever you look at it, pre-composing music of this kind and stacking it against the game isn’t going to guarantee the necessary synergy you’d get in a good film, where everything is coordinated, baked together and set to work in unison in a way experienced by everybody, every time it is viewed. In a relatively open-ended game like Evil Genius, it's harder to have continuous music commenting on what you do in-game, Mickey Mouse fashion, mostly because you have to ask the question 'why is this music here and what does it signify?'
With a 'filmic' game, I guess people are using games to 'show' sequences as if for a passive audience. This relies on the fact that the player is not participating much (example: in a cut scene). But if you treat the player as an audience as they actually play or adopt a highly participatory role in things, it can be like telling them what they already know – because it is them creating the story. It's a kind of paradox. You may be evoking an unwelcome emotional response in them when they actually require the space to shape their own responses. Some games such as, say, Grand Theft Auto, benefit from the absence of this kind of music, I feel, because it adds to the sense of unpredictability and the ‘reality’ of the situation you are in. Instead of the game’s designers, composers, etc. steering you through the world and manipulating you, you feel as though you are in command of your in-game ‘life’ and can do pretty much anything and you don’t wish to be led through the experience.
But the problem is, different games lie at different points on this ‘spectrum of immersion,’ between ‘filmic’ and ‘simulation’ – and see the player adopting the roles of audience and participant to varying degrees, and sometimes forcing them in and out of each role all the time (cutscene/gameplay/cutscene/gameplay). In, for example, the Final Fantasy games, music seeks to emotionally manipulate the player because (I believe) there is essentially one, ultimate, course of action available, and the experience is very much one of being told a story as you play. My overall point here is: Every game is different in terms of what it needs musically and, unfortunately, it’s rare for composers to get the chance to do what they feel is really appropriate for a given game. The situation we often find in games is a mismatch in the approach to music and the type of game being presented, and the two become detachable (and music switch-off-able). This isn’t always the fault of the composer, who often has no say in how music is applied. For example, pre-composed music, packed with an obvious narrative and broad dynamic range looping over and over doesn’t correspond well with, say, games with a lot of freeform gameplay – even if the music sounds wonderful the first time it is heard. I think we ought to let the games themselves determine the music we put in them, and not contrive everything to fit our own musical tastes or agendas in general.
I have a kind of theory that people sometimes turn music off in games not always because it sounds 'bad' but because it doesn't say much to them which is actually helpful in playing the game. Example: informing them of the game state, what is around the corner, ‘widening’ the scope of the game, etc. Things for which there are no obvious visual cues. It's interesting, but a lot of the best music in games seems to be the stuff functioning well within the overall design – and it isn't just about production values.
Friend or foe? Do evil geniuses even have friends?
Would you like to change that? Would you like to create musical sounds that provide clues as well as entertainment?
JH: Absolutely. I mean, much as I love film as a form, what is the point of providing the very same experiences in games [when they are] widely available elsewhere? If we only adopt a filmic approach, why not just make films instead? I'm not saying we can't adopt a filmic approach. Of course we can, but why be limited by it? I may seem hypocritical, as someone who has worked on film tie-ins before, but I see that as just one particular model for games moving forward.
In the past, sound effects were very literal – doors slamming, etc., and sounds were only attached to objects seen in front of you. Now sound is packed with emotional resonance. It's about creating an illusion, suggesting more than you can see. Example: dogs barking in the distance when there are no dogs in the game world, rumbling soundscapes, all kinds of things existing to make the world larger than it appears on a visual basis. This has meant that the roles of sound designer and composer have come together to some extent, I feel, because both are manipulating the feelings of the player in some way or another.
Music can do unique things in games which simply don’t apply in, say, film. For instance I think music can directly affect the player's sense of immersion in a game. I mean how much they feel they are 'present' in the game world. That’s a very powerful effect in the context of ‘interactive entertainment’ and surely something worth exploring and getting right?
If the goal is one of realism in games, sort of a creating an ultra-detailed virtual reality – like in a sim – then I think the absence of music is helpful, because it enforces that sense of reality – as I was saying earlier.
But in a 'filmic' game, the reality is not the same type, but easily confused with a virtual reality if technology (3D worlds) is where you are coming from, rather than considering also the ‘experiential’ nature of playing the game. A filmic reality in a game is a kind of manipulated one, like in a film, where the audience/player sees only what the 'director' wants them to see. So, this type seeks to manipulate the emotions of the player and wants to have the same effect on everybody – example: sad here, happy there. You don't see people going to the toilet in many films – because the director is selective about what he shows you of the filmic reality you see what you need to understand the film.
But why with games are these things confused? Example: a filmic game with unnecessary visual detail, etc., instead of simpler but more effective stylized visuals existing only to drive the story forward? The same applies to music, I feel. You know, sort of not 'one size fits all' but being dependent on what you are trying to achieve in terms of the overall experience for each game. Not a blanket, film-style approach to everything. The problem could be that technology in games is often used for its own sake when first introduced, rather than being seen as a transparent vehicle for content. Could that be because games are still often made by technologists and developers are still seen as ‘software companies’, and not as ‘artists’ or ‘entertainers’? The jury is out on that, but I know what I think about it.
How much input did you get from Elixir?
JH: They have a strong sound department led by Richard Joseph, who is a veteran of games, and we always discuss things a lot when we work together. The designers of the game had an idea of the overall direction they wanted, the spy film connotations and film genres, etc. But the actual implementation side was left to us. That's rare, I can tell you. But you probably know that. The audio coder, Andy Mucho, is great and will really work with me in implementing ‘interactive music’. I think there is great potential for going in that direction in future, where it is perhaps needed for more sophisticated interactive music. I’ve often felt the industry needs to get its act together in terms of implementation, making music flow more seamlessly in games – and in concealing any underlying technology (the whirring of disks, etc.). All this fading in and out, stopping and starting, etc. - which we are all accustomed to and mostly accept - simply tells players music is comprised of a series of ‘tracks’ triggered by events in-game; like clockwork. I think music needs to be better integrated with games in future, almost to the extent players don’t single it out and it becomes part of the fabric of the whole playing experience. It’s already happening in many games. When I was at EA UK, working with people like Nick Laviers (now head of music), we were using ‘branching’ and algorithmic playback as long ago as 1995, and just look at LucasArts aged (but effective) iMuse system. So it’s nothing new, the playback technology itself, but it needs to be good across the entire industry. I think, however, the main challenge for composers is in getting the nature of content itself right in the first place, by matching the music, playback technology and needs of the game more than ever before – instead of shoe-horning music in. It’s incredibly hard to get a situation where a composer has the opportunity to get each of these things in balance. Sometimes, good music is disliked or wasted because of bad implementation (incessant looping, etc.) or ‘bad’ music is loved because it’s heard in a very appropriate way. It’s becoming hugely complex.
Minions at work, no time to play.
Now that you've completed Evil Genius, what's next?
JH: I have an arrangement with Elixir to work on their games, and that’s ongoing at the moment. I continue working on other projects that drift my way. I don't tend to look for them, because I don’t like to do a lot at once, but often work with people I've worked with before. For example, I've had quite a long relationship with EA UK, having once worked in-house with them.
I'm in talks with a Microsoft studio about a game I can't talk about, and there are one or two others on the horizon as well. NDAs (non-disclosure agreements) as usual! Games can take so long to make, that you can often wait years before they see the light of day and can talk about them.
I'm taking some time out to write on the subject of music for games. Because I really take this seriously, and I'm not content to just let things go on unchallenged. I’d rather walk away from the work than see it all stagnate and come to nothing. That isn't to suggest I'm really special or know more than other people, but I think music in games warrants some serious thought and we shouldn’t assume so much about it in these early days. The weird thing is, it doesn’t feel like ‘early days’ for veterans of the industry, who mostly still don’t know where the hell things are going. That’s another reason I feel games need outsiders and artists coming in to shake things up periodically, and people in the industry need to go off and philosophize about things now and again - challenging themselves and their notions of what they feel is possible within games. After all, the film industry went through a lot of important changes when sound film emerged, but that only happened after quite a long time, thanks to people who wouldn't tow the line and just borrow from older forms. The exact same thing happened back then as is happening now in games.
When sound came into film, the tendency was to borrow from the concert hall... to make use of 'classical music' in films, because this was all anybody knew at the time. There was no ‘film music’ back then as we understand it today. But then, emerging composers realized that this music didn't really say very much or complement what they were seeing onscreen, moment by moment, so a whole new language and approach to music came about for film, and we have the great film composers to thank for the techniques they created. These didn’t just ‘emerge’ or ‘evolve’ but were very much invented by very imaginative individuals, without the luxury of any pre-existing model to work with. The truth is, they created those techniques and methods for film alone – and I doubt they had games in mind. Moving pictures, maybe, but ‘Interactive Moving Pictures’? For some reason, many in the games industry have the idea that film music is just 'music' in some pure form – when in actuality it is 'music for film.” It would be nice if we could be aware of something like 'music for games,' and I mean something unique. It can stylistically resemble film music, if this is what we want, but it perhaps needs to function uniquely in games and be organized in special ways.
Interestingly, it wasn’t the composers working with earlier forms who led the revolution in film music, any more than it is likely now for film composers to transform games music in any meaningful way. Perhaps we look to film composers today because of their current stature, commercial value and so on. But things may change over time. Given proper resourcing, time and nurturing, games composers will be every bit as good some day in conventional terms and, better still, dedicated to their medium as well.
I feel the same way. I'm not a composer and I may never be one, but I love music and appreciate all the hard work you guys do. It's something I make a point of in many of my reviews, especially when a game has an outstanding soundtrack. Slowly I hear more and more interaction with music. I love that.
JH: Thanks. I'm not suggesting we can't borrow from film in stylistic terms, but I think it's important to remember we are doing something different here and we have opportunities uniquely presented by this exciting medium.
I think you have a really important role in this, to sort of celebrate when games try to do something other than just copy other mediums. But I suppose it's a question of taste, and everybody expects different things out of a game I think it's hard to even define the word 'game' now, because of the range of genres. For me, a rule of thumb now is to consider where on that ‘spectrum of immersion’ a game lies in terms of determining what you are trying to tell players as they engage with games. I think music can then follow from that understanding.
I can see why the industry is looking towards film. It helps bolster games in the sense that it may make them more mainstream by tapping into a more culturally significant medium. But surely it should only be a starting point.
By land, air or sea, an evil genius is always an evil genius.
That's true, but one thing everyone forgets – games became mainstream by not being mainstream entertainment. They grew in popularity because they were fun, and word of mouth spreads. Curiosity didn't kill the cat in this case. It made it flourish.
JH: Absolutely, and they can only be games and unique when they don't seek to exploit what they have in common with everything else. Having said that, I can see that being too abstract with games, music or anything can alienate people so having hooks into what people know already can help give currency to games. But my worry is just that assumptions are made about what may work in films and what may work in games, and I think this may actually be a symptom of the current state of film-making as much as it has to do with the games industry itself. It’s pretty remarkable that so many films are ‘reducible’ to games in the first place.
I love the Star Wars films, but as a result we have a ton of Star Wars games – because it's what people "know."
JH: The thing about Star Wars that makes it special is that it has so much content, as a film, which can be translated into games. But if you really look at the whole of cinema, what can be made into games? Could you make classics like Citizen Kane or Taxi Driver into games?
Could you make a classic like Crazy Taxi into a movie? :)
JH: One 'problem' might be that films have become so visually oriented recently, so dependent on CG technology that they have more content than ever before which can be translated into games. But this could be a kind of red herring. OK, we have a spate of CG-based novelty movies now, and so the commonalities in digital technology (for production and delivery) between games and films are made glaringly obvious. But is this technology, the use of 3D modeling, etc. enough to equate two mediums in a general sense? Games and films seem at least as different as they are the same but, predictably, we choose to focus on how they may be the same – because that’s far easier than creating a new art form out of nothing. That’s precisely what film-makers did seventy-odd years ago…. But, then again, film wasn’t big business or blockbuster driven during those formative years, and therefore wasn’t held back.
What happens when the special effects become par for the course and don't sell a picture or, indeed, a game? People are already starting to look beyond technology and want it to serve as a transparent vehicle for content in games, as a servant to the overall experience aiming to be delivered. Just as happened in film. Maybe the PS3, Xbox 2, etc., will provide a technological plateau enabling this to happen for a while, and we can get past the idea of, say, a new graphics engine alone selling games in an industry consequently still seen as a mere sector of the ‘computer industry’.
A long time ago, people went to see films simply because they moved – and that was it. A horse running around in circles would have been sufficient to pull audiences in. But how do you draw a line from that to ‘Goodfellas’? If the horse had been a huge commercial hit, raking in millions of dollars back then, I very much doubt Goodfellas, or any other classic, would have come about at all – because we’d have Horse 2, Horse 3 and so on. That’s what a purely business led approach leads to, it would seem.
Games rely heavily on technology and novelty value, I suppose. It's always stuff like '5.1 surround' or the latest graphics engine we see selling games. But is that really so important, I wonder? It has a place, of course, but should it be a central one?
Game developers like Hideo Kojima (MGS) say the same thing. And I agree.
JH: I just can't see why the industry is getting so obsessed with 'bigger being better’ in terms of production values. Money helps, of course, but it doesn’t solve everything – as Hollywood often demonstrates. Does it help to have a bigger and bigger orchestra, for example?
It's perceived to give games a fuller sound.
JH: In films, using an orchestra can be par for the course...it's no great shakes and everybody got past the novelty. There are a lot of great films out there with very minimal music far more effective than some of the games now using huge-sounding orchestral music inappropriately. And these are big-screen experiences as well, not intimate small screen experiences, such as playing games -making that even more ironic.
A lot of music in films exists for artistic reasons, and not because it's a novelty, sounds cool, is what everybody else is doing or sounds expensive. I say that as someone regularly using orchestras in games. But my point is, maybe we need to see beyond the novelty and think simply about the experience we want to deliver to players on an emotional basis and be led by that instead. I feel there is a tendency to go the whole hog for no obvious reason, as often as possible.
But things do appear to be changing, and more and more composers are creating thoughtful music in games. Unfortunately, however, composers are still up against a kind of confusion as to what music is actually for in games as well all the technical stuff there is to worry about in terms of getting it to flow. It’s a kind of two-pronged problem: function and implementation. All this flipping between cut scenes, gameplay, participant/observer, etc. doesn’t help. How do you 'center' the experience in emotional terms if the game design itself can't even decide who the player is? There’s so little to reflect or anchor music to when you think purely in terms of the language of film music in a games context. Music in games may be in danger of becoming ‘film music without a film’ if we aren’t careful.
Stay tuned for more comments from the Evil Genius composer.
And be sure to visit http://www.jameshannigan.co.uk/
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