Richard Jacques: Well, I certainly believe in everything I do, and yes, I do try to push the envelope on each project. I am also very keen to help change people’s attitudes toward videogame music, and also to make both the industry and the general public realise the value of music. It frustrates me that sometimes our own industry doesn’t realise the talent it’s got, where if you look on the flip side of the coin; my music has already been receiving high praise from the film music press.
I would like to see the videogame publishers and developers really understand what goes into making a great game soundtrack, and particularly the time and resources involved to really raise the bar.
Far too often music (and audio for that matter) is still ‘plugged in’ at the end of a project. If people are not going to give audio the time and budget it deserves, then we are already fighting a losing battle. Fortunately I tend to work with people who do understand, but the attitudes still vary widely I can tell you.
Crossfire
A great score to a game is a hugely important asset nowadays, and even if the gamers don’t necessarily recognise a particular composer’s name, they will definitely know the past games that he or she has composed. We need to change this mentality around because it can be so much more beneficial to the marketing of the game itself.
SPOnG: Your compositions can sometimes draw similarities, in terms of style and scale, to grand Hollywood film soundtracks. What is your opinion of the idea that the videogame and movie industries are becoming closer together?
Richard Jacques: On the one hand, it is good that people draw the similarities with both with my music and other composers’ in the games business, because that demonstrates that the quality is now the same as the film industry, which is absolutely true.
For so long games and game music have been looked down on as the poor cousin of the film business but now the playing field is level. I think it’s inevitable that people will continue to draw similarities between the two industries, but the main thing to remember is that films are a linear experience, games are interactive, and this is a big difference, especially with music, as we are now able to create truly interactive soundtracks. This is one of the main reasons I enjoy creating game soundtracks because of the interactive element.
Richard Jacques: All of the above! I’d like to do some more live performances; we’ll just have to see. Apart from The Club, I am scoring Crossfire (working title) for Eidos, and then I am scoring another exciting AAA project for Eidos, before moving onto a major PS3 title for Sony. Plus of course I have a few other things in the pipeline, which I can’t talk about!
SPOnG: What games, other than those that you are working on, are you most looking forward to this year?
Richard Jacques: Something called Halo 3? Heard of it? Also looking forward to Mass Effect and Kane & Lynch.
SPOnG: Thank you for your time Richard. Be sure to keep an eye on The Club when it comes blasting on PS3 and XBOX 360 later this year.