Inon Zur is Interviewed

[Morbus]

Pete Hines interviewed Inon Zur, Fallout 3's composer, and published the result at the BethBlog.<blockquote>One other question. How did the experience of writing and creating the music for Fallout 3 change from before you had a chance to see the game and after you had a chance to see the game?
You know, in fact I had lots of reservations and actually I visited Bethesda and it was very close to what I thought. The document that I got was very well written by Todd and Mark Lampert and Gavin. They did a great job of tapping me into the realm of Fallout and what they were doing. Fallout, yes it’s a lot about the visuals, but the story itself is so powerful. So just basically getting inspired by the actual story created a lot of emotional triggers that helped me to compose the music, rather that actually seeing the game and playing the game. The actual story of this twisted reality, there is like a [whole other] reality that happened and it’s really, really powerful. It helped me a lot.</blockquote>This is only a little bit. Don't miss the whole piece.

Link: BethBlog Interviews Inon Zur @ Bethesda Blog
Spotted at: Fallout 3: A Post Nuclear Blog

 

[Morbus]

A lot about the visuals.

I don't like him.

 

[Brother None]

I loathe internal interviews.

As if the normal journalist questions aren't soft-ball enough, Paranoia Hines actually can't trust anyone else to Q&A 'cept himself.

It's a sad state of affairs.

PS: Fallout is about visuals? wtf?

 

[goffy59]

LOL at Bethesda.

 

[liberty rogue]

Internal interview haha.

PS: Fallout is about visuals? wtf?

Original games certainly were a lot about visuals. FO probably is the only game for me, where graphics, animation and artistic direction played such an overwhelmingly important part in overall gaming experience. Visuals were definitely no less important then dialogue, story, Ron Perlman and Mark Morgan.

So just basically getting inspired by the actual story created a lot of emotional triggers that helped me to compose the music, rather that actually seeing the game and playing the game.

Those three tracks on Bethesda webside sounded generic and dull. I wonder what was that story thing that inspired them.

 

[Daimyo]

...snip... rather that actually seeing the game and playing the game. ...snip...

Hey - here we go again.

How about actually playing the game - and I bet he has no clue what FO and FO2 even are since he responds like that.

I'm not impressed.

 

[Bodybag]

PS: Fallout is about visuals? wtf?

I thought he said it's "a lot about the visuals," and given the context of the question, I think he was talking about scoring the music in part to the look of the game. It sounds like the story had a bigger impact on him FWIW.

But since you bring it up - was the visual depiction of the wasteland in Fallout not really important to the game?

 

[Morbus]

I thought he said it's "a lot about the visuals,"

Reading peoples' minds and all, and know what their thing? There's kind of a sixth sense in each person... But you probably think it's bullshit.

 

[MrBumble]

Well, I don't think that by "visuals" he means the uberpwnz grafix, shader 3.0 and Gamebryo...He probably means the general aspect of environmental design, the wasted cities etc...

 

[ivpiter]

@Bodybag Of course the visuals were a phenomenal part of Fallout and Leon B. and his teams work was nothing less than brilliant, after all, they had an active palette of only 256 colors onscreen drawn from a palette of 65,536 and were able to depict vivid compelling locations and even an animated shore (this was especially well done in FO2). Heck the death animations were so great that Todd is building a shrine to them.... yet...

The visuals we're backed up by substance, by depth, by music and sound, by short text descriptions of every object on the screen and by hundreds of floating messages from people and objects informing you about the world of Fallout. Machines *pinged,* and dog's *barked*; what's more, the dog was, "a canine of mixed breeds" on closer inspection. It was this complementary layered approach that added so much for me. Excellent writing, excellent sound, excellent art.

This is the second time I know of where a Fallout original team member expressed a desire to work on the F.O. 3 project and we're never even approached by team Todd. So, once again a core element of Fallout (the music) has been discarded in favor of what’s cool.

I’m willing to predict that the "Epic Battle Music" is cringe-worthy and will be annoying as all hell about the fifth time it starts up for the majority of players "Stingers" or no "Stingers".

 

[Section8]

The Dead Flag Blues by Godspeed You Black Emperor evokes so much more <s>post</s>-apocalyptic imagery than the entirety of Fallout 3 content we've seen. It's also not a bad little ditty if you have sixteen and half minutes to spare. It may even have a more "powerful" story than "go find your dad" too, depending on how the monologue resonates with you.

 

[Forhekset]

Well, I don't think that by "visuals" he means the uberpwnz grafix, shader 3.0 and Gamebryo...He probably means the general aspect of environmental design, the wasted cities etc...

That's what I assumed he meant as well. And he's absolutely correct in saying that the visuals play a big part in the Fallout experience.

 

[Ravager69]

Inon Zur ain't bad, but he does fantasy stuff AFAIK, like Icewind Dale 2 (love the music from that game), so I have my doubts on him doing Fallout.

 

[Bodybag]

I thought he said it's "a lot about the visuals,"

Reading peoples' minds and all, and know what their thing? There's kind of a sixth sense in each person... But you probably think it's bullshit.

I was actually just reading his quote:

Fallout, yes it’s a lot about the visuals, but the story itself is so powerful.

Here, let me attempt to read his mind now, and confirm it: *OHMMMMMMMMMMM* ok it appears that's exactly what he meant. Cancel the alert, fellas - he was just talking about scoring the game to imagery versus scoring it to narrative. And, just as a little bonus, it looks like narrative won. Suck it, IMMERSHUN GRAFFIX!

 

[Morbus]

I respectfully disagree.

 

[Brother None]

Cancel the alert, fellas - he was just talking about scoring the game to imagery versus scoring it to narrative. And, just as a little bonus, it looks like narrative won. Suck it, IMMERSHUN GRAFFIX!

Yeah, that actually bugs me more.

As little as Fallout was about graphics, it was less about narrative.

The press release talks of epic stories, Inon Zur sounds like he's scoring a biblical-proportion film. The Oblivion intro was already extremely sad in how it just shouts "oh I wish this were a film!" This delusion of working on books or films rather than games is something companies like Bethesda and BioWare seriously need to shed.

Narrative? Fallout was never about narrative.

 

[Bodybag]

As little as Fallout was about graphics, it was less about narrative.
[...]
Narrative? Fallout was never about narrative.

Would this be a good time to wave my hands in the air and scream "strawman?" Because I don't think anyone was suggesting Fallout was about narrative. Or visuals, even. The composer, in an interview about the score, was talking about the elements he scored it to. Not what the game was about. And, even if that was all the game was about to him, who gives a fuck? He's the composer!

Would it be less red-flaggy if he stated up front that he scored the game to SPECIAL, or to Choice and Consequences? How about child-killing? I seriously don't see the problem here

 

[Per]

You know, in fact I had lots of reservations and actually I visited Bethesda and it was very close to what I thought.

This reads pretty funn(il)y.

 

[Brother None]

Would this be a good time to wave my hands in the air and scream "strawman?" Because I don't think anyone was suggesting Fallout was about narrative. Or visuals, even. The composer, in an interview about the score, was talking about the elements he scored it to. Not what the game was about. And, even if that was all the game was about to him, who gives a fuck? He's the composer!

Would it be less red-flaggy if he stated up front that he scored the game to SPECIAL, or to Choice and Consequences? How about child-killing? I seriously don't see the problem here

The composer doesn't have to understand the game. In fact they rarely do. I doubt Mark Morgan gets what Fallout was about.

But that's also not what I was talking about. Inon speaks of how he was instructed by the studios. In Fallout's case, Tim had a good idea of what kind of music he wanted, made a mix-CD, sent it to Inon and went "this kind of stuff". In Fallout 3's case, they showed him a document and stressed the importance of story.

You can stand and your head and pretend that's not telling of the "failed film director" or "failed bookwriter"-genre that has been plaguing RPGs for a decade now, but I certainly am not going to. Mass Effect is a failed attempt at emulating films. Everything about Oblivion cries delusion of grandeur towards film-making. It's sad to see RPGs move in that direction, it's sad to see Fallout 3 a part of it.

Now I already knew it was. The language here is just telling. Not proof, not A equals B equals C stuff. Just telling.

 

[Bodybag]

Oh, it sounds like your gripe is with the games industry in general, since that's the direction it seems to be moving towards. I don't know what to tell you in that case, other than (hopefully?!) it's cyclical, and once games advance to the point where they're nearly indistinguishable from film in terms of photorealism, production values, ect. we'll perhaps see another shift away from that to something more identifiably "gamey." But for now, the people making games and movies are increasingly coming from the same pool of creative (and technical) influences.