Tuesday 13 March 2012

EPIC soundtrack - Morrowind composed by Jeremy Soule


Being a huge Morrowind fan i decided to download the soundtrack, whilst listening to it at college i was flooded back with loads of memory's and missions from the game, so i've decided a good PPP blog is in order. These tracks show just how important music is to game's and how the style and tone of everything mixed together creates an atmosphere for the game world. 
I found some technical information about the soundtrack and will post it up after this paragraph. I read through it and apparently the soundtrack was praised and critiqued for a number of different reasons. I would definitely be in the category of praise because personally i think it's pretty much flawless. The tone of the music fits everything in the game from a chase from a wolf to a stroll towards a sunset. The Morrowind theme tune is pretty much played a lot different ways through the 21 different tracks throughout the game, each as beautiful as the last. The only critical thing i agree with which i've found is that the soundtrack does only last 30minutes but to be honest the 3 years that i was playing it i loved the soundtrack and i don't remember getting bored of it or sick of it at any point. You get so immersed in the game itself that you miss the tracks sometimes until you properly stop and listen and i think thats why it works so well. It's not too over-powering but at the same time is matches visually beautiful landscapes with perfect music tone. 
Here's what i found on the soundtrack - gutted Medal of Honour Frontline beat Morrowind - seriously!!??? 

'Morrowind
's soundtrack was composed by Jeremy Soule, a video game composer whose previous soundtracks for Total Annihilation and Icewind Dale had earned some acclaim from the gaming press. In a Bethesda press release, Soule stated that the "epic quality" of the Elder Scrolls series was "particularly compatible with the grand, orchestral style of music" that Soule enjoys composing "the most".[60] Outside Bethesda press releases, some have criticized Morrowind's soundtrack. In their reviews of the game, both GameSpot and GameSpy criticized the length of the game's soundtrack and praised its general production quality.[61][62] In the words of GameSpot's Greg Kasavin: "The very first time you boot up Morrowind, you'll be treated to a memorable, stirring theme filled with soaring strings and booming percussion. You'll proceed to hear it literally every five minutes or so during play."[62] Soule was aware of the problem, and chose to create a soft and minimalist score so as not to wear out players' ears.[63]

In a feature for Gamasutra, Scott B. Morton, although praising the music itself, declared that Morrowind's soundtrack did not work effectively with the game's gameplay, accomplishing little as an emotional device. Morrowind's soundtrack is ambient, with cues only for battle encounters. In Morton's view, the lack of variation, of response to the game's action, and of length—Morrowind's soundtrack is only 30 minutes long—leaves players detached from the game world.[64] Alexander Brandon, in another Gamasutra feature, praised Morrowind's soundtrack for its innovative instrumentation. In Brandon's opinion, its use of orchestral elements in conjunction with synthesized ones, and the use of what Brandon termed "the 'Bolero' approach", left the game's soundtrack feeling "incredibly dramatic".[65] In February 2003, Morrowind was nominated for the category of "Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition" at the 6th Annual Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences's Interactive Achievement Awards, but lost to Medal of Honor: Frontline.[66]
Morrowind also contained a fair bit of voiced dialogue; an aspect somewhat better received by the gaming press. Of note is Lynda Carter, television's Wonder Woman, promoted by Bethesda for her role in voicing the Nordicrace in the game.[67] Morrowind's race-specific voice acting received praise from some reviewers,[68][69] though was met with disdain from others, who disliked the discord between a culturally inflected voice spoken in an alien dialect and the grammatically flawless dialogue printed in the dialogue boxes.[20]'

Here's a few videos i found from youtube of the soundtrack i was gonna put it all on but i'll just select a few of my favourites :)


Nerevar Rising - 

The Road Most Travelled - This one is my favourite along side Nerevar Rising. Brings back lots of memories of gameplay time :) I like how it mixes low and high notes to create a suspense and a quiet beating drum leading up to a fantastic version of the theme tune. I've found listening to the soundtrack it really helps me concentrate on my work too. 



Bright Spears, Dark Blood - 



Silt Sunrise - 


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