- Original Mass Effect composer Jack Wall says his inspiration comes mostly from "visuals" that "feel like an embarrassment of riches that inform how I write"
- Wall also shares the specific characteristics that helped shape Mass Effect 1 and 2's soundtrack and the "groundbreaking" tools he used
- He says that for Mass Effect 2, he used Wwise (Wave Works Interactive Sound Engine) to implement the score into the game, which was "far superior" to Mass Effect 1
Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 composer Jack Wall has revealed the "groundbreaking" tools he used to create each game's iconic soundtrack.
In an interview with TechRadar Gaming, where he explained what makes Mass Effect's iconic music so different from other sci-fi and role-playing games (RPGs), Wall said he typically finds the best inspiration from simply observing visuals, which helps inform the project's direction.
"As a composer, I see all games, TV series, or Movies as completely unique and special," he said. "I get inspired by the visuals, and honestly those visuals feel like an embarrassment of riches that inform how I write."
According to Wall, Mass Effect has very specific characteristics that helped shape the game's atmosphere: "Sound, theme (melody), and vibe."
"That’s pretty much it. All specific to Mass Effect, of course. I suppose you could say this about any medium you write for as a composer," he said, adding that instruments like "Moog synths and other analog synths," as well as "orchestra, voices, some specific percussion, lots of arpeggiated synths with orchestra on top," were also things he gravitated towards for the first two games.
Wall also discussed the inspirations for Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2's core sound and themes, explaining that game director Casey Hudson "wanted to play with 80s synth mixed with quasi-orchestra" music, which was the basis for the series' memorable vibe.
As for how he captured that sound, the composer said, "For ME1, we used analog modeled plugins from Arturia and other companies," which was unheard of during the game's development.
"At the time, it was pretty groundbreaking stuff," Wall recalled, "and just made it possible to recall settings immediately for addressing different versions of the same piece or reuse for related cues later on. The real Moog synths are notoriously tough to recall."
However, for Mass Effect 2, he used Wwise (Wave Works Interactive Sound Engine) to implement the score into the game, which "was a game changer for us" since they didn't have the tool for the first game.
"I think the way the music plays back in ME2 is far superior to ME1," Wall added.
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