It's surely atmospheric, and I can imagine it in the game very well; though, what truly makes a game's soundtrack awesome is - apart from it's musical quality - what you experienced while hearing it.
Take any - any! - piece of the Sim City 4 soundtrack for example. For once it's great music. On the other hand I immediately have a mental picture in my mind of all the cities I built. This works on other games, too. If you didn't listen to your childhood's favorite game's soundtracks for a while, do it right now. Nostalgia pure. (And you will notice what great quality Nintendo games actually have! Ever played Super Mario Galaxy?)
So... I put way to much thinking into this answer. Basically, what I want to say is: Yes, it's a nice piece of music, but for me to consider it a properly awesome soundtrack, I need to associate some experiences with it.
I don't have twitter, I cannot contact Simon. Does he receive carrier pigeons? I can always do that I guess...
No seriously, someone thank Simon for me.
I must agree with F0rd to a certain degree. While I believe that music has a greater impact and is more memorable when paired with some kind of experience, that does not exclude it from the realm of excellent music on it's own. It it's entirely atmospheric, and when I first heard it, I put on my headphones, closed my eyes and let my mind wander into sub aquatic depths I had never known.
Alas it was too brief. I know that you can't really just give it away. It had done an excellent job off capturing my interest.
I believe the sounds of most experiences are so memorable they never leave you. Well done so far, Simon.
No disrespect meant for Simon's work, just a matter of personal taste; the tracks released so far don't tickle my synapses.
From an outsider's perspective I find him an odd choice for the Subnautica soundtrack, when UWE had someone like David John onboard for the NS2 soundtrack. Listening to Rust & Steam or Origin of the Kharaa, you can feel the waves gently tugging your every body hair. For me, he would have been the natural choice and a perfect fit for composing music for an underwater exploration game. I guess he's busy with something else though, since he didn't contribute to the extended soundtrack...
Soul_RiderMod BeanJoin Date: 2004-06-19Member: 29388Members, Constellation, Squad Five Blue
You are aware that Simon was also the sound designer for NS2? He provided all the sound effects and a large portion of the soundtrack... I thought the David John stuff was left over from late NS....
You are aware that Simon was also the sound designer for NS2? He provided all the sound effects and a large portion of the soundtrack... I thought the David John stuff was left over from late NS....
You are aware that Simon was also the sound designer for NS2? He provided all the sound effects and a large portion of the soundtrack... I thought the David John stuff was left over from late NS....
Yes, I am aware that Simon did the sound design and I love it. I thought we were discussing the music though.
Judging from the information provided by the official soundtrack most tracks are by David, not by Simon. Simon did the more technoy bits, like Onos Bar, Gorilla or Exo, as well as everything post release, while David made the slower stuff. At least from what I gathered.
Comments
Take any - any! - piece of the Sim City 4 soundtrack for example. For once it's great music. On the other hand I immediately have a mental picture in my mind of all the cities I built. This works on other games, too. If you didn't listen to your childhood's favorite game's soundtracks for a while, do it right now. Nostalgia pure. (And you will notice what great quality Nintendo games actually have! Ever played Super Mario Galaxy?)
So... I put way to much thinking into this answer. Basically, what I want to say is: Yes, it's a nice piece of music, but for me to consider it a properly awesome soundtrack, I need to associate some experiences with it.
No seriously, someone thank Simon for me.
I must agree with F0rd to a certain degree. While I believe that music has a greater impact and is more memorable when paired with some kind of experience, that does not exclude it from the realm of excellent music on it's own. It it's entirely atmospheric, and when I first heard it, I put on my headphones, closed my eyes and let my mind wander into sub aquatic depths I had never known.
Alas it was too brief. I know that you can't really just give it away. It had done an excellent job off capturing my interest.
I believe the sounds of most experiences are so memorable they never leave you. Well done so far, Simon.
From an outsider's perspective I find him an odd choice for the Subnautica soundtrack, when UWE had someone like David John onboard for the NS2 soundtrack. Listening to Rust & Steam or Origin of the Kharaa, you can feel the waves gently tugging your every body hair. For me, he would have been the natural choice and a perfect fit for composing music for an underwater exploration game. I guess he's busy with something else though, since he didn't contribute to the extended soundtrack...
Yes, I am aware that Simon did the sound design and I love it. I thought we were discussing the music though.
Judging from the information provided by the official soundtrack most tracks are by David, not by Simon. Simon did the more technoy bits, like Onos Bar, Gorilla or Exo, as well as everything post release, while David made the slower stuff. At least from what I gathered.