- Control Resonantcomposer Petri Alanko says he was brought on to the project “very early” while still working onAlan Wake 2, which he thinks resulted in a better soundtrack
- He suggested that if studios care about their game, then they should respect their soundtrack more and avoid “AI music”
- Alanko says, “If you value and respect your IP and your game – and your story – give a lot of love and time for the music”
Control Resonant composer Petri Alanko has suggested studios should value music more if they care about their games and avoid AI at all costs.
In an interview with TechRadar Gaming, the composer, who has a long history working with Remedy Entertainment, discussed the early stages of developing Control Resonant‘s soundtrack, revealing that he was brought on to the project “very early” and was still working on Alan Wake 2.
“I was still neck-deep with Alan Wake 2, and I used Control Resonant’s concept to detach myself from the Dark Place where Alan Wake 2’s events were happening,” Alanko said, adding that it was beneficial to be brought on to the game during this time because, “The earlier I exist in the project, the better the outcome.”
Alanko went on to talk about how he hears how other studios bring composers into the mix far too late into a game’s development, which can be a great detriment to the quality of the soundtrack.
He suggested that if studios care about their project, then they should respect the music aspect more, and expressed a dislike for “AI music” specifically.
“I sometimes feel a great pity to hear a colleague was dragged in three months before the final deadline and they need to compose eight hours of music or similar,” he said. “If you value and respect your IP and your game – and your story – give a lot of love and time for the music.
“And please, no library or AI music. Love your game, love your handiwork. Respect the client: the gamers, the fans, dammit.”
The composer said he’s been working with Remedy since 2004, and so he always has “some kind of an idea what their stories need,” and the studio “also know what to expect from me,” which shortens the soundtrack development process considerably, meaning less meetings and emails.
“The coherence of material increases greatly,” Alanko said, “I’d say value for quality is much, much higher, not to forget the value for money. I’m known to work my ass off for a project I love, and I don’t exactly count hours – if you do this job properly, you cannot count in the first place, but one needs to remember there are no free days or free themes. And, at some certain level you need to re-evaluate your work/life balance, which I have done already ages ago. It was a surprisingly fruitful decision, and I’ve felt much better ever since. This was in 2011 already, so nothing new as such.”
Alanko added, “When the time passes, you will notice ‘speaking developer’ (as in ‘speaking French’) gets easy and becomes your second nature, and you’ll start supervising your own creating so that your artistic outcome suits better to any sudden changes. And after a little time, you’ll notice how effortlessly you’re still able to maintain a high creative level and high emotional value despite what in the beginning looked like a restriction.
“Just hone your workflow into a decent order, and your ass will follow, basically. Know your tools, know the client’s tools.”
In the same discussion, Alanko shared how he created the eclectic soundtrack for Control Resonant, revealing he captures a lot of everyday sounds on a recording device that he later manipulates into harmonies.
