BY CHRISTOPHER LEON FOR LEVEL AND GAIN
Through Schoenberg, Herrmann, and a touch of the surreal, composers Mikolai Stroinski (The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt) and Garry Schyman (Bioshock) craft a unique and awe-inspiring score for independent games studio Ovid Works’ new release Metamorphosis.
In this interview, Mikolai and Garry discuss their creative choices, involvement with Ovid Works, and approach to scoring Metamorphosis. Here’s how they’ve become experts of grandiose — using an early 20th-Century palette.
Hi, Mikolai and Garry. How did you both become involved in this surrealist game from Ovid Works?
MIKOLAI: I think it was mid-2018 when I was giving a presentation on video game music in Warsaw, Poland. Afterwards, I was invited for drinks by the organisers, and joined by some of the attendees.
At some point a group of people approached me, wanting to, show me a game they had been working on and asked if I would be interested in scoring it. It looked very original and interesting, so I said I would do it with pleasure.
Less than a year later, I started working on the project and, during the very early process of planning the music, it became quite apparent that it would be utilising a symphonic palette with primarily atonal music.
I somehow felt obliged to invite Garry, as I knew he would enjoy this creative opportunity immensely, as much as I.
Garry said ‘yes’, and the rest is history.
You’ve mentioned in a statement you were inspired by early 20th-Century composers and techniques from this era. These textures work seamlessly with the game’s vibrant surrealist aesthetic. What led you to choose this style?
M: Garry came up with the idea of incorporating Arnold Schoenberg’s 12-tone system into the score because it was roughly from the same time period as the events in Kafka’s books.
Coupled with the Sprechstimme singing technique, performed by Joanna Freszel, it produced a very twisted colour, which seemed to work very well with the visuals and the story of the game.
I felt adding Bernard Herrmann-inspired music would maintain the darkness of the story, but also gently dilute the atonal material.
GARRY: As soon I heard what the game was about, it occurred to me that Kafka’s expressionist masterpiece as a game could be the perfect opportunity to write an expressionist score. I discussed this with Mikolai, and he completely agreed.
The music of Arnold Schoenberg, Kurt Weill, and Alban Berg came to mind. It seemed perfect and so much fun to write music in that style. Once we got the developers to sign off, we were off and running!
Metamorphosis’ unique score reimagines a somewhat ‘lost sound’ that is seldom heard in modern films or games. Do you see this soundtrack influencing other games composers to revitalise this tonal aesthetic?
M: It’s hard to say, although the score has been receiving a warm welcome from other composers. It’s nice to gently push the boundaries and see our colleagues approve.
G: To be honest, I have not given that much thought, but my reaction is that it would not be likely. This is such a niche sound for a very specific game.
That said, I hope it influences other composers to take chances and try unusual approaches when appropriate.
You both come from a background working on AAA gaming titles. How was the creative process on Metamorphosis different from a composition and production perspective?
M: Working on music for big [AAA] titles takes months, sometimes years. The scope of work is incomparably bigger. The nice thing about smaller titles like Metamorphosis is that in most cases, it’s all up to the composer. You make creative decisions and take full responsibility for them.
In this case, we were able to go a bit bolder with the music, and the developers Ovid Work approved that. Hats off to them!
G: I think there is less pressure working on a smaller game project. For one thing, the developer hires you because they have heard your music and really want to work with you based on your reputation. That usually means that they have a high level of trust in your creative judgment. That was certainly the case here, and Mikolai and I were given free rein to write some very cool stuff. Obviously, we were sending them the music mock-ups as we composed them so they were happy with the music as we composed.
Let’s return to your influence of Bernard Herrmann for a moment. There are noticeable references to his works throughout Metamorphosis — we can find some in your game tracks The Tower and Underfloor. Why do you think Herrmann’s tonal language works so well with this surrealist environment?
M: I feel there was an element of grandiose in Herrmann’s music, which works well in a world of small bugs where normal-sized objects appear huge. There is also a sense of humor therein related to that relative point of view. For example, at some point, we embark on a ship. While the music scoring this scene gives the impression it’s a larger-than-life adventure, from a human point of view, it’s just a bug hopping on a small piece of wood that floats on water.
Other than the grandiose, there is the harmony and melodies. We both, independently, built our themes based on the major seventh interval. Aside from its relative size, there is a tension within that never resolves into an octave, and therefore pushes the player forward through discomfort.
As far as harmony goes, it balances on atonality but not necessarily getting there, which also keeps the listener or player in a certain discomfort. I also love chords based on an augmented fifth.
How much did you interact with Kafka’s book when designing this music and atmosphere?
G: I used Kafka’s text as lyrics for the singer. Other than that, [Kafka’s book] Metamorphosis served as an inspiration for the game and the score.
The story – in which the main character becomes an insect – influenced our music choices as we wanted sounds that emulated bugs. The absurdity of the book’s story, and of course its expressionist style, completely influenced our musical approach. So yes, the book was a huge influence on us and the music.
How did you both divide your creative time for Metamorphosis? Did you each take certain scenes or styles and composed separately, or were musical cues worked on together?
M: Initially, I asked Garry to score an area that was deep into the world of bugs. After that, it was logical for him to continue with his colour assigned to this part of the game, while I continued to score the maps around it.
What were the challenges you faced as two established composers working on the one soundtrack? Did you have any differences in workflow or creative choices?
M: One of the reasons you become ‘established’ is that you know how to work with others. Therefore, I don’t think there was any chance for us hitting heads. We kept it fun throughout the process, with a zero amount of stress. Personally, I very much enjoyed that collaboration.
G: I have to say this was one of the least painful projects I have ever worked on.
I think we both really respect each other’s work, and there was just a lot of easy consensus on style and then on what each of us were writing. It all seemed to fit seamlessly.
Of course, we each had separate parts of the game we were scoring, so that helped as the constituent parts were by design meant to sound a little different. But overall, very much a fun and creative collaboration.
We both were certainly delighted with the final mixes, which really came out better than I think we even expected. Without doing too much embarrassing back-slapping, I am very proud of this score and it felt nearly effortless to write. That does not mean to imply that we did not work hard on it, but that the ideas came quickly — and that is always the thing that slows you up.
Read the full story at Level and Gain, our sister publication about all things screen music.
Images supplied.
