Game News Inon Zur composes for Fallout 3

[Ausir]

Tags: Bethesda Softworks; Fallout 3; Inon Zur

<a href=http://www.bethsoft.com>Bethesda Softworks</a> issued a <a href=http://fallout.bethsoft.com/eng/home/pr-050608.php>press release</a> announcing that <a href=http://www.inonzur.com/>Inon Zur</a> is the composer of <a href=http://fallout.bethsoft.com/>Fallout 3</a> music and conveniently not mentioning his work on Fallout Tactics.
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<blockquote>May 7, 2008 (Rockville, MD) &#8212; Bethesda Softworks&#174;, a ZeniMax Media company, announced today that Inon Zur has created the original musical score for Bethesda Softworks&#8217; highly anticipated post-apocalyptic video game, Fallout&#174; 3. Zur, an award-winning composer, has created numerous scores for films, television, and new media.
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&#8220;We&#8217;ve wanted to work with Inon for a long time,&#8221; said Todd Howard executive producer of Fallout 3. &#8220;He brings so much to the table, in terms of his talent, background, and the music that&#8217;s influenced him. He&#8217;s created a score that has epic sweep; from the lonely ambience of the wasteland to dramatic fights for survival.&#8221;
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Fallout 3 features one of the most realized game worlds ever created. Create any kind of character you want and explore the open wastes of post-apocalyptic Washington, D.C. Every minute is a fight for survival as you encounter Super Mutants, Ghouls, Raiders, and other dangers of the Wasteland. </blockquote>You can read the rest of the release <a href=http://fallout.bethsoft.com/eng/home/pr-050608.php>here</a>, as well as listen to <a href=http://fallout.bethsoft.com/eng/downloads/music.html>three sample tracks from the game</a>.
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Cheers, <b>hiver</b>!

 

[DarkUnderlord]

Worst kept secret evar.

EDIT: Now that I've listened to all of them, eh, it could've been worse. That "BARBARIANS AT THE GATE" piece is still there which I wouldn't really see as being the subtle "Fallout music". Don't know about Megaton, maybe it'll fit better in-game. "Into the Wasteland" was better.

Certainly nothing like Fallout 1 / Fallout 2's music. It's missing most of the "eerie" factor (exept "Into the Wasteland").

... and age verification is retarded. Really. Who doesn't just pick a random day/month and then the earliest possible year so they can get through? I'd really like to see what the selection break-down is on people who choose that. I swear there's a high percentage of 100+ year olds surfing the net if we go by that data. What is it, some cheesy attempt to bypass liability? "Oh, you chose to enter a date that was dodgy so it's not our fault?" Just have a fucking "Agree / Not Agree" button and be done with it ala porn. Learn from porn. Porn got something right.

 

[slipgate_angel]

“We’ve wanted to work with Inon for a long time,” said Todd Howard executive producer of Fallout 3. “He brings so much to the table, in terms of his talent, background, and the music that’s influenced him. He’s created a score that has epic sweep; from the lonely ambience of the wasteland to dramatic fights for survival.”

Well, I feel like I've been stabed, knowing that Todd didn't get Mark Morgan to compose the music, while Mark wanted to work on it. This composer is okay I guese.

 

[fastpunk]

Well, I feel like I've been stabed, knowing that Todd didn't get Mark Morgan to compose the music, while Mark wanted to work on it. This composer is okay I guese.

With the way Bethesda is handling Fallout, you should feel a draft on your insides from repeated stabs.

 

[Texas Red]

What the hell kind of name is Inon Zur?

 

[Jasede]

Conclusion: TWD has a boring and uninteresting name.

 

[Texas Red]

Conclusion: TWD has a boring and uninteresting name.

Jasede has an evil penis for his avatar.

 

[Fat Dragon]

Jasede has an evil penis for his avatar.

Huh. As soon as you said that I no longer viewed the avatar in the same light, and was forced to go back to my old one. Jasede should be happy, at least.

Back on topic, those three soundtracks aren't half bad, but they don't do as good a job capturing the atmosphere as Morgan's style.

 

[Lord Chambers]

Where can I download the tracks? I don't want to push buttons on a website, and my 5.6k modem doesn't either.

 

[Occasionally Fatal]

Conclusion: TWD has a boring and uninteresting name.

Jasede has an evil penis for his avatar.

at least its a big evil penis with red semen that melts peoples faces.

really im not talking from experience here gais

edit:

vs

 

[Fat Dragon]

Well, the first one is huge, looks raw and red, and it seems like it spurts radioactive semen. The other one is just a boring grim futuristic penis worm. I think its pretty obvious who the winner is.

 

[Gnidrologist]

The music of this Zur guy is not bad per se, but it's far from the spot on ambient that was in originals. I think Morgan's music is essentially linked with the game now. There's no way around it. It's like suddenly changing the main leitmotif of Indiana Jones movies. No matter how good the music could be on it's own, it wont hold a candle to the original.

Btw. anyone knows some good pieces by Zur worth cheking out?

 

[Hümmelgümpf]

Btw. anyone knows some good pieces by Zur worth cheking out?

Icewind Dale 2.

 

[slipgate_angel]

Well, I feel like I've been stabed, knowing that Todd didn't get Mark Morgan to compose the music, while Mark wanted to work on it. This composer is okay I guese.

With the way Bethesda is handling Fallout, you should feel a draft on your insides from repeated stabs.

Huh, no wonder it's been getting a bit chilly latly.

 

[hiver]

Cheers Ausir... i wish i brought some good news though.
Maybe you guys could connect that other thread to this one?

Anyway, the theme and feel of Fallout music is still strong in my head so hearing these epic fails after expecting at least something of those beautiful original haunting melodies of originals was a sore disappointment. For a few seconds i thought its some kind of joke.

This new music is fit for some cliche fantasy game or a movie that works by trying to abuse cheap emotions from the viewers.

Main theme is just bad. I cannot connect it to Fallout even for a second. It belongs somewhere else.

Megaton is the worst of the three. Does that music makes you see a post apocalyptic shanty town built around unexploded bomb? Or some failed attempt at melodrama belonging who knows where?

Wasteland? Where? What the fuck is that? I cant even bring myself to listen to these unimaginative uninterested foreign sounds once more.

I must say that it fits bethesda design and ideas for this game.
No wonder they didnt have the culture to work with L.B.

He would probably kick their asses third day in.

 

[Araanor]

Btw. anyone knows some good pieces by Zur worth cheking out?

The few Crusader Kings tracks are decent.

 

[Atrokkus]

Gah. Never liked Inon Zur. MOstly, because of IWD2 which was such a failure, compared to the original, in terms of soundtrack (and in terms of everything else, for that matter).

 

[FireWolf]

I'm no sound expert or music critic or anything like that, but I played fallout and I enjoy music including soundtracks. I think I have the fallout soundtrack banging around somewhere. So this is my opinion of the samples on the website.

Firstly, I actually quite like the main theme. It's quite nifty, however I'm not sure it suits fallout. My first impressions were of a distopian theme and I got a lot of Batman begins/gotham vibes from it as well as a touch of fantasy pomp. And I guess, depending on the way they use it the theme could apply to an intro sequence, even if I never really got the impression that Fallout Pre-war was a distopia so much as utopia lost.

Megaton my first thoughts were trying to figure out what game initially popped into my head, and it seemed something like x-com, it probably wasn't but that's what I got. It seemed an awful lot like noise, very busy and too distracting for ambiance. I can kind of see the idea behind it with the banjos and what sounded like steel guitar, but it was mostly jarring and lacked any sense of end of the world, melancholy or loneliness. It lacked anything, really.

Into the wasteland is again highly dependent on what they use it for but even so it seems slightly out of place. Initially it seemed dramatic and/or soulful and kind of expressed wonder at surroundings, which I suppose works for leaving the vault, but again seemed to lack a deep sense of place. There was a point where I thought 'this could work' it's quite close to the end where everything simplifies and has an ominous feel too it, of course this is then ruined by apparently random guitar plucks and the overuse of strings seems wildly out of place for ruined world.

All in all I can't say I was particularly impressed with these samples with regard to attempting to tie in with the original's score, but then it's increasingly obvious this isn't our game. It's a re-invention/re-imagination of a franchise that didn't really need it for the existing fans but the console happy action-gamers might appreciate it. Slower music for the towns and then fast, pumping or rousing scores for the action scenes. Not really trying to express an atmosphere for the game so much as enhance the gameplay elements.

 

[Anaglyph]

As others have noted, the Main Title seems more suited to film than a game. I quite liked the growling brass, but it didn't really go anywhere and seemed quite unsuitable. Megaton had potential, but the jazz elements seemed incongruous with the Wild West theme and ruined the atmosphere; would have been better to have some subdued electronic ambience backing the banjo and honky tonk piano stuff or just something with a less distinctive style. Into the Wasteland was okay though not particularly interesting; can see (or rather hear) it working quite well in the game, depending on where it's used. So mostly meh really.

 

[Hory]

The first 5-10 seconds of the Main Title are awesome. Megaton is acceptable. Into the Wasteland is emo.

 

[doctor_kaz]

Inon Zur is even worse than Jeremy Soule. His music is painful to listen to at times. Jeremy Soule's music might be generic but at least it's pleasant. The main theme for Fallout 3 is awful. Just awful. At best average for a fantasy RPG but completely wrong for a Fallout game.

 

[Atrokkus]

Now, having listened to those demo tracks, I have to say the following:

Main theme is clearly off the mark. It basically screams "Yeah, things are pretty shit and grim 'round here, pretty evil stuff going on, but hell, i know you will save humanity eventually,i bet your ass you will!".
Whereas fallout1-2 main theme was like "Nothing. Just you and your vault. Whatever's outside the vault is a complete and utter mystery and will probably get you killed in the worst possible way"

Now, "into the wasteland", on the other hand, is quite reminiscent of original ambient themes of FO1-2, and it does provide something new, too.

Megaton has this nice harmonica touch there, and it is generally a pretty okay ambient theme, though nothing to write home about, either...

Well, I'm pleasantly surprised. I expected much worse from Inon Zur.

 

[ZiZ]

The three tracks they've are provided are listenable, but nothing more. What really annoys me is that it would have been very simple to capture some of the good old Fallout atmosphere and at least please _some_ fans.

Ex. What is going to create a feeling of isolation/desolation? A 46 piece orchestra all playing at the same time? Or perhaps very few instruments per track not often doubling one another. I guess the answer, of course, is to do whatever they did in Oblivion.

Another obvious one: How do we make it feel like the future? Every instrument I heard in the samples seemed to harken back to days of yore (or days of Oblivion, rather). If you're going to use strings, make it synth-strings. Guitars? Make them electric! Sometimes I really do think that Bethesda are being stupid on purpose...

Side note, did anyone else misread this:

as 'Wall Rapers'?

 

[EvilManagedCare]

“We’ve wanted to work with Inon for a long time,” said Todd Howard executive producer of Fallout 3. “He brings so much to the table, in terms of his talent, background, and the music that’s influenced him. He’s created a score that has epic sweep; from the lonely ambience of the wasteland to dramatic fights for survival.”

What's more ridiculous is Todd Howard talking like he's some great film director talking about signing some big celebrity onto his next blockbuster. I'm sure he loves the attention. This is a video game, not Saving Private Ryan, Todd. Pew pew

 

[Amon Gesoto]

The main track has too much brass and percussion. A better main title would have been a few string intruments playing some diminished chords.

Megaton sounds too much like the theme from a Western.

Into The Wasteland had an okay opening, but it sounds look much like a drama theme from a movie.

All three lack the barren and primal feel of the original Fallout's soundtrack. The only one that touches on the primal feel is the main theme, but it ended up sounding like a typical World War 2 game's Nazi theme or whatever.