Growing up a Yankee fan, Curt Schilling was never a name I wanted to hear. He was outspoken, lethal on the mound, and a fierce competitor. My opinion of him changed when I learned that he was also outspoken about his love of gaming and fantasy. He was unapologetic about the wealth of time he and his children had put into World of Warcraft and even mentioned wanting to develop a game himself. A few years later, we are graced with the first major release from Schilling’s 38 Studios, Kingdoms of Amalur: The Reckoning. Assembling a team of all-stars in their own right, Schilling called upon comic book legend (and baseball fanatic), Todd McFarlane, Oblivion‘s lead game designer, Ken Rolston, and New York Times bestselling, fantasy author, R.A. Salvatore, to help create this ambitious first outing.
I have written several times about the difficulties in writing a score for an RPG in that, as Gothic‘s Kai Rosenkranz said, a composer can get into trouble making music too melodic as it can grow monotonous. Grant Kirkhope was Schilling’s hired gun to score this monstrous game. Did he strike out or hit one out of the park? (more…)
