Marty O’Donnell

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Halo: Reach Interview With Marty O’Donnell

September 14, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | 1 Comment Share this

It’s Halo day! Halo: Reach hits store shelves today, and what better time to sit down with composer Marty O’Donnell to get a better idea of exactly what we’ll be hearing in the game. We really dug what we heard at E3, so we ask Marty if the rock style we heard in the demo will dominate the score. We also ask about his ability to create the “Halo sound” across a multitude of musical genres and mention the 2-disc soundtrack from Sumthing Else Music Works.

I don’t know about you guys, but I’m a huge Halo fan, and am looking forward to some multiplayer action. Hope to see you guys on there, so be sure to pick up the game and the soundtrack this week, and do as Marty O’Donnell says: enjoy it in surround sound! (more…)
Game Music

Comic Con 2010: Teased With More Child of Eden and Halo: Reach Details

July 24, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on Comic Con 2010: Teased With More Child of Eden and Halo: Reach Details Share this

Seriously, what a tease. Child of Eden is mine and many others’ most anticipated game for the Microsoft Kinect, and while it isn’t on the show floor, it was at Microsoft’s press event a couple nights ago. I wasn’t expecting it to be there, and I quickly made my way over to watch a young lady move with the music and actually look good while playing the game (I know I’m going to be incredibly awkward). As it turns out, she’s with Microsoft, and they weren’t letting anyone get hands-on with the game, which was a shame. Still, it looks awesome, and we did confirm that we were indeed hearing the Genki Rockets in the background, and that while it may look casual in that you progress through levels without any sort of resistance, enemies will indeed fire back in the final build, and you can die.

Regarding Halo: Reach, we saw 8-player multiplayer in action, and man does this game look beautiful. We saw the return of classic maps from the original Halo, and when we inquired about Marty O’Donnell’s score, we were told that his writing partner Michael Salvatorri is indeed on the project, and that while we heard rock music at E3, there’s a nice blend of all new music for the game, including ethnic Middle Eastern themes as well as rock and other styles. I’m looking forward to a soundtrack release for this one already!

What do you think of Child of Eden and Halo: Reach? Have you enjoyed O’Donnell’s recent experiments with the music of Halo?
Game Music

E3 2010: Marty O’Donnell Rocks Out in Halo Reach

June 18, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on E3 2010: Marty O’Donnell Rocks Out in Halo Reach Share this

While E3 is officially over, we still have a ton of coverage to share with you. We’re going to try to wrap things up through this weekend to get back to our regularly scheduled programming, but we hope you’ve enjoyed the coverage thus far. Today we were able to get a peek at Bungie’s big new Halo prequel, Halo: Reach. The game itself is shaping up quite nicely with a combination of gameplay styles, including squad-based combat and futuristic dogfights in outer space. They’re also touting upgraded firefight mode that was introduced in ODST, now with matchmaking and a lot of customization.

But about that music. Yes, of course Marty O’Donnell is working on it, and he has something very different in store for fans.

Hit the jump for our preview of Halo: Reach’s powerful soundtrack. (more…)
Game Music

First GDC 2010 Audio Track Sessions Announced: Hell and Emotion

December 11, 2009 | Jayson Napolitano | 1 Comment Share this

Can’t believe it’s already that time of year again. The Game Developer’s Conference is one of the best places in the world for game audio as it provides an opportunity for composers, sound designers, and audio directrors to get together and discuss the latest and greatest in the industry. The first batch of sessions have just been announced, and we of course hit the directory to see what to look forward to from the audio track.

First and foremost, I got excited when I saw Final Fantasy XIII, but as it turns out, Yoshinori Tsuchida and Tomohiro Yajima will be discussing audio programming of the game’s sound effects, and not the game’s music. Bioshock composer Garry Schyman will be discussing his score for Dante’s Inferno (which Gideon is ecstatic about), and a lecture will be held discussing the sound design in the Halo series by Bungie’s Jay Weinland. Two other highlights include a panel that will explore the lessons of the 8-bit era in terms of audio titled “Where It All Began / Lessons That Can Be Learned From ‘First Generation’ Music” featuring panelists Rod Abernethy, Alexander Brandon, and Brian Schmidt, and another panel titled “The Musical Recipe of Emotion” featuring Tom Salta, Laura Karpman, Marty O’Donnell, Jason Hayes, and Chance Thomas. Sounds like it’s already shaping up to be a great GDC, and there are surely more panels to be announced in the near future, so stay tuned!

Is there a particular game or topic that you think needs to be discussed at this year’s GDC? Are you as curious as I am to see what Abernethy, Brandon, and Schmidt will have to say about 8-bit music?
Game Music

This Guy Is Super Pumped for the HALO 3: ODST Soundtrack

October 1, 2009 | Gideon Dabi | 4 Comments Share this

When you write about game music for a while, you sometimes wonder who else likes this stuff. What kind of person gets pumped about a gaming soundtrack like we do? Well… the guy in this video, for one. We, too, will have a review of the “OST from ODST” very soon, but in the meantime, enjoy “MC Bubs” and his friends – I know we did.

How about you? Can you wait to get your hands on the “OST from ODST”?

[via our friends at Destructoid]
Game Music

Act Surprised: Halo 3 ODST Original Soundtrack Announced For September 22

September 15, 2009 | Jayson Napolitano | 2 Comments Share this

Well, maybe there is something to be surprised about. The soundtrack is actually coming out on the same day as the game’s release date! Previous Halo soundtracks have been notoriously late, with the Halo 3 soundtrack being about 2 months late and the Halo 2 Volume 2 soundtrack coming out a full year and a half after the game’s release. It looks like Bungie, Microsoft, and Sumthing Else Music Works got things sorted out this time, as the Halo 3: ODST Original Soundtrack will be released on September 22 along with the game.

If you don’t recall, we had the opportunity to get some time with Halo 3: ODST at Comic Con this year. We learned that Marty O’Donnell and Michael Salvatori would be returning, but were challenged to write some darker music than was heard in previous titles in the series. I’ve been looking forward to the game and the soundtrack, so I recommend picking this one up to show appreciation that they’re actually getting it out there in a timely manner.

Are you looking forward to Halo 3: ODST next week? Are you surprised that they’re releasing the soundtrack on the game’s release date?
Game Music

Comic Con 2009: Halo 3 ODST Soundtrack is Dark, Challenging

July 24, 2009 | Jayson Napolitano | 5 Comments Share this

Yet again, I’ve been caught not following a game that I should have been all over. I loved Halo 3, and still play it quite often, but before today, I didn’t even know what ODST meant. Honestly, after being told, I still don’t remember, but after playing the game tonight at Microsoft’s showcase, I’m definitely a believer in whatever it stands for.

So, after playing through a cooperative match with three other players where we fended off waves of Covenant combatants, I stepped outside and had Bungie’s Brian Jarrard fill me in on what I’d been missing. Apparently the game is going to be much more open than previous Halo outings, with large areas to explore and a much darker atmosphere, complete with amazing rain effects and gloomy backdrops. When asked about the audio, we were told that Marty O’Donnell is definitely returning to the series, and has written an entirely new score that aims to match the game’s darker mood. This was apparently quite a challenge for him, so I’m curious to hear how it turned out. While a soundtrack release hasn’t been announced, we’ll be surprised if it doesn’t come out. We’re hoping to bring you some more coverage of the title before its September release, so watch for it!

Have you been following Halo 3: ODST and have any thoughts about it one way or the other? Are you a fan of what Marty O’Donnell has done with previous Halo scores?