Week 10:
Hello folks.
This is Daniel Bernstein, General Manager of Monolith's Audio/Video department. Guy Whitmore and I are the two composers for Blood II (as well as Blood I). What's new in Blood II? Oh, where to start... OK, here goes...
They talk! Yes indeedy, I have expanded the Domus Durbentia to include vocabulary for the new cultists, the fanatics and the zealots. To take a look at the existing word list, check the Blood I page. Here's an example of the zealot's new voice: click to listen
Also, in case you haven't heard, we'll be using Microsoft's Interactive Music Architecture (early version of DirectMusic) for Blood II. Blood II and Shogo will be the first games on the market with this new technology. In case you're wondering, the music to Blood II is dark, experimental, moody, industrial, and totally interactive. That is, as you play the game, the music changes seamlessly with the gameplay. The soundtrack follows the action closely as does a movie soundtrack follow the action on the screen. It's really quite revolutionary. No loops. No MODs. This is a MIDI soundtrack with a custom sample set for the instruments. It sounds different every time you play it, and the sound quality is fantastic. I am making the IMA version of the first Blood II track as we speak. You can listen to the non-interactive track here:
MP3 Format
Real Audio 28.8
Real Audio ISDN
I am going to keep you posted as to the progress of the Orchestral remix of Unholy (the Blood theme). We plan on having the recording session in the next couple of weeks.
Until next time,
Dan
