Paul Houseman (Composer) Good for L2 music...?

Nazgul11 · Post by **Nazgul11** » Mon Feb 27, 2006 7:53 pm

Yes, I know we already have Mikko Tarmia and Sean Beeson doing the Lugaru 2 music (which I haven't heard yet), but man, I can't get over how awesome this music is.

I found out about Paul Houseman awhile ago, and have been listening to his music constantly. I also have been thinking about how awesome it would be if he did some of the music for Lugaru 2. Some of the tracks I most enjoy are...

Sail to the Battle
Buckling the Swash
Sail to the Battle 2.0
Imperator (from Initium CD)
One Man Mission
Preview Montage (Eclipse of Fear)
Ichitaita
Climactica
Avalanche

These and many more tracks can be found on his music page. So, I was wondering what everybody else thinks. (maybe even David as well) And also what everybody thinks of what it would be like for him to do music for Wolfire. I personally think it would be great.

Oh, and enjoy the music!

Zantalos · Post by **Zantalos** » Mon Feb 27, 2006 11:04 pm

You are absolutley right. This composure is good, not only that but all his songs serve as backround music rather than something that would steal away the stage. These are called demos. Any reason why? It seems like the clip is the full song without the loop background, meant to be downloaded. Is he giving away his composures to people or are the demos just a way of showing off his music? Have you heard his full songs, can't imagine why you would listen to this, unless you use this in the backgound of your games (anyways, glad you did). Oh wait, looks like he doesn't mind you using his demos aslong as it's non-profit, though it also shows that he seems to be wanting to find work like this. Faq is very helpful. This is a good find IMHO but since there are already composures... who knows? Maybe David will settle for a whole team of music designers if he wants, still waiting to hear some of their music, they sound like they're made for the job.
On a different note, any one who has heard of the Pure Pawnage team, this is by far their best song. http://www.purepwnage.com/media/teh_pwn ... b_song.mp3

Nazgul11 · Post by **Nazgul11** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 12:22 am

Glad you like his music.

Yes, he is looking for some work, and thats one of the reasons I mentioned him here. (besides the fact that I would love to see his music in one of my most favorite game series) And the reason I listen to this music a lot is because I love epic cinematic/soundtrack music... IE lord of the rings, pirates of the caribbean, star wars etc. Oh, and thats funny you mentioned pure pawnage, since I just checked out the first episode last night. Pretty funny.

toshiro · Post by **toshiro** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 10:51 am

Maybe it is just me, but I do not think this specific style of music would suit Lugaru well. I checked out most of his demo tracks and found them all to be okay for exactly what you said, epic dimensions.

I am judging mostly from Lugaru 1, and there, I found the music to be not at all obtrusive and very fitting for the stage.

Note that the background music in Lugaru 1 never has such sudden breaks in it, as does Houseman's. on the contrary. In my opinion, due to the allusion to both the occidental and oriental middle ages (again, judging from what i have seen so far), it would make more sense to use not a plethora of instruments, but perhaps just one single 'voice' at a time, quartets at most.

I would go for guitar-like instruments (maybe a shamisen, maybe a sitar, or maybe a dulcimer), but that's just me.

Nazgul11 · Post by **Nazgul11** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 11:49 am

Yeah, I know what you mean. Most of his demo music isn't "background music". But if Wolfire did hire him, David could just tell him what he wanted, and I'm sure houseman could come up with something. Also, I've often wondered if the music in Lugaru 2 will be the same type of thing/mood as it was in the first game. I mean, David didn't even make the music in the first, right? So he'll be able to do exactly what he feels is best for this one. (since all of the music will be original)

rudel_ic · Post by **rudel_ic** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 12:28 pm

I suppose that's why he chose not to use opensource tracks, as he did in Lugi 1.

I'm pretty sure the musicians he chose for the sequel were chosen for a reason, you know. And they will get paid, won't they? Getting a new artist will increase production costs.

If I were David, I'd get a new artist only if the old ones are complete failures at their job.

Silb · Post by **Silb** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 12:32 pm

Nazgul11 wrote:Also, I've often wondered if the music in Lugaru 2 will be the same type of thing/mood as it was in the first game. I mean, David didn't even make the music in the first, right? So he'll be able to do exactly what he feels is best for this one. (since all of the music will be original)

I've been wondering like you about L2's atmosphere. In L1, David had to use free music, and the whole scenario was admittedly an afterthought. So the whole grit & grim atmosphere may have been partly due to the limited music choice.

But I think toshiro's mostly right about Houseman's music not fitting. Even when he's not going for epic scale, it's still too theme-based and percussive. It's just going to get annoying after a while. We're probably going to hear those loops hundreds of times.
(Not saying Houseman's music is not great. It really is.)

In fact, perhaps it'd be sensible for L2 to use music sparingly. And 3D sound, not sparingly. It'd be cool and rabbit-like to locate enemies by ear in bad visibility conditions

Post by **Jeff** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 3:49 pm

Do you know what kind of rate he is expecting to get paid?

Nazgul11 · Post by **Nazgul11** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 4:59 pm

Jeff wrote:Do you know what kind of rate he is expecting to get paid?

Well, I found this in his FAQ page... The fee is determined by criteria such as exposure, nature of the project and the overall production budget. Everything depends on what my music is worth to the project, what the project is worth to me and what the financial capabilities of the producer(s) are.

Zantalos · Post by **Zantalos** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 5:50 pm

If that sounds confusing, he wrote a more informal note beneath that one in small, invisible, black letters.

The truth is that if your production is looking half-decent, you won't have a problem finding some poor guy to do the music for free but I must say that should hardly be encouraged, ever. Compensate your crew for their efforts whenever possible!

Not sure if that would really make things clearer. Just thought it was very interesting to me that he would do that.

(there's another two on how learning sheet music isn't required, and it's not wise to tell people how to copy your things)

What I meant about it being background music, was about how it would be applied. I think it would sound very redicules to have Turner running around a dark forest while 'Sail to the Battle' was being played (it would definately get in the way of gaming, especially if it was tense and mysterious). What I mean is to have locations where different music would work well in the situation. 'Looking for Clues' seems to work well in some quiet indoor areas while more open areas could host 'LookAroundYou' (these titles make everything easier to find). When good background music is created, you hardly ever notice it at all. Then again, maybe some places will need music to kick in as things get more emotional. I personally loved the times when that sick guittar rock music would kick in during specific battles in Halo 2 (Halo 1 seemed better, but lacked the dynamic music, may have just forgotten, haven't played the two in a while).

The thing is, if certain scenes contain off set points, don't start off fast enough, or may seem to become pretty annoying on a 2 minute loop, it's probably going to be be true in the game. However, a composure can work quicklier than a real band, he can take out wierd plays, change out the beggining, even make the music start off dynamic but then loop with a more constant tune that fits the setting. Im sure most composures can do the same thing too, it's more of an option of what type of music they specialize on, or which one you know you will work better with.

Kodiak · Post by **Kodiak** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 6:34 pm

Somehow the music in Lugaru is perfect. Its not obtrusive, but complementary. Personally I find that the music augments the atmosphere of Lugaru, so, even though it is a violent game, the result is a calming, satisfying experience.

I guess it also helps that Lugaru is so fluid so play...

Anyway, personally I have found David's decisions regarding content to be spot on, so I wouldn't dismiss his current choices for Lugaru 2 music. The longer they have to work with the source material the better the outcome! I'm looking forward to the L2 music!

(yes I did say I found Lugaru calming! Not like Counter-Strike/Counter-Strike Source... that pumps my aggression and immediately after a session leaves me hating everyone and everything)

Nazgul11 · Post by **Nazgul11** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 7:43 pm

Zantalos wrote:What I meant about it being background music, was about how it would be applied. I think it would sound very redicules to have Turner running around a dark forest while 'Sail to the Battle' was being played (it would definately get in the way of gaming, especially if it was tense and mysterious).

Ahahaha! That would be crazy.

But, if you listen to his demo reels, you'll obviously find that he can do many kinds of music. And also most of the music on the site is designed for movies and such, so I'm sure that if Wolfire hired him there would be no problems with looping...since it would be more focussed on games. If you know what I mean.

leDoOd · Post by **leDoOd** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 3:03 pm

Excellent find... great music.

In my opinion, the more sound designers the better, unless there are budget constraints.
Who's going to be doing sound effects for Lugaru 2?

Post by **Jeff** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 2:59 pm

Rumor has it that Paul Houseman is part of the L2 team now.

Post by **Eric** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 4:08 pm

interesting rumor coming from the project leader's brother