The following post was taken from promotional material that was distributed at GDC, in 2023. It discusses the writing process and creative vision behind the music for Rogue Ascent.
Rogue Ascent was released in Spring of 2023. I'd been working on this project since November of 2021 and in that time, wrote over two and a half hours of original music and created hundreds of sound effects.
Retrofuturism.
Rogue Ascent VR instantly appealed to me with its neon, "retrofuturistic" aesthetic. It was able to convey so much of its identity and ethos, simply with its name and a short 60 second clip. My interest was piqued, then upon discovering that it also utilised best-in-class hand tracking technology, I knew the creators had something truly unique. I felt compelled to contact the team, simply to congratulate them on the progress of the project.
Shortly thereafter, I received a response from Waylon Fisher, the publishing lead. During the course of that conversation, the topic of the music for Rogue Ascent came up. Waylon disclosed that another composer had agreed to provide them with a handful of tracks and they were going to start from there. It occurred to me that I had a subset of compositions I had produced which I felt may be fitting stylistically, though hadn't yet been submitted for any placements. I sent him 4 tracks for the team to listen to. I assumed my music could sit alongside the other composer's tracks, if anything at all. I initially envisioned something similar to a "Hotline Miami" situation, where the OST could take the form of a compilation album.
After a couple of weeks, Waylon got back in contact with me. The tracks I'd initially provided had been met with enthusiasm and the team wanted to know whether I'd be interested in meeting to discuss the music further. We agreed that the examples I'd sent through would be placed directly into the game. However... they needed (a lot) more music. I was invited to compose the score in its entirety, as well as provide sound design. All of those initial tracks are still present in Rogue Ascent, now only making up a tiny fraction of the OST.
Musical Approximation.
We were off to a start. We'd touched on some appropriate elements with this initial set of tracks, though getting into conversations about the vision for the game on a deeper level, it became clear that whilst what I'd written so far was a good fit, we'd barely scratched the surface. Which isn't unusual in the slightest - it's pretty straightforward to identify and compile some "correct" musical tropes, in order to fit the overall aesthetic in a given game genre. Quite often, the result will even fit rather well but it's not the most successful execution we could strive for. It's what you might call "musical approximation". In producing those tracks, I wrote some music for a sci-fi shooter but Rogue Ascent is not every sci-fi shooter and every sci-fi shooter is not Rogue Ascent. These tracks I had provided, whilst appropriate, were not the perfect embodiment of this whole range of other emotions, sensations and intent we needed to capture to best represent the title.
The Developer's Vision.
"When first envisioning the game, the core vision for Rogue Ascent's soundtrack was to create a dynamic sci-fi atmosphere that changed in response to the player's actions in-game. To achieve this, I created a layered soundtrack system which was capable of moving seamlessly between high and low states of intensity. Exploration would be met with a low intensity track layer to accentuate elements of stealth and intrigue. Moving into combat, the player would hear the track pick up in both intensity and instrumentation. Combat would be one of Rogue Ascent's defining characteristics and as such needed to be accompanied by a soundtrack which could maneuver these dynamics.
There were considerable strategies involved with determining how to best move between the game's intensity layers. For example, upon leaving combat the music will not return to its low intensity state until it has passed through a transitional layer which often features heavy groove and percussion. This in-between layer acts as a buffer between high and low intensity states and helps the player to understand practically the state of the game. In my mind the best soundtracks are those that are so effective you stop noticing them consciously and begin incorporating them into your subconscious like wearing an embedded cloak. Suddenly the soundtrack is not being played at you but emitting from you. A soundtrack which features you as the conductor is the best way to achieve that.
The stylistic inspiration for the soundtrack came about as a result of the various retrowave styles of music I've enjoyed over the years. The game itself portrays a very retro-modern aesthetic. I've been influenced by a wide range of sources spanning many different artists. Everything from classical orchestra and modern jazz to rock and heavy metal. Each exemplifies and accentuates different elements in their style that brings a unique perspective to the listening experience. Rogue Ascent's vision was to create an experimental marriage of styles which would be truly unique, while retaining elements of familiarity.
Working with Edward, this vision was fully realized and even further developed upon through our continuous collaboration." - Jordan McGraw - Creator and Lead Developer of Rogue Ascent
''Are we even talking about the same thing?"
"Heroic", "Espionage", "Victorious", "Empowering", these were a handful of the words used in our initial discussions. A crucial phase of a successful collaboration between composer and developer takes place at the very beginning. It is by no means exclusive to this particular arrangement, either. It's the critical phase of any project, though especially in creative realms: To establish early on what the necessary terms actually mean to all involved parties.
A common understanding of the verbiage needs to be established in advance of any specific discussions concerning how to actually embody these characteristics within the given medium (in this case, the music). In less flowery language: "Before we decide on how we are going to say this to everyone else, are we even talking about the same thing amongst ourselves?
Melding Several Genres.
Every game has its own signature sound, before the composer is even identified. The "right sound" is in a state of incubation from the word go. It's the composer's job to assist the developers in identifying what that sound is, before shaping the music to this overarching intention. The composer assists in pinpointing a destination, prior to everyone setting out towards it, together. How we then collectively reach that destination... That's when the decisions regarding genres and instrumentation come into play. Up front, - unless you understand what the other person means by something - you're going to face inevitable disappointment on the developers' side, as well as many revisions on the composer's end.
Luckily, Jordan - the lead developer and creator of Rogue Ascent - is a very effective communicator. Very early on, he had a solid idea of what he wanted and luckily, he knew exactly how to express it (which are definitely not the same thing). My initial tracks were very much in the retrowave vein - which was correct and appropriate, albeit not enough. We ended up melding several genres, which was a necessity to effectively communicate all the required emotions and moods present within Rogue Ascent. After all, there are few things more appropriate than "smooth muzak" when riding in a lift. Fighting a rocket wielding mechwarrior? Probably not as well suited.
A Guitar Solo is The Sound.
The main instruments used on this score were hardware synthesizers, modern percussion and electric guitars, though guitars weren't a given from the beginning. Guitar was my first instrument, though I've always been acutely aware of its comparatively limited application in the majority of video game scores. As such, for Rogue Ascent, I initially avoided writing on the guitar altogether. Usually, I will try to shed my "guitarist inclinations" altogether when writing music, instead looking objectively at the bigger picture. While producing one of our earlier tracks, I hit a bit of a wall. It became apparent that the best thing to do would be to record a guitar lead over one particular synth section. At times, it's undeniable that a guitar solo is "the sound". I felt confident with this approach and having submitted it, it landed really well with Jordan. He also felt that this guitar solo, with its placement, hit on many of our desired points. So although it went against my initial inclinations, we've ended up with a score with guitar leads as a cornerstone.
It's certainly convenient that lead guitar ended up being part of the sound we were looking for but as I say - it was not a decision made out of convenience. Had it been the case that another instrument altogether had been the appropriate element at those moments in the score, then that element is, without question, the one that would have been incorporated instead.
Whilst there are a number of guitar leads placed throughout the score, there are very few actual guitar "riffs" in there. It isn't obvious at first though in the majority of cases, if you think you're hearing a distorted guitar riff, it's most likely a synthesizer. The sounds may be similar but the sensation and phrasing are much different. Sure - you can play a guitar riff on a synth and vice versa - though if you write on a synth, it's practically guaranteed that you'll write something different than if you were writing on the guitar.
Reward and Accomplishment.
One thing that clearly is communicated through Rogue Ascent's aesthetic and concept is its hearkening back to the arcade and console classics of yore. Growing up, a big part of those games for me were the musical qualities present in many of their sound effects. I felt it was important to the spirit of Rogue Ascent to encapsulate this. For instance, when picking up collectibles, we settled on the idea of assigning individual pitches to manipulated bell sounds, with each of these pitches corresponding to a note in the major scale.
When coins are picked up in rapid succession, the flurry of individual sounds takes on a musical quality, creating its own musical phrase. The effect mightn't be indiscernable on a conscious level but the use of a major scale further underlines the sense of "reward" and "accomplishment" that players experience when obtaining these collectibles.
The advantage of composing the music as well as providing the sound effects for a project is that it allows you to be more methodical about the overall package. You have the creative agency to impart a unique character in both realms, whilst also having the freedom of expression to blur those lines, where appropriate. Of course, sound design is present throughout the music production process, in the rudimentary sense. What I'm actually referring to is melding the two in a more overt fashion. Jordan and I spent a lot of time trying to find compelling ways to do this.
For instance, in the "Airspace" game mode, the player is tasked with taking down waves of enemy drones and aircraft. There is a "base track" that serves as the main score for the game mode, then each type of drone has its own musical component that accompanies it. Any time a given drone type is in the air, all the while, a dedicated musical element is played. As a result, there's an audible cue for when a type of enemy is present - the composition only really being "complete" when all of the enemies are in the air. The player serving as a sort of "involuntary conductor".
Every Project Deserves Better.
Many other composers will lean heavily on instrument libraries with a plethora of presets. This isn't to call that cheating, or to say any of that stuff is of lower quality because it really isn't. A lot of that stuff is fantastic and obviously there are software synthesizers and virtual instruments on Rogue Ascent, too. However, I do think every single project deserves better than just that. If your client has commissioned you to write music and has entrusted their vision to you - in order that you may to do it justice musically - for one to then throw some presets over a couple of stock loops and call it a day would be to do a disservice. Both to the developers and the players. Ultimately, the music needs to serve the experience as much as possible and the best way to provide optimal immersion is with a score that is entirely bespoke.
I try to create as many sounds from scratch as possible - that goes for everything. When relying on hardware synthesizers, you have to "guide" electricity through a circuit, manipulating it every step of the way. Particularly with modular synthesis, you can't save anything. Although there can be some very complex techniques at play with synthesizers, it's just as much that as it is an "in the moment" thing - no matter how methodical your approach, there's always an element of spontaneity. With these methods, it can (and usually does) take literally hours before you settle on a sound that fits within the vision for a track. However, once you've found it, you know there may be other sounds similar to it out there in the world but no one else will ever truly have exactly the same sound. By virtue of having to sculpt the sound from the ground up, you are well on your way to having something unique and deserving of the game.
Beg. Steal. Borrow.
All of the sound effects provided for Rogue Ascent are manipulated foley, recorded at home. I recorded all manner of things. For Halloween, the developers created skeleton skins for the enemies. When these skeleton enemies were killed, the idea was that the bones would clatter to the ground. My initial thought was a xylophone sound for this. Unfortunately, I don't own a xylophone and, given that Jordan had messaged me this brief on a Saturday evening, the prospects of finding one at that notice were not promising. I was scouring my shed for something to record... I then remembered that at the end of my road, there's a house with a wooden wind-chime hanging on a tree. I hadn't met that neighbour before, though I did that night when I rang his doorbell. He was very nice about it, like it was the most normal thing in the world. "Borrow my garden ornaments so you can make sound effects for exploding skeletons? Of course!"...
I'm honoured that Jordan, his development team and Clique Games entrusted me to provide the audio for their game. I hope that this relatively brief peek behind the curtain offered some insight into the thought process behind not only Rogue Ascent, though my creative approach as a whole. If you made it this far, I'd like to thank you for reading. If you have any questions, thoughts or remarks, as always, please feel free to contact me.
All the best,
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