Adventure Island: De Nederlandse Adventure Site!

Home > Interviews > Jonathan vd Wijngaarden

In dit interview praten we met het Jonathan vd Wijngaarden. Hij is verantwoordelijk voor de muziek in diverse spellen waaronder een aantal adventures. We hebben het onder andere over het maken van een muziekstuk en over projecten waar hij aan werkt of gewerkt heeft (Adam's Venture en Ghost Pirates of Vooju Island).

Dit interview is in het Nederlands (waarin het oorspronkelijk gehouden is) en het Engels te lezen. Klik op de vlag om het interview in de taal van je keuze te lezen.

# We start with the inevitable question: Can you tell us something about yourself? What education did you have for example?

Certainly! After a few years of music lessons, I discovered that my interest was mostly in creating my own music pieces. When I was young I loved the music in movies and games. The education I followed was too wide and I felt that it was to far away from the games world I would love to go too. When I decided a different approach, I got the opportunity to help found Coded Illusions.

# How did you get into the game industry?

As a big fan of Westwood Studios, I contacted Frank Klepacki and he encouraged me to follow my dream and become an audio professional in the game industry. After a few years, I met Richard Stitselaar who was planning on raising his own development studio. I reinforced the team (that only consisted of three persons) as a composer and sound designer (and later audio director).

# According to your website you have had contact with Frank Klepacki from Westwood Studios. He was responsible for the music in Legend of Kyrandia and Blade Runner, among other games. What did you learned form him?

When I contacted Frank, I didn't do it with the idea to learn things from him, but I wanted to email him as a fan from his work. I discoverd that I enjoyed making game / story inspired music and send him some of my work. From that point on Frank supported me with advise and experience to make my dream come true. I was very lucky to learn from his experience so I didn't have to find out certain things for myself. Apart from the tricks of the trade, he motivated me to never give up and I gained experience in terms of techniques and tools.

Through the years, we became good friend and he still is great example for me.

# What is the process of creating a music piece? Do you get to see a part of the game or a level you need to create the music for? And do you get extra information (story, atmosphere, background information about the characters)?

That's very different for every project. The more information I have, the better. But just a few sketches can be enough to visualize the project. Then I will work with the atmosphere and the feedback from the developer I get. In the case of Adam's Venture, I was involved from the start and begin at the same team as the development team.

# Can you tell us what other aspects are involved in making the audio for a game? Besides the music, do you also make the ambient sounds and work at the voice-overs?

A lot! It is often difficult to realise how much time it takes to create a complete audio track for a game. For Adam's Venture, I created the music, all sound effects and processed the voice recording.

For the ambient sounds I created a lot of recordings. But also all the footsteps, for example, are recorder from scratch. Everything from the waterfalls to the crumbling stones, it helps to make the experience more realistic. Every part, the ambient sounds make sure that the right atmosphere is created. I think it's important that a game has it's own sound so I try to use as little existing recordings as possible.

The voices in Adam's Venture come from professional voice actors, which is a whole different ball game! To give you an idea; all text has been recorded in the studio from Streamline Sound in one day. That doesn't sounds like a lot of work. But for voice actors this means repeating, customizing and improving the same lines over and over again.

# How much time dus it take to create a music piece?

That's difficult to anwser because it differs from every project since every piece and planning is different. It also depends on the requirements from the developer and the amount of creative freedom. Music pieces need to be updated when they have been tested ingame and this process repeats itself tills the title is ready.

# What aspect of making a music piece for an adventure game is the most fun to do? And which aspect is the least fun, and why?

Adventure games are all about atmosphere and build up. This is an excellent opportunity for a game composer to let the music have a big impact. Locations are used more intensive in an adventure game (you spend more time in the same location). This offers more possibilities to add detail when it's concerned about the sound.

Real downsides are hard to tell. I think the biggest difficulity is the pacing of an adventure game. This is consistent and the players can spend a lot of time in the same location. So it is important that the music doesn't distract or annoy. That is the last thing you want when solving a puzzle.

# You have worked on the music in many different games and applications. How is it different working on an adventure game?

Every genre, every project is different from the previous one. Adventure are different from other genres because they excist relatively long. Personally, it remains one of my favorite genre, to play and to work on. The story is very important and that's important the make me enthusiastic about a project.

# How do you get in contact with the different developers you worked for?

After Coded Illusions closed it's doors last year, the majority of the studio went to different game studios. I have regular contact with most of them and this brings some nice projects. In addition, I keep my eye on the development and try to constantly make new contacts through different events.

# At most projects, you take care of the audio. But with Adam's Venture and Nomos you also worked on leveldesign, how did this work and what did you like the most?

Because the audio is such an important part of the story and the atmosphere, I alway have plenty of gameplay ideas. In some cases it is directly related to audio or music (like in Adam's Venture) but sometimes it's more general. In Nomos, for example I had an idea for a good introduction in the world and worked with Richard on this. The great thing about game design is that it gives you the opportunity to set up the framework for the other aspects of the game like art and sound. Seeing everything coming together is always fun!

# You worked with Autumn Moon on the upcoming adventuere Ghost Pirates of Vooju Island. How did you came in contact with Autumn Moon to do the music and what are your impressions so far?

When I worked at Coded Illusions I came in contact with Pedro Camacho (the composer of A Vampyre Story) through a mailing list. He knew I was a big Monkey Island fan and a few months ago, he asked me if I would like to assist him with his next project for Autumn Moon (when the project was still called Teal Harvest). It would be a pirate adventure and since Autumn Moon is the studio of Bill Tiller (the lead artist of Monkey Island 3), I didn't have to think long!

I can't tell much about Ghost Pirates, except that visually it is better then The Curse of Monkey Island and I can't wait to play the game myself. If you enjoyed the Monkey Island series, you have to play this title!

# What did you do for Silverfit and can you tell us more about this project? It seems like a project that gives a lot of satisfaction because you are really helping people with it.

Silverfit is a completely different project then I was used to do. All the more reason to take on the challenge and you don't get the opportunity to work on a game for senoirs! I especially liked that, with all discussions about videogames, there is a clear example of the value that games can have in our society. Sometimes it's complex to imagine what works and what won't. So I have to really think like the audience. Right from the start, I was convinced that 'normal' soundeffects would be experienced as annoying (or too hectic). So I came up with the idea to mostly use instruments for the effects (like it was done in the old cartoons). In the end it has become a nice package and it's great to see that so many people gets support out of it and above all a fun experience!

# You also work for the Benelux Game Initiative. Can you tell us more about that? And what kind of duties do you preform there?

It was decided at BGIn that it would be a good thing to have an audio part. That way we can give more attention to game audio. The goal is to give information to professioanls, amateurs but also to consumers. Everybody have an HD TV nowadays, but many households don't have a good surround receiver. While fully digital audio is widely available in games. We would love to show that good sound is a vital part of the experience.

You can think of lectures (in many different area's) or just meetings for starters or professionals in the game audio area.

# You also work for The Game Audio Network Guild, an organisation for interactive audio professionals? Can you tell us more about this and your duties?

GANG exist for some time now and basically is a worldwide network for game audio professionals. We give discounts, organise lectures, there are network meetings and there are the annual GANG awards. These are rewarded to games with the best audio / music. I get the opportunity to choose my favorites and, along with other board members, come up with a list of nominees. We are also working on bringing GANG (a mostly American orientated organisation) more to Europe. That way new composers and sound designers can ask for advice to peers.

# While we're talking about interactive audio applications, Realtime Audio Adventures have made an audio adventuer for the iPhone and the iPod called Soul Trapper. You have to capture ghosts by solving audio puzzels. Are you familiar with this game and what is your opinion about this projects?

I haven't played this game yet, but I know how difficult it is to make good audio puzzels. Nobody experience sound in the same way and it's difficult because of this to make understandable and fun puzzles. I think it's a good initiative to involve audio more with the gameplay and the developers deserve praise for that.

# What is the best comments or feedback you've heard about your music?

Comments and feedback is always nice to hear and I always try to do something with it. It gives me satisfaction to know that people enjoy my work, even if it is not something I busy with when I work on a project. My approach is always to make something that would surprise me, as a gamer. I really enjoy listening to music in certain games and it is fun to read or hear that people do the same thing with my own work. The biggest compliment thus far was the opportunity to get my music played by the Metropole Orchestra during Games In Concert 2.

# What are the plans for the future? Are there more interesting projects on the way apart from the aforementiond games?

Absolutely! Currently I'm working at Playlogic Game Factory (a development studio from Playlogic in Breda) as the audio lead for Fairytale Fights. It is fun and (in a positive way) idiotic project with a lot of charm. Apart from all the sound effects I made for the game, I also wrote the music for a couple of levels. After this, there are some new titles in the program from Playlogic. But unfortunately I can't tell you anything about this.

# After the release of Penumbra: Black Plague, a horror adventure, it sparked a discussion about why the adventure genre isn't as popular as it used to be and in which way the adventure genre should be moving. What is your opinion about that discussion?

That's hard to say. I believe that there is large audience for the genre, but it demands courage from the developers to take the risk and develop adventuers again. LucasArts is taking a smart move with the remake of The Secret of Monkey Island. The can see how big the demand is of such a product. Telltale Games also have found a good formula. By making episodic games, they can keep the prizes and the production costs low. The most important thing is that the games gets sold instead of copied. When the sales numbers rise it is only natural that they realise that the genre was standing still for nothing.

# Do you like to play (adventure) games in your spare time? And if so, which ones are your favorite and why?

I play a lot of games, mostly in different genres. For me a game is good, unregarded if it's a shooter, rpg, rts or an adventure. I had a lot of fun playin Dreamfall (The Longest Journey 2) and I'm hoping for a new game in the serie. Other favorites of mine are: Monkey Island, Psychonauts, Starcraft, Command & Conquer, Half Life, Little Big Adventure, Civilization and Day of the Tentacle. I could make a long list of my favorite games but there so many that I'm sure I would forget a few games.

Extra:

Visit Jonathan's official website