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[_Aaron_]

From issue 191 of GamesTM. He talks about his career at Bungie, Myth, Halo, Destiny, and now Golem. Thought I'd post some tidbits.

On Halo 2's soundtrack:

With all the success we had with Halo, suddenly I was getting requests from people like Nile Rodgers. He had bands like Incubus and Breaking Benjamin and people like John Mayer and Steve Vai calling me saying that they wanted to be part of whatever was happening musically in Halo 2

Reaction from people on Halo 2's soundtrack:

Looking back, I had gotten a lot of pushback from people high up, even in Bungie, who felt that there was way too much ‘wanking guitar’ – literally calling it ‘guitar wank’ – in Halo 2. Believe it or not, during the making of Halo 2, a bug report landed on my desk and it said, “Turn down the guitar whammy.”

On his decision to use a piano theme for Halo 3's E3 announcement:

And I had a tonne of pushback on that. The higher ups at Microsoft were saying, “You’re gonna fix that, right?” I heard at one point that an early version of the trailer with a rough piano track was played for the marketing department at Microsoft and they actually laughed.

On saying goodbye to Halo:

Yeah and, in hindsight, it’s even more bittersweet now. I really, really loved working on Halo. If you consider the fact that I first started working on Halo in 1998 and then we finished Reach in 2010, there’s a solid twelve years of my life that was just 100% Halo. It was hard to let go of those characters and, for me, it was hard to let go of that huge library of music too. There was so much music that we had done and we couldn’t use those themes anymore.

Destiny and working with Paul McCartney:

I finished Music Of The Spheres at the end of 2012 and I started working with Paul McCartney in 2011, so we’re talking a solid three years before the game was released.

a bunch of other stuff happened and unfortunately Music Of The Spheres has still never been heard in its original form.

people today go, ““Oh, Paul wrote that one song that was in the credits.” And that’s it. That’s all people think. And he didn’t. He wrote all sorts of themes that are still, to this moment, being heard in Destiny. And nobody knows what that is because I haven’t been allowed to talk about it

 

[robotrock]

Somebody should leak the Paul McCartney Destiny tracks and the Paul McCartney/Kanye West collab album.

 

[Ryouji Gunblade]

Was there any mention on working with 343i for Halo again?

 

[_Aaron_]

Was there any mention on working with 343i for Halo again?

Nope.

I suspect he's busy with his new studio and Golem. He talks a bit about that stuff and prequel album he released for it.

 

[NeOak]

Nope.

I suspect he's busy with his new studio and Golem. He talks a bit about that stuff and prequel album he released for it.

Frankie pls

 

[Static Veins]

I've been wanting to hear Music of the Spheres since it was first mentioned before Destiny was revealed. Shame we'll likely never hear it.

 

[Grisby]

Had no idea Paul contributed more to Destiny.

 

[ZeoVGM]

The fact that McCartney contributed other themes to Destiny is super interesting.

 

[VeeP]

343i, Frankie, pls. Make a Halo spin-off written by Joseph Staten with music from Marty. Or something. Give me Halo: Adventures of Mister Chief.

 

[Interficium]

So, uhh, are we ever gonna see Golem or what.

 

[Acidote]

Whoever sent him this

Looking back, I had gotten a lot of pushback from people high up, even in Bungie, who felt that there was way too much ‘wanking guitar’ – literally calling it ‘guitar wank’ – in Halo 2. Believe it or not, during the making of Halo 2, a bug report landed on my desk and it said, “Turn down the guitar whammy.”

can go fuck off with a pile of prickly pears.

And Microsoft had no fucking idea with the piano thing either. I still remember vividly the first piano notes I heard during the announcement trailer when they showed it live.

 

[Akai__]

And I had a tonne of pushback on that. The higher ups at Microsoft were saying, “You’re gonna fix that, right?” I heard at one point that an early version of the trailer with a rough piano track was played for the marketing department at Microsoft and they actually laughed.

I mean, the final version of the Halo 3 E3 reveal trailer sounds epic and like nothing I have ever heard anywhere else. Piano soundtracks in Halo are a thing of a beauty. Gives me goose bumps all the time.

 

[firehawk12]

Had no idea Paul contributed more to Destiny.

There was that music video. lol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=163_C5UVU-I

 

[origamikid]

The full interview is featured in this issue, if any of you wanted to check it out.

 

[Etrian Oddity]

Judging from the interview, he was way too talented for the simpletons he had been working with.

Halo's music has been trash since he stopped doing it, and Destiny's post-launch music has been utterly mediocre and forgettable since he left Bungie.

Wishing him the best, he's legitimately one of the best composers in video game history.