Gears Of War Composer Interview

November 29, 2006 – Gears Of War has become one of the hits of 2006, capturing the hearts, minds, and chainsaw wielding fetishisms of gamers worldwide.

While the incendiary action is one of the major draws of the game, at the heart of its immersive intensity is the encompassing score as crafted by composer Kevin Riepl.

We caught up with Kevin and got the inside skinny on how he became attached to the high profile project, what his goals were in terms of creating memorable and complementary music, and how he went about insuring that one of the most brazen and visually stimulating first-person shooters would have music to match the exciting game play.

IGN Music: When did you get attached to Gears Of War?

Kevin Riepl: February of 2005.

IGN Music: How did you come to get attached to the project?

Kevin Riepl: I have had a long working relationship with Epic Games over the past few years, working with them on UT2003, UT2004, and Unreal Championship2. In the early stages of Gears, I was actually just asked to come on to write the main themes for the game and after I submitted the pieces I had written, they seemed to be really pleased with what I created and signed me on to create the entire score.

IGN Music: What drew you to the project? You know, what was special about this project as opposed to some others you have worked on in the past?

Kevin Riepl: While I was working on Unreal Championship2, I was hearing a lot of talk about this game they were creating with the new unbelievable Unreal3 game engine. I saw all the images everyone else did when they were showing off the new engine, and I thought to myself, I want to be part of that and create the music for what ever takes place in that world they were creating. Something that was a bit different about this project from others, was that Epic, who is widely known for their Unreal series, was creating something brand spankin’ new. Being a composer, how could you not want to be a part of something like that.

IGN Music: Did the themes of the game seem like something that would challenge you in terms of coming up with immersive music that complements the gameplay?

Kevin Riepl: Not so much. It seems as though the music that this game called for required me to enter a dark hidden room in my psyche. Over the years of writing for games with somewhat dark overtones, I have noticed that this path to this room is a bit easier for me to travel than it should be. (laughs).

IGN Music: How far along with the game were they when they brought you on?

Kevin Riepl: I believe they were about half way done with development.

More at http://music.ign.com/articles/748/748029p1.html. Didn’t want to copy everything since there’s 3 pages.