Bodycount Music Brief

Premise: Narrative driven first person shooter. You play an American soldier recruited by a covert

organisation called ‘Network’ to be their assassin, tasked with taking out key personnel of a rival

organisation called ‘Target’. Each drop zone you’re in contains a local army and militia, who when

not fighting each other, will both turn on you.

The music needs to convey all of the drama, action and different stages of battle, as well as

incidental music for cut-scenes and travelling from one area to another.

The feel of JJ Abrahams productions are a big influence on this game and a concise summing up

of the music’s job for the game would be to mix ‘Mission Impossible 3’ with his new ‘Star Trek’

movie.

Overall compositional requirements: electro-acoustic – mixing electronic beeps and blips

with synth bass and ethnic instruments and percussion.

Music reference: See folders on DVD for each breakdown of each game element.

Important elements of the musical soundtrack is to use leitmotifs for each faction/location:

Hero Theme: See Hero Music Style for Instrumentation.

Network Theme: See Network Music Style for Instrumentation.

Target Theme: See Target Music Style for Instrumentation.

Africa Theme: See Africa Music Style for Instrumentation.

China\Asia Theme: See China/Asia Music Style for Instrumentation

Psycho Theme: See psycho Music Style for Instrumentation

Musical Reference DVD:

Hero Music Style –

Swagger and confident music – (Upbeat guy/Things don’t get him down/Motivated/Not a

brooding hero)

Electric Guitars

Big drums

Positive melody

Tight musicianship like Led Zeppelin

Network Music Style

Tranquil

Soothing synth washes

Dreamy, lullabies.

Nursery rhyme melodies.

Soft warm rhythms

Deep bassy tones

Electronic drums.

Female vocal – buried in the mix – soft foreign vocals – can’t understand the words –

voice as instrument.

Target Music style

Distorted bass stabs

Crunchy percussion

Driving melodic hooks

Squelchy synth bass

Repetitive and relentless

Target in Africa Music Style

“Stealing the Children” from Long Walk Home

Africa Music Style – exploration music

Ethnic vocals,

Local percussion – poly rhythms - Djembe, Kora, Dusengani etc…

Hand claps

Jews Harp, Gourd and Bow

(In game positioning example: Medicentre moment – step up to big moment use the end

og Running To The Raid, (2.20 on). ‘A Different Drum’ is a good background loop)

(‘Aftermath’ good for tension building, the arrangement is an interesting combination of

electronic tones and ethnic instruments).

China/Asia:

shakuhachi flute,

koto harp,

percussion,

stringed instruments.

(Music ref Himilia – ingame positioning: the grasslands reveal)

(Music ref Night Drums for combat)

Psycho Music Style

Distorted, Screaming Guitars

Pounding Industrial Drums

Distorted Bass

Sneaking Music

Electro-acoustic drones

Tight, tidy electronic percussion

Pitch Pieces.

We would like four pieces of music that can clearly establish the leitmotif and overall feel for

Target Organisation – dark electro, industrial beeps, clicks, distorted bass – relentless.

Network Organisation –ambient electro, soothing – tight electronic drums and washy pads.

Africa Location Music – including ethnic instrumentation

Asia/China Location Music – including ethnic instrumentation

It might help to view Target and Network as different sides of the same coin. Both are huge covert organisations, and while none of them is necessarily ‘good’ the Network is definitely less evil.

The location music could be establishing the location for the first 10 secs before revving up the energy and pace. These Location pieces of music could contain different arrangements on a proposed Hero Theme.

Music Breakdown for Game

Total Music for Africa Stage: To be delivered by 01/07/2010*

Hero theme x 2 comprising of start – looping section – end = 2 mins in total

Target theme comprising of start – looping section – end = 2 mins in total

Area theme x 2 per area comprising of start – looping section – end = 2 mins in total

Sneaking Theme, (variant mix based on Network/Hero/Area themes) x 2 per area comprising of start – looping section – end = 2 mins in total

Start Battle area sting X 3(one shots) = 45 secs (15 secs each)

Mid Battle area sting X 3(one shots) = 45 secs (15 secs each)

Max Battle area sting X 3(one shots) = 45 secs (15 secs each)

Psycho Theme sting X 3 (one shots) = 45 secs (15 secs each)

*Africa Cutscenes: short stings for each, (one shots) = 15 secs, but dependant on cutscene delivery dates, length and how many, (initially 4) = 1min

Total: 12 mins

Total Music for China Stage: To be delivered by 30/08/2010*

Hero theme x 2 comprising of start – looping section – end = 2 mins in total

Target theme comprising of start – looping section – end = 2 mins in total

Area theme x 2 per area comprising of start – looping section – end = 2 mins in total

Sneaking Theme, (variant mix based on Network/Hero/Area themes) x 2 per area comprising of start – looping section – end = 2 mins in total

Start Battle area sting X 3(one shots) = 45 secs (15 secs each)

Mid Battle area sting X 3(one shots) = 45 secs (15 secs each)

Max Battle area sting X 3(one shots) = 45 secs (15 secs each)

Psycho Theme sting X 3 (one shots) = 45 secs (15 secs each)

*China Cutscenes: short stings for each (one shots) = 15 secs, but dependant on cutscene delivery dates, length and how many, (initially 4) = 1min

Total: 12 mins, (Without Cutscene music)

Total Music for Island Stage: To be delivered by 04/10/2010*

Hero theme x 2 comprising of start – looping section – end = 2 mins in total

Target theme comprising of start – looping section – end = 2 mins in total

Area theme x 2 per area comprising of start – looping section – end = 2 mins in total

Sneaking Theme, (variant mix based on Network/Hero/Area themes) x 2 per area comprising of start – looping section – end = 2 mins in total

Start Battle area sting X 3(one shot) = 45 secs (15 secs each)

Mid Battle area sting X 3(one shot) = 45 secs (15 secs each)

Max Battle area sting X 3(one shot) = 45 secs (15 secs each)

*lsland Cutscenes: short stings for each (one shots) = 15 secs, but dependant on cutscene delivery dates, length and how many, (initially 4) = 1min

Total: 10 mins 15 secs

Front End and Cutscene: To be Delivered on completion of movie

Front End (start – looping section – end) = 2 mins in total

Major Intro Cutscene (linear piece, scored like film music) = 4 mins but dependant on cutscene length.

Total: 6 mins

Game total: 40 mins

Final delivery date for Extra additional material based on mission/game design alterations will be 17/12/1020