- Original Mass Effect composer Jack Wall shares how orchestral and synth music influenced the first two games
- Wall says 70s and 80s music were a big inspiration and explains how Mass Effect was "less orchestra" and "more synthetic," while Mass Effect 2 had more orchestra
- He reveals that BioWare made 'Vigil' the main music track right before shipping the game
Original Mass Effect composer Jack Wall has revealed how orchestral and synth music influenced the series and how the iconic 'Vigil' track changed the game for the better.
In an interview with TechRadar Gaming, Wall discussed the inspirations for Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2's core sound and themes, explaining that game director Casey Hudson "wanted to play with 80s synth mixed with quasi-orchestra" music, which was the basis for the series' memorable vibe.
"He [Hudson] imagined a synthesizer and amp on stage with the orchestra. That was the idea, " Wall said, adding that Tangerine Dream, Vangelis, and other pieces from the 70s and 80s also influenced the soundtrack of the original Mass Effect.
"It was super cool and unique, as that idea hadn’t really been done before to my knowledge," he said. "At least not on this scale."
Wall explained Mass Effect was "less orchestra" and "more synthetic," while Mass Effect 2 added more orchestra, because "the design of the game changed."
He refers to the team compositions, explaining that each member of Shepard's team in Mass Effect 2 had their own missions and levels where they had to gather important assets for the final battle.
"We wanted to make sure that each level had its own sound," Wall said. "It was a good way for me to assign levels to my own composing team and be sort of the creative director of the score, write all of the main themes, and share with the team to sprinkle throughout to bring it all together. ME1 had more of the traditional leitmotif scoring, where places and/or people had their own themes."
The composition process, he said, was done by "writing to a picture," meaning gameplay, and formulating ideas from there. Mass Effect was the first game where Wall was able to see video capture to write to, and it "ensured that my vision for the score was closer to the actual game."
"When I hit something I like, I focus on that and just hone it until I feel that it’s ready to present to the client," he said. "My instincts are pretty good and I generally only get minor notes once we have an overall direction we can agree on, and we’re all rowing in the same direction. I had worked on Jade Empire with BioWare before ME1, and with that game all I had was artwork."
The composer went on to discuss Mass Effect's 'Vigil', which was a "particularly important track" that he wrote for the archives of the Protheans on the planet Ilos and that the team decided last minute to use for the menu music instead of the classic 'Mass Effect Theme' fans now know and love. Wall recalled booting up the game for the first time and hearing the music, saying it was worth it.
"It is in fact used there as you descend into the vaults where the Prothean crypt, giving a sense of wonder at what happened to the seemingly extinct race," he said. "But at the last moment before ship, instead of using the Mass Effect Theme on the load screen, the dev team swapped in Vigil and made the game so much more compelling with that one simple choice!
He added, "When I got the game and popped it into my Xbox, I was blown away to hear that track as the menu screen came up. The game instantly had a vibe."
