Game Rant recently had the opportunity to interview the composer of Godfall, Ben MacDougall. During the interview, MacDougall took the time to share some valuable insight about his own creative process and inspiration, as well as hinting at two of his favorite tracks from the game. The composer also praised Godfall’s PS5 gameplay, claiming it achieves a level of immersion unseen before this generation of gaming.
So far, reception of Godfall has been somewhat mixed, but that hasn’t stopped a group of dedicated fans from loving it. MacDougall seems to be among that group, as he reveals that he’s been thoroughly enjoying his own playthrough. For those interested in hearing what else he had to say about his work as the game’s composer, read on to see his answers.
Q: Hi Ben, thanks for taking the time to chat with us for a bit. To start things off, could you tell us a little bit about yourself? How long have you been composing for, and what other projects have you worked on before Godfall?
Ben MacDougall: I’ve been writing music since around the age of 15, although back then it was music for solo flute with an audience of one (or close to one!), which is a rather different beast and things have changed a lot since then!
Fast forward ~15 years and I’ve since worked in pretty much all areas of the ‘music-for-screens’ space, and have had work appear all over the shop - be it movies, adverts, trailers, documentaries, tv, video games …you name it. A lot of my work, despite its widespread nature, has happened mostly behind the curtain, so even though this might be the first time my name has appeared on your screen, I can pretty much guarantee that your speakers have given me a fair amount of airtime already.
Q: In terms of the music composition process for Godfall, how much had you seen of the game before you started working on its soundtrack?
MacDougall: I started working on the game in the very early days, and then as the game grew, the music blossomed in tandem. But because I was there basically on day 1, there was a small amount of in-game play, but it was mostly a lot of concept art and sketches in those early days. Luckily, because of a) the sheer talent of the artists and modelers, and b) the raw graphics power of the PS5, those early sketches basically became 3D!
Q: What were your inspirations for the Godfall OST? Are there other composers or soundtracks that influenced your composition process?
MacDougall: I primarily drew my inspirations for the soundtrack from the world itself. Visually speaking of course, but also the interplay between different areas of the map and the characters wove an intricate web that provided structure to it all - and helped get through the blank-page-syndrome that can otherwise feel insurmountable when you’re faced with such a large body of work. Between the material that was coming from Counterplay Games, and my own sonic explorations in the studio, searching for the “sound of Godfall”, there was plenty inspiration going around!
Q: Listening to the soundtrack, there are a lot of virtuosic pieces, but an equal number of somber ones as well. What aspects of Godfall led you in this direction, and do you feel the emotional range of the music is matched by the game itself?
MacDougall: The emotional range of the score was very deliberate, and it would have been easy to just turn it up to eleven right the way through. I felt early on though that we should draw a clear line between the music that was meant to set a sense of place in the world, and the music meant for combat encounters. It is, after all, a stunning world with real beauty, depth and elegance, and it was important to acknowledge that musically. There is inevitably some crossover between the two, as that’s how the music engine was programmed to behave in certain scenarios, but the compositional approach between ‘world’ and ‘combat’ music was deliberately different.
It’s also important to have contrast in any score between the high points and low points, and loud sections and quiet sections. Everything in life is about variety, and music is no different. Volume and intensity are, for the most part, a product of context, and if everything is just at the one level, then you really aren’t conveying anything to the player, emotionally speaking.
Q: It seems that many of your compositions feature strings and some heavy percussion. When scoring a piece, what’s your process for deciding on instrumentation?
MacDougall: How a piece ends up, instrumentally speaking, is a direct response to the emotional and energetic intent of the cue - all of course placed in context with the rest of the score. There is a lot of deep percussion in this score that ramps up the energy and drives home the gravity of the situation that you as a player are in. In combat cues, the orchestral strings add to this in a tonal sense, and on occasion by using more percussive playing techniques there are times where the strings are driving percussively too.
Basically, every cue is different, and so is every project! I think it is important for a score to have a ‘sound’ of its own, and for everything within to be cohesive. A large part of that comes from instrumentation choices, and keeping things consistent. You’ll hear in the Godfall score that there are some instruments that appear right the way through - in both the combat and the exploration cues - perhaps most notably the solo cello, and solo female vocals.
Q: What’s your favorite piece you’ve created here, and at what point in the game will players be able to hear it?
MacDougall: Picking a favorite track is always a difficult thing - especially in a score like this that has so much content! There are a few tracks on the soundtrack I’d like to call out, although I’m hesitant to offer too much context for fear of giving things away. That said, the first call-out is pretty straightforward, as it’s one of the first tracks you hear in the game. It appears in the cinematic before you enter the world ‘for real’, and was actually one of the first pieces I wrote for Godfall. On the soundtrack album, it appears as track 3, “Land of the Valorians”.
Another track, which was one of the final pieces I wrote, is an alternative version of the main Godfall theme, called “Song of Aperion”, and appears as track 28 on the soundtrack. It features Ashok Klouda on cello, and the singer, Laurence Servaes, who both brought so much life and magic to the score with their performances. Here, the theme you hear right at the beginning in track 1 is transformed into a haunting, beautiful evolution of itself.
Q: Are you playing Godfall? What are your thoughts on the experience so far, especially regarding hearing your own music in the game?
MacDougall: Yes I am! I die a lot more than I should probably admit, but it’s a lot of fun to play! I’m a sucker for fantasy anyway, but the feel of gameplay is simply exquisite with the new PS5 controller - and landing some of those combos is thoroughly satisfying, and honestly, deeply addictive too.
I’m really proud of the score and how it turned out. As with any game or movie - or any other format - the music exists to add emotional weight to the experience, and I think it achieves that. I’m not one to listen to my own music and pat myself on the back - much less play the game just to listen to it, but my experience thus far has been good - and the game is so much fun to play that when I’m in player mode I’m more worried about not getting killed than anything else! So I guess in that sense, the music is serving and heightening the experience, and that’s enough for me.
On the topic of heightened experience, I’d also like to offer a massive shoutout to everyone at Counterplay Games who had a hand in how the game FEELS to play. There are a million little touches and details in there, transmitted not only visually and sonically, but through the haptics of the new PS5 controller. Whether it’s because using different weapons actually feel different, or because different surfaces feel different to walk on - or that the floating embers and particles actually react to your presence - the combination of all these little sensations combines to make something that feels so physical, and so immersive, that you finish a session feeling like you were actually there. …Just with fewer bruises at the end of it. Bravo.
Q: With Godfall finally released, are there any other projects you’re working on that you’d like to share with our readers?
MacDougall: I’d love to tell you more, but I’d probably get in trouble…
Q: Thanks again for your time. Before we wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to add about your experience as Godfall’s composer or anything else?
MacDougall: It’s been a real joy and honor to score this game and I’m really proud of my contribution to the next-generation launch line-up. I’m sure I speak for everyone involved when I say that we hope players enjoy their experience in the world of Godfall as much as we enjoyed creating it!
Godfall is available now on PC and PS5.
