Jack Wall is a video game veteran. Having been one of the medium’s most popular composes for just under two decades, with a career that spans from Myst III: Exile through to Mass Effect, he’s now returning to the biggest series of them all after composing the score for Call of Duty: Black Ops 3.
Teaming up with Treyarch once again following his work on Black Ops 2‘s soundtrack, Wall answered our questions regarding the latest entry in the blockbuster series, his plans for the future and the potential of him returning to a certain underrated and beloved BioWare game.
You’ve been a video game composer for over 15 years now. What key changes have you witnessed happen in the industry that have most altered the way in which you do your job?
Jack Wall: Yes, it’s been 19 years! I think the fact that I can get a video playthrough of a level very early in the production process is the biggest change. I can score it sooner for the developer so it can be more closely tied to what the player experiences and how they experience the gameplay itself. Also I can see that music has grown in importance as story-telling has matured in games. I love telling stories through music. It’s where almost all of my passion lies when creating a score for a game top to bottom.
Call of Duty is arguably the most popular video game series around, attracting a wide variety of players of different ages and from different backgrounds. How do you go about creating a soundtrack that will appeal to such a large audience?
I write music that I feel helps tell the story. I work really closely with audio director Brian Tuey on what music works and what doesn’t. We have big band music in Call of Duty: Black Ops 3! How cool is that? I think people will dig the songs, no matter what age or background.
After working on Black Ops 2, what attracted you most as a composer to return to its sequel?
For me, it’s about the challenge of coming up with new sounds and attacking a new campaign with new characters. I absolutely love the people at Treyarch. Their passion for what they do is contagious! Also, I just love that they asked me to come back. They really seem to appreciate what I do and that means a lot to me. I want to return that faith in me with the best score I can possibly write.
Many BioWare fans are clamoring for a Jade Empire sequel, a game you developed the soundtrack for. What’s the likelihood of that ever happening, in your opinion?
I really don’t know. All the people I worked with on the original are gone but it was a really great game, again with a great story. It would be fun to revisit that in some way at some point.
Jack Wall’s Black Ops 3 Soundtrack Highlights
“The 54 Immortals” -Theme for one of the enemy factions, The 54 Immortals, run by siblings, Goh Min and
Goh Xiulan. Features Tina Guo on erhu and electric cello.
“Liberty Road” -Homage to the early Call of Duty games taking place in WWII.
“Dreams” feat. Azam Ali -If you haven’t heard “Anthem” or “Pakistan Run” from the BOII soundtrack, check those
out. Then come back and listen to her again here. Isn’t she fantastic?
“A World Upside Down” -Remember “The Frozen Forest”? See if you can find it here. My version of the epic
dreamscape.
“Ego Vivo” -This is for a heavy battle taking place in a church. So why not ethereal choir?
“I Live (Orchestral Version)” -Based on a melody written by Treyarch audio director, Brian Tuey, this is my expanded
orchestral version for the end game sequence.
Black Ops 3 will see the return of a 4-player co-op campaign, which hasn’t been featured in the series since World At War. How did you factor in this multiplayer aspect when it came to the game’s soundtrack?
Characters, situations and areas have themes. I find that that sort of approach works as you can identify with those themes in different ways depending on who you play in the game.
What highlights of your work on Black Ops 3 are you most looking forward to gamers experiencing first-hand?
We recorded a 17-piece big band for the Zombie campaign which, for the first time, is included on the disk. I can’t tell you how proud I am of this music. We have 2 hidden songs for Zombie mode – with me writing the music and Cindy Shapiro writing the lyrics. Cindy is such a fantastic composer and lyricist in her own right and I think what we did with these songs is ground-breaking for a video game. They have a really classic feel and I really hope people like them. They are very special to me and they are probably among the best pieces of music I’ve ever written.
Then there are the perk jingles. I can’t explain how fun these were to write and produce. Rob Shapiro’s character voices are not to be missed (and yes Rob and Cindy are siblings – very talented family). In fact, all of the singers did a wonderful job. I took some existing perk jingles from previous Zombie campaigns and rearranged them and perhaps rewrote a few lyrics. Others like Widow’s Wine and Mulekick, are all new. We tried to make them more about the powers those perk jingles bring.
But really the whole score is probably some of my best work in a long time. I had so much fun making this score.
Call of Duty is well-known for its cinematic leanings and Hollywood aspirations. What kind of work goes into producing a soundtrack that can match the grand spectacle of the on-screen action?
I would say it’s much more difficult to write this sort of music for a game because you have to try to figure out so many options that the player might take at any given moment. I’ve come up with delivery methods that give us countless options and many of those options end up in the game. It can be very intense at times during the process of writing and producing the score but I’m as committed as the guys in the trenches making the game. It’s an all-in thing for me. TV is a bit easier to schedule and do. Movies are usually a shorter throw but all-in as well.
With there being such a swift turnaround on Call of Duty games, does that mean you will have already started work on the next game in the series?
No. J There are several studios making Call of Duty games and they rotate; I’ve worked on the last 2 Treyarch games and they were a few years apart.
With two major, blockbuster franchises under your belt, are there any other big video game series that you’d love the opportunity to work on?
Yes! Anything with a good story. I really enjoy making music that tells the story and creating a signature sound for original new work. So I’m less interested in being the next licensed game IP music guy – but something new that we are creating from nothing? I’m in!
