If you dig deep into each of the many genres of music found around the world, you’ll find that there are so many styles within each and all sorts of musicians practicing them. Was there any real-world inspiration for K.K. Rather than trying to evoke all the emotions and images through the music, we strove to create music that allows the listener’s own emotions and imagination to fill in the space between the sounds. Doing so created a harmony with those in-game sounds.īy taking that approach, we were able to achieve music that suits, as we said earlier, a game that can be enjoyed by people in a variety of ways. Rather, we put the highest importance on composing music that shaped the space between the sounds. We also didn’t want to tell the whole story with music. We asked, “What kind of music will sound harmonious with all that?” The answer was music that cuts out all unnecessary sounds - left only the truly necessary. How did you fit those various environmental sounds together with the music? There are other sounds in the game, too - shooting stars, waves, footsteps, conversations with other characters. So basically, it needs to be enjoyable music, but we need to try to avoid musical expressions that lean too far in the direction of other emotions. While some people have fun peacefully interacting with the animal residents, others get their fun from the bit of tension created by fishing. What do you see the role of music in the series as?Īnimal Crossing is a game that can be enjoyed by people in many different ways. Music is vital in any game, but especially so in Animal Crossing, which players turn to for escape and even meditation of sorts. Also, the way a strummed chord reverberates conjures up images of a wide-open space with the horizon off in the distance and a pleasant breeze blowing, making the listener feel like they’ve been set free. We thought that this familiarity might help players feel relaxed and comfortable. That is also why the guitar is so familiar to everyone. Plus, anyone can pick up an acoustic guitar - it has a low barrier to entry, in that anyone can play music as long as they know a few chords. Keyboard instruments, like the piano, create an academic and complex feeling, whereas violins are too elegant for a deserted island. Our keywords for this island setting were “easygoing” and “free.” We thought an acoustic guitar and other string instruments like that might be suited to those keywords. What were some specific instruments or methods that you used to ensure the music would fit the game’s island theme? It was already clear that the opening theme would be a musical representation of the work, so having those kinds of discussions and deepening everyone’s understanding was very important. While we were creating this music, there was a lot of discussion among the staff to share the values and direction that would become the core of the music created for the game. The opening theme was created over a very long time, the melody appears in some form in all of the island’s hourly music and is also used in sound effects and other places. Was extra time spent composing the theme, knowing it was going to be such a key part of the game? The opening theme appears throughout the game in many different iterations. In order to create a rich gaming experience, it was critical to accurately perceive the characteristics of a given scene, think about what musical elements were called for based on those characteristics, and imagine the kind of mood that would ultimately be created by applying the music while actually playing the game. Were you able to experience gameplay and then write the music, or was it the other way around?įor this project, most of the songs were composed after having actually experienced the game first. After, we started creating the rest of the music. Because of that, we took a bird’s eye view while creating it, keeping the entire gaming experience in mind. The opening theme is representative of the whole work. The overall concept of the music was decided at an earlier stage in the production process, then we first completed the demo version of the title song in June 2018. Slider.) Totaka spoke to Billboard over email about the meticulous detail that went into creating the easygoing soundtrack: “What we wanted for the music was for there to be no sound that was unnecessary.” (He also appears in the game through his alter ego, the aforementioned icon that is K.K. That’s all thanks to Animal Crossing mastermind Kazumi Totaka, who has composed for the series since 2001. Lil Nas X, Mark Hoppus & More Artists Gear Up to Play New 'Animal Crossing' Game While Social…
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