Peter-McConnell
Latest
Jukebox Heroes: Hearthstone's soundtrack
A new Blizzard game is a reason for soundtrack lovers everywhere to celebrate because if there's one thing this studio does well (other than take goofy races very seriously), it's creating incredible scores for its games. Even though Hearthstone is a smaller title with a smaller score, I welcomed it nevertheless. Composers Peter McConnell, Jason Hayes, and Eric Dodds clearly had a lot of fun creating the whimsical, relaxing score for this game, and I must say that the music is perfectly ideal for the material. It hearkens back to the many tavern themes from World of Warcraft without being a complete copycat. You can actually download the entire soundtrack for free on the Hearthstone official site, but before you do that, why not listen to my favorite picks from the score?
Peter McConnell's Broken Age score available Jan. 28
Peter McConnell's original orchestral soundtrack for Double Fine's Broken Age will be available for download next week. McConnell's previous work can be heard in Double Fine's Brutal Legend and Psychonauts, as well as in classic LucasArts adventure games Grim Fandango and Monkey Island. The full soundtrack will be available for download on Bandcamp when the game's first act officially launches on January 28. Samples of select tracks can be heard right now over on McConnell's Soundcloud page. Broken Age is an adventure game about two teenagers, Vella Tartine and Shay Volta, living separate lives in their own distinct worlds. The two are linked by their coming-of-age predicaments, and players can switch between each teen at any time. We streamed a good chunk of the game yesterday, so feel free to give our archived video a peek.
Jukebox Heroes: Star Wars: The Old Republic's soundtrack
When an upcoming MMO announces its collector's edition, the very first thing I check for is whether it includes the soundtrack or not. I know, big surprise, right? But that often can be a crucial factor in my purchasing the product, especially if it doesn't look like the score's going to be released anywhere else. Star Wars: The Old Republic's CE included the soundtrack... but only half of it. The other half was given away for free by BioWare in the days leading up to the game's release. So with my CE purchase and a little downloading know-how, I was able to piece together the SWTOR soundtrack to make a cohesive whole. Making a Star Wars score on the scale of an MMO was a huge project, and BioWare enlisted a host of composers for it: Mark Griskey (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II) Gordy Haab (Kinect Star Wars), Wilbert Roget (Monkey Island 2), Lennie Moore (Halo Combat Evolved Anniversary), Jessie Harlin (Star Wars: Republic Commando), Jared Emerson-Johnson (The Walking Dead), Peter McConnell (Psychonauts), and Steve Kirk (Farmville). It's a great soundtrack that fuses John Williams' classic strains with each composer's own take on the universe, and it definitely deserves to be covered.
