Garry-Schyman
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BioShock Infinite to be scored by resident series composer Garry Schyman
The man responsible for lending BioShock and BioShock 2 their respective aural atmospheres will be returning to the orchestra pit for BioShock Infinite, creative director Ken Levine revealed during his Reddit AMA."We're proud to announce that Garry Schyman, composer of BioShock 1 and 2 has returned to the composer's chair for BioShock Infinite," Levine said in the comments. "His score is very different from the first two games, yet very much guided by the same aesthetic principles. We were lucky to have him and I can't wait until you get to hear some of his stuff. He's working in a different, sparer style, but it's awesome."Aside from the BioShock series, Schyman's resume also includes work on XCOM: Enemy Unknown and Dante's Inferno, among others, though nothing he's worked on before now has featured such a strong emphasis on psychic horse repair. Well, we assume; we've never seen Horseplayer.Update: This post originally listed XCOM: Enemy Unknown among Schyman's previous work, which is incorrect. In actuality, Schyman has worked on Take-Two's completely different XCOM.
BioShock maestro making Dante's Inferno sound like Hell
We did a little background check on Garry Schyman, the guy EA has picked to write the score for Dante's Inferno. Yes, as the publisher brags, he did the music for BioShock. But it may be his earlier material that caught the eye ear of Visceral Games. We are, of course, referring to his work on the late-'80s sing-a-long sitcom Rags to Riches. Check it out and you'll know why he was tapped to create a soundtrack for Hell. Schyman, whose Inferno score has already been recorded at London's famous Abbey Road Studios, was also the composer for the likes of Destroy All Humans! and -- most recently -- Resistance: Retribution. You'll be able to buy (but not copy!) his latest soundtrack in January.
Film composers record new highs in game scores
We may take offense to mainstream media's characterization of early game music as "annoying loops of ear candy," but there's no denying that today's game soundtracks are truly professional endeavors. The Seattle Times today published a profile of some of the industry's most established composers and their processes -- not to mention their paychecks. By the article's estimate, composer Garry Schyman (he scored BioShock, ya know) could earn something like $126,000 for his work on the Resistance: Retribution soundtrack.Currently, Schyman is working with a nine-piece brass ensemble in the London Bridge Studio in Shoreline, Washington -- the grunge era haunt of Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains and Soundgarden, to name a few. While those bands grew out their hair and donned pop's, uh, grungy flannels, Schyman was breaking into the game scene, being among the first to record orchestral music for a game (Voyeur, if you must know). Today, Schyman works almost exclusively on game soundtracks. "Film music can be very soft and ambient," says Schyman. "But game developers want strong musical statements. So from a creative standpoint, games are a great place to be right now."
