Music of The Old Republic
posted Saturday Jul 17, 2010 by Josh Henry
One of the elements of the Star Wars movies that truly impacted me and made the franchise truly memorable is the music created by John Williams. Williams has been known for creating the score for various hit movies, like the Indiana Jones movies to more recent films like The Terminal or Harry Potter. He truly shows great aptitude for being able to capture a moment on the screen with nothing but a few subtle notes, to having you go on a thrill ride as Luke destroys the first death star.
By the looks of it, BioWare plans to carry on the traditions John Williams and continue to let music guide us on our journey through The Old Republic. According to their most recent Developer's Dispatch TOR will have 5 hours of original score, the score from both Knight of the Old Republic 1 and 2 AND the original score from the Star Wars movies. So when BioWare says that this is their biggest project to date, they aren't just blowing hot air.
Hit the break for details and a video of the music in the game.
The composers that have stepped up to fill the shoes of John Williams go by the names of Jesse Harlin, Mark Griskey, and Wilbert Roget II. You may recognize Harlin as the composer for the soundtrack to Star Wars: Republic Commando, and has been writing score for the gaming industry since 1999. Since 2003, he has been working for LucasArts and has worked on games such as Gladius, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith , and Star Wars Battlefront II. Mark Griskey is probably best-known for his work for LucasArts Entertainment in games such as Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II The Sith Lords, and scoring for many other popular video games. Wilbert Roget II is another composer that has worked with Lucas Arts before in games such as Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Fracture, and an upcoming Indiana Jones title. So needless to say we needn't worry because BioWare and Lucas Arts have some very talented people at their disposal.
After hearing some of the music from the Developer's Dispatch that will be in game, I was covered in goosebumps. Granted, this is me we are talking about here and anything related to Star Wars gets me pretty pumped but to not be at least a little affected by the powerful new and old score composers Jesse Harlin, Mark Griskey, Wilbert Roget II, and John Williams present, is damn near impossible. So check out the video and get lost in all that is Star Wars and hear the phenomenal music BioWare has come up with. Until next time to quote the great Obi-Wan Kenobi "May the force be with you."