Full Q&A: Chance Thomas of “Avatar” game
Composer Chance Thomas provided a lot more information about working on the music for the “Avatar” game than what I was able to work into the recent Oklahoman article. Of local interest, Thomas grew up here in Oklahoma City, and formerly played in a band with Edgar Cruz. But his composing skills, especially in the video game industry, are nationally renowned.
Chance Thomas conducts an orchestral recording session.
Here at Nerdage, I’m providing the entire Q&A, which is an interesting look into working on a game of truly massive scale. For more information about the award winning composer Chance Thomas, see www.hugesound.com.
Matt Price: What are some of the technical innovations of this game?
Chance Thomas: James Cameron’s Avatar is the world’s first stereoscopic 3D videogame. That means it has the potential to deliver the same degree of depth of field immersion as the best 3D theatrical films. Being able to pull this off was a crucial factor in Cameron’s decision to hire Ubisoft’s Montreal studio to create his game. Apparently the guys in Montreal were the first engineers in the world to figure out how to do this for a game in a commercially manageable way. Pretty big deal.
For players, this means the game world will come alive visually on the screen in a way they’ve never experienced before. This is going to sound like a total oxymoron, but it’s hard to describe the profoundly subtle transformation that real depth of field brings to the gaming experience. Especially as you fly on a Banshee or move through the jungles of Pandora (or as the various creatures in the jungle move toward you)!
Another technical innovation, which hits closer to home for me, is the game’s multi-layered adaptive music system. In simple terms, the music system is designed to trigger natural sounding but emotionally impactful music changes based on whatever is happening to the player in the game.
It’s a brilliant design by audio engineers Steven Dumont and Brian Youds. Each level is scored with four core music states, plus transitional music bridges, specific underscore for important game events, and in-game cinematic music. Each type of music has its specific function within the game experience.
One of the writing challenges was to insure that each composition would connect naturally to any number of other compositions in the level. Making all of those harmonic touching points – while at the same time creating music that was actually compelling in its own right – was a mental feat of extraordinary challenge!
To really pull this off required that I create massive amounts of music. In fact, if you took all the music files I delivered and played them back to back from start to finish, it would take you more than 4 and ½ hours to hear them all.
So what’s the bottom line? Between the stereoscopic 3D visuals and the multi-layered adaptive music, Avatar makes for a very rich and immersive gameplay experience.
MP: What did you look to for inspiration when creating the original music?
CT: The first source of inspiration is always the project itself. In this case I was able to 
experience both the game and the film as works-in-progress. Add to that screen shots of the game various levels, game design documents, and a slew of in-game cinematics. I would have frequent conversations with the team in Montreal, because a work in progress game is typically a very broken game. They would have to clue me in as to what was supposed to be happening.
But outside the source material, my best work always happens when I play a game level, watch some footage or read a design document – and then open the eyes of my imagination inside that world. I put myself inside that moment and try to understand the emotion that exists there. For example, in the game’s opening moment, you soar above Pandora’s surface in a military space cruiser, heading toward the RDA base for your first deployment on this stunningly beautiful but mysterious alien planet. When I thought about how to score that moment, I first put myself there, on that ship, in that situation. How do I feel? What kinds of thoughts are flooding my mind? I imagine there are parallels to how an actor first approaches a script.
Then, once I get a strong emotional response to the situation, I put on my composer hat, so to speak. I start thinking about what this moment sounds like. That’s when the musical ideas start to dawn on me. I’ll try them out in my mind, see how they make me feel. Do they call to mind the situation on the screen? If the picture disappeared, would the music still put you there? It’s all very emotionally driven, very fundamental.
Once I get a clear direction intrinsically, then it’s time to try to capture those pieces of inspiration with the tools at my disposal – keyboard, Digital Performer, Pro Tools, banks of music sounds and sample libraries, etc.
MP: Tell me about the collaboration between those working on the game and those working on the film.
CT: Cameron’s team was very involved in all aspects of the game. Once they selected a development studio to create their game, they got right in the trenches. According to everything I’ve heard from the game team, it was a very collaborative effort.
But personally, I can speak most knowledgably about the music side. I met the film’s producer John Landau in Montreal at the very beginning of my contract. I expressed to him my strong feelings about the importance of aligning the aesthetic of the game score with that of the film. You see, when I’ve worked on movie games in the past (King Kong, X-Men, Lord of the Rings) there was never any effort to connect the film music team with the game music team. So I asked John if he would arrange a meeting between myself and 
the film’s composer James Horner (Titanic, Braveheart, Star Trek).
It took a long time, but eventually the two of us were able to meet together, so I could compare notes with him and hear his take on the world of Avatar. It was an important meeting for me because, while in some cases we were on the same frequency, in other cases, he had a different take. So it was useful for me to understand those differences in order to bring those colors and flavors into the game score as well. Terrific guy, by the way. Very humble, gracious and engaging.
MP: Can you describe the type of music players will hear during the game?
CT: Let me first offer some context. There are two races that comprise the antagonist and protagonist factions in this game. The Na’vi are the alien planet’s indigenous humanoid species. They are a native people, spiritually connected with the natural world around them. They are in many respects akin to the Native Americans on our own planet.
The music for the Na’vi is a blend of tribal elements (rough hewn drums, organic percussive instruments, flutes, chanting, etc.) and orchestra.
The other side is the RDA. They represent the industrial military complex from earth. These are scientists and soldiers, with all their assorted tech, machinery and weaponry.
The music for the RDA is represented with western film orchestra and massive percussion mixed with tech and synth elements.
MP: Tell me about working on a game with such a large scale.
CT: Wow, four and ½ hours of music tracks. Much of it action music. For the more musically astute among your readers, they will appreciate the challenge and complexity of creating hours of music at 140-160 beats per minute, orchestrated across the full spectrum of a symphony, with the addition of organic tribal elements and alien referenced synthetic tracks.
But to be honest, it was a total rush. Incredibly invigorating for me. I was working 100+ hours a week for a few months, but I composed this score in my own home so everything that mattered was close at hand. My wife and I still managed to keep our weekend date night. I still had time with my children every day. And I still kept Sunday off limits from working, so I could get rested, re-centered, and keep my spiritual and family life on track. It was a physical and mental marathon in ways, but I think the result is worth it. If people who play the game feel like the music adds a little bit of magic to the experience for them , then it was definitely worth it.
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very good show. torusmasto good in fight.