Even if a Raising Kratos-style documentary is not planned for God of War Ragnarok, the guys from Santa Monica have not left us dry and in recent weeks they have been taking us behind the scenes of development with a series of short documentaries. The most recent is dedicated to the soundtrack and sees the contribution of Bear McCreary.
The latest installment in the God of War Ragnarok Behind the Scenes series is titled “The Gods of Score” and accompanies us to Jötunheimthe land of the Giants, in the company of the composer Bear McCrearyMusic Production Lead Sonia Coronado, Music Engineer Kellon Boytom and Music Affairs Justin Fields to offer us some valuable background on the creation of the soundtrack.
“While you’re playing, to have an emotional response that feels real, music can help generate that connection with what you’re doing,” began Bear McCreary, whose goal for God of War Ragnarok has been to “match, if not exceed, the level of the music of God of War (2018).” The US musician revealed that the biggest challenge he had to face during the realization of the Atreus theme, something that was not done for the previous chapter. “I struggled to do it. I created several drafts. Eventually, I came up with the idea of using Norse folk instruments as the predominant element for his theme, to make the orchestra fall back until it disappeared. I only left a very small string group, just five, and slowly edged them along. It was small and tight, like a rock track. Then I added the nickelharpa and a Hardanger fiddle, and wrote a theme for these two instruments that was the exact opposite of the Kratos theme”.
The next challenge was to create a theme that could adequately represent the relationship between Atreus and Angbroda, which has a big impact on the story of God of War Ragnarok, and make players become attached to the girl. “In many ways, the Angbroda theme pushes the boundaries of our music to extremes. I wanted the sounds to recall the same musical realm as those of Norse folk instruments, but I also wanted something different,” McCreary explained. After that, Sonia Coronado intervened explaining that Angbroda’s theme “is a perfect mix of sweetness and innocence, combined with the magical aspect of this kingdom. The use of dulcimers, for example, to represent that childlike innocence, but also the flute-like melody, which underpins the whole Angbroda story.”
If you want to know more, watch the sixth installment of the God of War Ragnarok Behind the Scenes series at the top of this news (or at this address). Did you know that the Game Director had to fight to keep a certain character in God of War Ragnarok? Warning, he’s a spoiler!
