The third Q&A at The Pumpkin Post is all about music. And gaming. This time, I managed to ask Pedro Macedo Camacho, who is composing the music for A Vampyre Story, some questions, and I got answers too! Kudos to LGH for coming up with a few of these questions. Also I should mention again, as with the other interviews, I added some links to make it all a tad more educational. Enjoy!

First, could you please introduce yourself to us?
Hello everyone! My name is Pedro Macedo Camacho (pronounce it as “Kamashu” ) and I love games

How did you get involved in making music?
I play games since I was 3 years old (on the good old Spectrum) and kept playing them all my life. By the time I had a Commodore Amiga 500 (late 80’s), after hearing music from Shadow of the Beast, Flashback, Another World, Project-X, Monkey Island (and so many more excellent examples) I started composing with OctaMED Pro (a tracker in Amiga), and the love for composing grew even more and more.

A couple years later, when I was 15 I decided to go to the conservatory to learn Piano, Harmony, Composition and Orchestration side by side with a Jazz Piano School.

Already in Lisbon I had the luck to have Composition lessons with the best composition teacher in Portugal, Eurico Carrapatoso, which was able to make my passion for music grow even more and more. After 4 years with him not only I got a true friend but I also got a really strong and solid composition technique in all “classical” styles (from Renaissance, Baroque and Classical to Modern serial and modal music).

At the same time I kept playing games all the time and got into the pro gamer and clans scene quite a bit. I was even the WarCraft III TFT National Coach for one year.

Then I went to the best Jazz School in Portugal, Hot Clube Portugal, in piano. I played jazz piano professionally for a year in some clubs.

Recently prices for having a top quality digital studio dropped a lot so, for the first time, I was able to compete (in terms of audio quality) with the rest of the world in composition and that is when I showed up to the world.

So if you mix an almost-Hardcore Gamer with a classically trained composer + old-school electronic tracker composer + Jazz musician, you surely get a passionate Game Music Composer.

Can you name some of your favourite musicians and music pieces?
Absolutely! The composers that most influenced me were:
Johann Sebastian Bach, Josquin des Prez, Johannes Ockeghem, Palestrina, Igor Stravinsky, Olivier Messiaen, Eurico Carrapatoso, Luís Tinoco, Claude Debussy, Herbie Hancock, Duke Ellington, Matt Uelmen, Richard Wagner and John Williams.

Also, in general, World Ethnic Music and Old School Amiga Demo Scene Music and metal, influenced me a lot.

My favourite music pieces are The Firebird and Rite of Spring from Stravinsky, Tristan and Isolde from Wagner, St. Matthew Passion and so many other incredible works from Bach, Quatuor pour la fin du temps from Olivier Messiaen.

Where do you generally find the inspiration for your music?
I don’t believe in inspiration, or at least I never felt I lacked any until now. I don’t know if you believe me on this, but I always felt I had someone whispering in my mind all the melodies I do, because everything comes out so naturally and quickly for me. Then it is all a question of extremely hard work and dedication to orchestrate and sequence it to make it sound good.

What are some of the challenges of composing video game music?
The big challenge is to compose high quality music that sounds really awesome and right for each situation, but Video Games have many things that other formats don’t. For starters, music is not purely linear, so tracks can be heard hundreds of times (if not thousands).

Also, if you are composing adaptative music, many other details have to be in your mind while composing. So composing for video games has all the challenges that, for example, film music has, but many other additional ones.

When you’re playing a game, do you pay special attention to the music?
Absolutely. Not only music but all audio in general. I don’t feel like there should be nonstop music in all games. In fact, in certain games like RPG or FPS games, I prefer to have moments just hearing the winds or rain, and other moments that have music to enhance a certain moment or sensation.

I always say that sfx are what makes the visuals believable and music what makes a player really dive into the game, forgetting he is in fact looking at a monitor.

What are some of your favourite games?
Shadow of the Beast, Flashback, Another World, Project-X, Monkey Island 1, 2 and 3, Elvira: Mistress of the Dark, Diablo 2, Dragon’s Breath (aka Dragon Lord), StarCraft, WarCraft III, Speedball 2, Half Life, F.E.A.R., Sensible Soccer, Pro Evolution Soccer, Colin McRae (all of them), Gran Turismo, California Games, Manic Miner, Jet Set Willy, Chaos Engine, Cannon Fodder, Quake 4, Call of Duty, Battlefield, Utopia, Simon the Sorcerer, Grim Fandango, Full Throttle, Final Fantasy (all of them!), gosh, there are so many I loved to play, I really love games…

What are some of the specific sources of inspiration for the soundtrack to A Vampyre Story?
I must admit John Williams’ work on Harry Potter is a real masterpiece and it is unavoidable not to be influenced by all his music. All his orchestrations and motif development are absolutely marvelous! Because I knew many Monkey Island fans (such as myself) would be playing the game, I also made several groove oriented funny pieces (as opposed to spooky / funny orchestral pieces). Also gipsy, folk and marching band music inspired me for certain areas.

Unlike many people may think at first, I don’t really like Danny Elfman’s orchestrations and I never saw Nightmare before Christmas or Corpse Bride (I want to see this one, though!).

For instance, are there any vampire films or game soundtracks that have influenced it?
Sincerely, no. All vampiric films I knew were terror, not funny vampire movies and music was pretty much low level. I also don’t remind any funny vampire game around that could inspire me.

Have there been live recordings with musicians for the AVS soundtrack?
Not yet but I am planning on recording some parts.

Did you use any special instruments in the soundtrack?
Yes! But you will have to wait to hear them!

Is the music interactive, like how the iMuse system responds to situations in the game, or will it be played ’straight through’?
The way how music works in A Vampyre Story is in fact very similar to iMuse. The music is locked room by room and some rooms have several tracks depending on the story moment. It will be a very familiar method as used in most adventure games. I really believe this is the best way to approach an adventure game.

Will there be non-stop music, or will the game have quiet moments as well?
There is completely different and new music for each room. Music will be really important to set the mood in each situation. Also, there are some key melodies locked to some characters or situations that are orchestrated in several different ways. Playing the game you will understand in which section and/or with who you will have to interact in that room just by hearing the music.

How much is Bill Tiller leading the musical direction, and what does the general interaction between you and Autumn Moon look like?
First I read a couple of times the amazing and really funny plot that Dave Harris wrote. Then with such incredible artists as Bill Tiller and Bill Eaken, my work becomes really simplified. Their amazing black and white sketches are so inspiring that little has to be said. In the majority of the rooms I just tell Bill what “keywords” I am aiming for and he comments on them. All the rest is up to me and so far everyone is really loving my work! I am really so happy for that!

Just by looking at the game I am sure players will understand this game is the result of an enormous and huge passion by everyone involved. I can’t even tell you how much passion I put into all music I do. When everyone works with such joy and passion, interaction with everyone is extremely easy. On top of that, Bill, Amy and everyone else I had the pleasure to speak with are extremely nice persons.

What do you enjoy most about working with AME?
Everything!!!! The highest 3 points I can come up with are:

The right creative freedom (neither exaggeratedly high (do whatever you want), nor low (do whatever the producer wants), simply the perfect balance point that gives everyone the space they need to make great art and yet stay focused on the final product).

The love and passion about the game (everyone here really loves this game and wants to make it something really special. I can feel everyone is exceeding their own limits on it.).

The friendly people that are here (Everyone is really friendly and supportive, that gives the motivation and endurance that is needed to make a great game).

Finally, is there anything else you would like to say to the fans?
I hope you all enjoy the game and spread the word to everyone you know!

Also have in mind that this game is the result of a huge financial effort by Autumn Moon Entertainment and Crimson Cow.

In my case I can’t tell you how many sleepless nights I had to finish some of the tracks.
We love making this game and want to do more games for you but for that we need you to not support piracy.
We all know how the system works, this game is not going to be played online so there isn’t a CD-Key check with a main server each time the game launches and that makes life quite easy for piracy.
When we say piracy is theft, it really is much more than just stealing the funds for our day by day lives and financing future games, because in fact you also steal our motivation to continue to believe that it is worth it to work so hard for games.