GameCulture Exclusive: Hollywood Composer Chance Thomas Discusses Avatar: The Game

When it comes to videogames based on blockbuster movies, no one's more prolific than Chance Thomas. As a composer and producer of original music for videogames like Lord of the Rings Online, King Kong, X-Men and now Avatar, Thomas has added depth to the music that plays in today’s home entertainment surround sound systems.

Thomas worked closely with Ubisoft, James Cameron and James Horner, the composer of the Avatar movie score, to bring a unique auditory experience to the new Avatar videogame. Thomas, who has won numerous awards over the years, talks about what made the new Avatar game different from anything else he’s ever worked on.

[2009.12.03 8:58PM PST Update: We apologize for initially identifying film composer James Horner as 'Simon.']

How involved was James Cameron and Lightstorm with the music?
Cameron's team was involved with the videogame music from the very beginning. They helped Ubisoft define a music style guide for the RDA and Na’vi before demos were ever solicited for the project. They were involved in the initial composer screening and selection. And of course they helped arrange our meeting with the film’s composer, James Horner.

What were the similarities between how the film and game music were created?   

It was fascinating for me to discover how similar our core approach was to certain parts of the score, and how radically different other parts were. For example, I had been scoring the Banshees’ flight with male Native American voices, classical and oriental flutes, and a Western film-style orchestra. Horner had also made some of these same choices but with a significant twist that you’ll hear when you experience the film. I won’t throw out a spoiler, but you’ll know it when you hear it. Of course, most variances had to do with the difference between the film content we were shown and the game levels I had been writing for. Much of the film we watched centered around establishing scenes, character introduction and development, and initial plot progression. In contrast, Ubisoft had me writing heavy action music from day one.

What did you get out of meeting the Avatar film’s composer?

The upshot of the meeting? I came away with greater clarity on the language of the film score. As a result, I was able to integrate some of that language into the game score.  And as I did so, the team was able to make informed decisions about what parts of that language they wanted to retain for the game. Just for the record - go ahead and print my prediction right now – Horner gets the Oscar this year for his Avatar film score. No contest.   

What’s your process in creating a score for a game?

I would come into the studio and look at screen shots for a certain part of the game. I would read the game design docs. I would talk with the audio leads about it. Then I would close my eyes and imagine what it felt like to live that part of the experience. The more deeply I could imagine what it would feel like to be there, the more easily and succinctly the musical ideas and impressions would come. I think creating it first spiritually tends to yield a superior result.

Ubisoft enlisted you to score the entire game, which is not the norm in the videogame business. How did this help you?

Here’s the difference. And every composer I know will concede this privately if they trust you enough. When a composer is given the entire score for a project, it becomes more than a job.  Somewhere in the psyche there’s a knob that gets turned up to 11. Or maybe even 12! They’ll bring a bit more passion, more polish, more second mile push to find the magic, more creativity and intelligence to make the score an artistic and technical magnum opus. When the buck stops with you, it ups the ante. Part of this is the nature of any artist.  The single composer sees the entire soundscape, creating a coherent tapestry of harmony, melody, rhythm and style. These kinds of scores tend to resonate brilliantly from top to bottom. Another part of the explanation is simple economics.  If a composer is only hired for part of a score, they’ve got to go out and find additional work to keep afloat.  That dilutes their attention, energy, focus and creativity. And the score will suffer for it.

Will there be a music soundtrack or iTunes accessibility to the music?

I’m working on this even as we speak. Videogame music is a cultural force today. There's pent up and growing demand and appreciation for standalone videogame music worldwide, both recorded and live. Purchasing the Avatar film soundtrack will certainly give people a great ride, a wonderful artistic experience. But the Avatar game soundtrack will take listeners to amazing places the film score never goes. And that’s worth exploring.