George Oldziey Musician & Composer

WOO:	How long have you worked for Origin?
GO:	I came to Origin exactly three years ago last month (Feb.)
WOO:	How did you get started working there, and how did you get started composing music for games?
GO:	Since Origin was my first gaming music experience I'll answer these together. I've been a professional composer and performer all my life. That life, like all freelance careers, can have its ups and downs. After our son turned three I started thinking about looking for something steadier than teaching piano lessons, playing piano bar gigs and the occasional composition job. A friend of mine suggested that I send a demo to Origin, which I did. I had another friend who was already working here at the time as a composer so that helped somewhat. Even so it was 6 months before I got a call requesting another tape of "space combat" music. I sent in another demo not knowing it was for Chris Roberts who was looking for new music for Wing 3. Three days later I got the job and the rest is history.
WOO:	Which game was your favorite to compose for, which was most fulfilling for you, and which was the easiest/hardest?
GO:	They say the first time is always the best so I have to say that Wing Commander 3 was my favorite mostly because the whole genre was so new to me. The hardest so far was Wing Commander 4 mostly because of the sheer quantity that I had to compose for all the picture, not to mention the gameplay music. At the same time I think it was also the most fulfilling musically because I got to really expand on my ideas through the use of more sophisticated audio equipment and the advent of digital streaming. I've been very fortunate that all the music I've gotten to compose for Origin games has been very fulfilling. That isn't always the case for the professional composer/musician.
WOO:	How much time do you spend looking through the game's storyline and product before you start composing?
GO:	I try to get involved in the creative process as early in the development schedule as possible. I like to be at all the meetings when the first ideas are being bantered about for a new game. This way I can get a good idea of what vision and shape the other creative personel (artists, writers, programmers) see in a new product which gives me a "springboard" to start with. It also helps in alleviating technical problems down the road if I know what the game will be capable of doing both musically and otherwise. I started composing the game play music for Wing 3 and 4 fairly early in the schedule so that we had some of the music that would eventually be in the game to test with. It also game me material to extract for themes that would also be used in the movie portion of the game. The bulk of the movie music (3+ hours worth) was composed rather late in the schedule as rough - cut reels of picture started to roll in after the shoot was completed.
WOO:	What, in your opinion, are the benefits and disadvantages to using MIDI music or Streamed Audio?
GO:	In my opinion, as games continue to be able to utilize better resolutions of streamed audio you will gradually see the phasing out of MIDI music for the most part. I have to admit that it was rather frustrating to hear all the game play music I did for Wing 3 played on other general MIDI cards other than the one I used to compose with. No piece of MIDI music will sound as good as it will on the card that it was originally intended for. With all the cards on the market this obviously becomes a consistency, if not a quality issue. Streamed digital audio enables the composer and sound designer to be assured that their creations will sound the same on every system that is capable of digital playback. It also gives us a virtually limitless variety of instrumentation and sounds to choose from; synths, samplers and even live music. I know there were some customers who owned expensive GM cards out there who were disappointed with not being able to use their card's MIDI capabalities with Wing 4. We are planning to release the next Wing Commander game with 22kz, 16 bit stereo sound in both game play and movies (Wing 4 game play was 22kz, 8 bit mono). I believe that this will only continue to improve to the point where we will soon be hearing CD quality music in games.
WOO:	Music can set the tone for an entire game, what relevance do you give to that fact when you compose?
GO:	I place a very high priority to this concept when I am composing. It's what helps me keep the consistency in my scores throughout a project which may take many months (and a lot of notes) to complete.
WOO:	What can you tell us about the Cyberspace opera you have composed for? (Or is that will compose for?)
GO:	It is called "Honoria in Ciberspazio" and is still a work in progress. It began with a small group of friends who one day realized that many of the relationships that seem to develop over the internet can be very operatic in nature. They then set up a web page where anyone could submit text describing their own experiences. This was all edited into a libretto (opera text) which now resides on that page (http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~opera). I came on board last October when they needed some original music for a webcast of a video montage of different scenes that they created. That music was also performed at a Cyberarts festival in Valencia, Spain a few weeks after the webcast. Right now we are in a fundraising mode with the goal being a full scale stage production in about 18 months. It's a pretty tough and challenging undertaking but a lot of fun.
WOO:	Are you much of a gamer yourself, and if so, what games or types of games are your favorites?
GO:	I have to admit that I'm not much of a gamer. I play the WC games, Crusader - No Regret, and Madden Football from time to time.
WOO:	Do you have any hobbies or interests that you get into in your spare time other than composing music?
GO:	Besides spending time with my family I like to cycle, swim and run a lot and am planning to do my first triathlon this Spring. I also like reading and going to movies. I also get to perform music fairly regulary. I am the keyboardist with an Austin based Brazilian music band, Susanna Sharpe and Samba Police and do some jazz piano gigs from time to time.
WOO:	Is there anything else you'd like to tell us about yourself?
GO:	Not much, except that I really enjoy what I'm doing and feel fortunate to have been involved with some great people here at Origin. It's great to know that there is such a keen interest in what we are doing. I know I speak for my compatriots here when I say that we will continue striving to deliver the best gaming experience possible.
WOO:	Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to answer some of these questions for us. :)
GO:	My pleasure.

Many thanks to Newton Dragon for his assistance with this interview.