My dream is to make a ridiculously epic score for a videogame or movie. Don't get me wrong, I offer up praise to the Destructoid robot gods (and to the various other outlets) for my writing day jobs. I've done the odd scoring job, and have a couple of promising projects lined up for next year. But I've always dreamed of making music on a massive scale, with a huge Hollywood orchestra at my disposal. That's why I can't blame new videogame composer Wataru Hokoyama for going all-out on his first gig.
We don't know much about Sony's Afrika yet, and chances are that Hokoyama doesn't either, but that does not stop him from kicking our ears in with a wall of sound in a video of a session recording, found on Scoring Sessions. This is a Hollywood-style score... for a game about taking pictures?
Again, I don't blame the dude. I'd use a 60-piece orchestra for a puzzle game.
One thing's for sure: Sony has dished out a fair amount of money to make this score happen. It's not sounding like much of a game yet, but based on visuals, and now sound, I'm already impressed.
Sounds too... cheery IMHO. Like the music for a PG movie at the end once the bad guys have been vanquished. Perhaps that's what they're going for, but just isn't my cup of tea/coffee/red bull.
908peruvian: Somewhere there's a bridge without a troll under it.
It's a very nice arrangement, and 60 pieces is an enormous orchestra for a video game. I'll be keeping an ear out for the name Wataru Hokoyama in the future.
The score is really awesome for an unknown. Clearly these compositions will put him on the map though. Hopefully the game will be more than just adult pokemon snap in Afrika though, or at least match the epicness of the music somehow.
Btw Ive heard your stuff on OCRemix and your quite good yourself at making the epic arrangements.
As said twice, it really sounds like something out of Indiana Jones. Hopefully the composer will get a nice boost to his reputation if that's what he has to offer.
Super Mario Galaxy changed the way I think of video game music, however. Absolutely stunning OST there.
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10:41 AM on 07.08.2008 
