The original "End of Eternity" mixing studio Systematic Productions (peripherals, protest heroes, architects) helped us solve the creative and commercial challenges of publishing video game music.
Doom fans are worried about "Doom 2016" and Eternal doom, May break away from the franchise. After a series of incidents in the past 48 hours, his working relationship with id Software and Bethesda is suspected.
The electronic version of Doom Eternal's soundtrack was finally released to customers who bought the collector's edition of the game. After a month's delay, this was not the soundtrack fans wanted. Audio enthusiasts analyzed the audio track and found a series of errors in the way the audio track was mixed. The creator of Ruff Audio and blog author Reace Niles initially emphasized the problem of poor mixing quality in the Twitter thread. He compared the waveforms of the DOOM 2016 version of the BFG track with the Doom Eternal version and concluded that the latter's mixing has been seriously The compression result is of poor quality. Since then, he uploaded a YouTube video to further clarify the mixing process for anyone interested in learning more.
This is a comparison between the original BFG division in the soundtrack of Doom 2016 (left) and the BFG 2020 mix in the soundtrack of today's Eternity (right).
Note how the wavelengths in BFG 2020 form almost perfect straight bars, while the original bands have higher definition pic.twitter.com/TCJRdOe1Yf
—Dooming Through: The Eternal Vision 🐶 (@thatACDCguy) April 19, 2020
I didn't mix it, and I wouldn't do it. You will be able to discover a small part of my mix (such as Meathook, Command and Control, etc.).
-Mick Gordon (@Mick_Gordon) April 19, 2020
Niles's topic prompted Mick Gordon to answer directly, saying that he "will not do this" in response to the prominent mixed defects. Gordon went on to say that he only mixed some tracks (cultural base, cultural prayers, sinful idols, the only thing they were afraid of, the genocide who welcomed home, reduced prayer, sinister, command and control, meat hook, betray , Eternal doom). Although the metadata seems to indicate that this is Chad Mossholder, audio director of id Software, it is unclear who mixed the rest of the music.
Although any current attempts to unravel the relationship between Gordon, id Software and Bethesda are pure speculation, the continuing fiasco around the soundtrack of Doom Eternal shows that AAA video game publishers are abusing video game music. Distributing soundtracks is not easy, and too many companies underestimate the music process and commercial responsibility involved in the distribution of video game soundtracks.
It is important to note that although many fans start talking about Gordon not mixing his own music, composers usually mix with others. In fact, music mixing and mastering are usually performed by external parties. The composer may be too close to his music, resulting in minor flaws and deafness.
Gordon may have signed a contract to create music for Doom Eternal, but this does not give him the right to mix and master music. Music rights are very complex, and contracts vary from contract to contract. The "Game Audio Industry Survey 2019" found that 98% of AAA composers do not have all the rights to their music. This means that video game publishers usually have music rights and have the final say over who will mix, master, and edit the work after the original track is made. Over the years, many composers have learned to deal with these problems simply.
"It's a bit surprising to see the public play music to the publisher in this way and react to the music. This is our common behavior. Nothing unusual." Resident Evil 2 Remake with Devil May Cry.
He explained that when the game composer works on his own track, the audio director will give them a loudness requirement, the so-called integrated sound value. Any music they create needs to be superimposed with other elements of the audio and produce a certain loudness when put together.
“The hardness of the sound is essential in the game, because it must be static things that are set in stone. Therefore, the mix in the game – they just used these mixes and made soundtracks from it. Compared to the remixing of the soundtrack of the year and the re-editing of all the tracks, this is a remarkable artistic feat. "
For the second opinion, we contacted Derby music producer Ben Gaines (also known as AudioMage) to analyze the FLAC files of the other two audio tracks in the Eternal track: Meat hook, By Gordon and Metal hellGordon did not mix it up.
Gaines explained: “Obviously, Mick ’s own mixture has a solids content of -10.8 RMS, which is your standard commercial loudness for an incredibly dense metal mixture.” “As you are providing in the analyzer and wave capture As seen in the device, although its waveform is actually quieter, it still has more dynamic characteristics and perceptible loudness. Mick's mixing in all aspects is more balanced. "
He painted another painting for "Metal Hell". You will notice how Metal Hell's FG-X image (below) edits the music in red. When editing audio, it will be distorted.
"In short, this mix is so dynamically destroyed that it is almost impossible to hear. While mixing into the forgotten, the input power is up to -4.9 RMS, which is a mess. Looking at the general spectrum and balance, we can also see it It is heavily mined in the IF range and lacks much of the basic content found in Mick ’s mix. "
This is a comparison between the original BFG division in the soundtrack of Doom 2016 (left) and the BFG 2020 mix in the soundtrack of today's Eternity (right).
Note how the wavelengths in BFG 2020 form almost perfect straight bars, while the original bands have higher definition pic.twitter.com/TCJRdOe1Yf
—Dooming Through: The Eternal Vision 🐶 (@thatACDCguy) April 19, 2020
Although time constraints seem to be the biggest reason, it is unclear why the soundtrack of Doomsday is not as high-quality as the previous release. The collector's edition of the game aims to release the original soundtrack of Doom Eternal in a digitally high-quality, non-destructive version. On March 11, 2020, Bethesda released the latest news, saying that customers will not receive digital soundtracks as they did on March 20. However, it does claim that "it is working hard to deliver the soundtrack as soon as possible after the release date." "Although this does not explain who or what other factors may cause the delay of the audio track, it can explain why it is eager to complete.
Fans clearly have high hopes for the soundtrack of Doom Eternal. Gordon's music handling in Doom 2016 is meticulous, including storing Satan symbols in the audio, and using seven-string, eight-string, and nine-string guitars to reach the minimum playable notes on the guitar. The heaviest video game soundtrack ever, and an excellent industrial metal album.
Unfortunately, the album released for Doom Eternal did not meet these expectations: it sounds like it was torn directly from the game, the mixing is not good, the selected tracks beat together, hope they can be a complete The album passed.
Gordon has high hopes for the Voice of Eternity, and plans to produce it by the Australian recording studio Systematic Productions, which is such as Surrounding, Protest hero, architect, Devon Townsend with Bury tomorrow. We contacted Ermin Hamidovic, the owner of the studio, to tell us in detail about his planned participation.
Ermin Hamidovic ’s Systematic Productions was originally due to Doom Eternal ’s original soundtrack, having worked with metal bands such as Periphery and Protest the Hero.
"About two years ago, I received a Like a thief. They said that their mixing engineer Mick Gordon had suggested that I do mastering, "he explained.
As passionate gamers and loyal fans of Doom 2016, Hamidivik and Gordon finally laid the foundation and worked out a plan to cooperate at some point in the future. Hamidovic finally received a call from Gordon earlier this year asking if he wanted to participate in the commercial release of the original soundtrack of Doom Eternal. He seized the opportunity.
He told us: "We have a fairly detailed plan to complete the project by the end of March, but once the silence of radio broadcasting begins, I know that things behind the scenes are not going well."
After realizing that he no longer seems to be involved in the project, Hamidić posted on Facebook plans to participate in the project, describing the opportunity as one of the "richest individual performances" of his career, and How the music industry has now become a shortcut to one of the best heavy industry records ever. We asked Hamidevich to share his thoughts on the release of the soundtrack of Doom Eternal.
"I can only say that from a commercial point of view, the large-scale entertainment industry, whether it is music, movies or video game industries, is difficult to traverse. A person often faces many forces pushing and pulling in different directions. When it comes to big sums When funding, huge efforts may be required to obtain any kind of clarity or direction, especially if the considerations are artistic in nature, "he said.
He said: "In this case, it is obvious that the artistry is not fully respected, and the fan base is not respected." "I hope that the situation can be corrected in some way with sufficient support from the community. .
"Ultimately, although I lost my way in a passion project, and Mick ’s months and years of production work were unwelcome at the finish line, the people who are really lost here are those who promise to have a full soundtrack. People. Their sincerity is used against them. As a long-term game player and someone who has followed the industry ’s development trajectory and its monetization practices over the past decade, I find this annoying. ”
It is unclear whether the original soundtrack of "Eternal Doomsday" will enjoy physical distribution like its previous generation. Laom Records released the original soundtrack of "Doom 2016". Fans have been waiting for the release of vinyl records, so they have been well received by fans. We contacted Laced Records and asked if they participated in the actual release of the original soundtrack of "Doom Eternal", but no one responded to our request.
We contacted Bethesda for comment but received no response. We also contacted Mick Gordon, who admitted his working relationship with Hamidovic and provided the following statement, but was unable to comment further.
"I am very proud of my work. This is everything I do, everything I have, and I am fully committed to it. I am still trying my best to understand the situation, so I cannot comment further-please understand."
The original Soundtrack of Doom has millions of playback methods on platforms such as YouTube and Spotify. Given the popularity of Gordon's work and the monetary value it brings, it will be surprising if Bethesda will not be interested in the physical release of Doom Eternal Sound at some point in the future. This may provide Gordon, id Software and Bethesda with an opportunity to solve their problems and cooperate again with some kind of ability.
If you want to learn from this, it is that video game publishers need to start taking music in games more seriously. It also highlights the challenges that composers must face every day when working with large organizations.
Video game music has never been so popular, and fans attach great importance to it, because those who travel thousands of miles to a concert or the hard-won money to spend on video game records and CDs. If the video game soundtrack is properly managed, it can become an important part of the game marketing effort, which can promote the expectation of the game before the game is released and extend the shelf life of the game. If this process is not properly managed, it may cause significant reputation damage to publishers. In the case of "Eternal Destruction Warrior", only time will tell if we can recover the loss, and fans will get the promised soundtrack.
