![]() This was a big deal as game audio up to that point did not have this functionality. Relic had spent a good amount of resources coming up with a proprietary frequency based audio engine which meant we had real-time filtering on a distance curve for any game object. Back then, game developers would literally have to write a graphics engine for their projects as licensed engines like Unreal and Unity didn’t exist yet. ![]() “The thing about Homeworld that was unique was the audio tools that Relic had. Without Adagio, Homeworld would simply not have had the emotional impact. Adagio became the musical pillar that the Homeworld narrative rested on. I think having the Adagio piece was a stroke of genius by Alex Garden, in the placement of a piece of Western Classical Art music into a video game. It is obviously an outstanding piece of composition but when coupled with that narrative moment, it shows the power of having correct music placement. “ Kharak is burning” and the narrative moment that followed would not have worked without Adagio. I loaded Adagio into the sound bank and it could not have turned out better. A milestone was pressing so I realized there was the 7-minute version of Adagio that we had only used a 2-minute portion of in the game’s opening Cinematic. I was tasked to come up with music for Mission 3 and I just could not get the tone right. Anyway, with the choral Adagio arrangement for the first Homeworld, it was a happy accident that it ended up in Mission 3 in the original. “Armoury Studios would also be where I would do the orchestral recording for Homeworld 2 in 2003. ![]() Bruce Fairbairn would suffer a heart attack on and pass away making Yes’ The Ladder album his last work. The Armoury Studios was owned by Bruce Fairbairn who produced albums for Aerosmith, AC/DC, Van Halen, The Cranberries, Kiss and Yes. Track 3 on the album was called Homeworld and was being recorded at the same time we were working on the game. When I started on the project, the choral version of Adagio had already been recorded and Yes was in the process of recording the album The Ladder at the Armoury Studios in Vancouver. “Both of those pieces were the idea of Alex Garden who was the then CEO of Relic Entertainment. Considering how specific these musical choices are, I wondered how they came about. One of the most memorable aspects to the first Homeworld game was its usage of the choral version of Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings and the song Homeworld by the progressive rock band, Yes. 'Homeworld 3' looks to continue that approach. Atmosphere plays a big part in the 'Homeworld' games, both visually and aurally, and the upcoming.
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