Jason Graves

Featured, Game Music

My Top Five Pieces of Scary Video Game Music (Ryan’s Picks)

October 19, 2018 | Ryan Paquet | 13 Comments Share this

As Halloween approaches, over at Original Sound Version we are again looking at scary video game music. Back in 2015 I wrote Game Soundtracks For Your Soul Level 13 where I highlighted some of my most memorable pieces of scary game music. The games I highlighted included the Friday the 13th and Jaws on NES, Silent Hill, Fatal Frame, and Resident Evil 4. This year I’ve written about an additional top five pieces of scary game music. Other writers for OSV will share their selections as we get closer to Halloween.

Read on to see my top five picks for scary game music.

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Game Music

MOSS The Original Game Soundtrack is Available for Pre-order

July 24, 2018 | Ryan Paquet | Comments Off on MOSS The Original Game Soundtrack is Available for Pre-order Share this

On August 3, 2018, Materia Collective will be releasing Jason Grave’s score to Moss. Jason Graves has scored several games including the Dead Space series, Tomb Raider, Until Dawn, and Far Cry Primal.

The VR game was developed by Polyarc for the PlayStation 4 and PC. The game’s description reveals that it begins in a library, where you play as the reader. You find an old book and once you flip through pages you get transported to a fantasy land inside the book. There you meet a young mouse, Quill and the adventure begins. You can view the game’s trailer below.

The game’s trailer features the song “Home to Me” with vocals performed by Malukah, who has worked with Jason Graves previously on Far Cry: Primal, and with Austin Wintory on The Banner Saga. The soundtrack also features Kristin Naigus on Flute, Oboe, English horn and Jeff Ball on Violin. You can sample three of the upcoming album tracks featured on Polyarc’s Soundcloud page below.

The album will features 11 tracks, and can be pre-ordered digitally from Amazon. Have you played Moss? Did you enjoy the music?
Events, Game Music

ECGC 2016 Wrapup

May 5, 2016 | Hassan DuRant | 1 Comment Share this ECGC 2016 Wrapup

Late last month, Raleigh NC was host to one of the biggest gatherings of game developers on the east coast. The aptly-named East Coast Games Conference (ECGC) wrapped up its seventh installment in April, but this was only the second year with events that actually catered to the game audio community. Lucky us!

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Events, Game Music

East Coast Games Conference: 2016 Audio Lineup Announced

April 9, 2016 | Hassan DuRant | Comments Off on East Coast Games Conference: 2016 Audio Lineup Announced Share this
North Carolina is where you’ll find the biggest hub for video game developers on the east coast. Surprised? I was too, and I’ve lived here all my life! On April 20th, thousands will flock to the Raleigh Convention Center for the 8th East Coast Games Conference—but despite being the largest gathering of devs this side of the Mississippi, the conference is still under the radar for many.

While the East Coast Games Conference (ECGC for short) has been a strong meeting grounds for programmers, artists, and writers, the audio scene has been lacking.

That all changed last year, when the conference introduced its first-ever audio track: a series of talks, panels and events aimed at the game audio community. I had the pleasure of attending last year’s ECGC, and it was a life-changing experience. I met so many talented composers, musicians, sound designers—it made me realize, yes I do want to spend the rest of my life in cahoots with these crazy individuals.

Last year the conference attracted composers like Jason Graves (Dead Space, Far Cry Primal) and sound designers like Akash Thakkar (Hyper Light Drifter) to talk about getting into the games industry, negotiating work as a freelancer, advanced sound design techniques and more.

This year’s roster for the audio track includes:
- Chris Groegler, sound designer for Red Storm Entertainment
- Xiao’an Li, composer and director for East Coast Scoring, a full-time studio orchestra
- Steven Melin, an independent games composer
- Alyssa Menes, independent composer, sound designer, orchestra director, and resident Nintendo nerd
- Jack Menhorn, award-winning sound designer for Boss Key Productions
- DJ Yingling, sound designer for Insomniac Games
Additional speakers will be announced soon. They’ll be talking about everything from VR audio innovations to arcade games, which means ECGC 2016 is shaping up to be a fantastic event for game audio.

If you can’t make it this year, you can live vicariously through me as I cover the event on Twitter. Be on the lookout for a wrap-up of all the audio events after ECGC ends, April 22nd.

Mr. Hassan DuRant is a composer out of North Carolina and a guest writer for OSV. All information and opinions are his own.
Game Music, Reviews

Majestic and Terrifying: Until Dawn Original Soundtrack (Review)

December 2, 2015 | Ryan Paquet | Comments Off on Majestic and Terrifying: Until Dawn Original Soundtrack (Review) Share this

Jason Graves’ soundtrack to Until Dawn is both chilling and beautiful. The music is a wonderful orchestral score that has moments of pure skin crawling themes, and hopeful melodies that give you a sense that things are going to be okay until they aren’t. Which is absolutely perfect for a survival horror game, although I have not played the game yet I feel that I’ve experienced one the most significant part of it.

Jason Graves has composed the music for several video games including Dead Space 2, The Order 1886, and Tomb Raider. You can revisit OSV’s reviews of the soundtrack to Dead Space 2 and The Order 1886 in case you missed them the first time around. Read on for my review of the music of Until Dawn. (more…)
Game Music

Until Dawn Soundtrack now Available on iTunes

November 5, 2015 | Shawn Sackenheim | Comments Off on Until Dawn Soundtrack now Available on iTunes Share this

Like a shambling zombie that’s missing a leg, here comes a late Halloween-appropriate new release announcement. It’s Jason Graves’ original soundtrack to the PlayStation 4 teen slasher simulator, Until Dawn. The album was released on October 26th and, so far, is only available on iTunes for $9.99.

While it was originally designed as an interactive soundtrack, looping and building depending on the player’s actions, the album version features 13 lengthy arranged tracks. The final track is Jeff Grace’s rendition of ‘O Death’ which serves as the game’s intro and ending themes.

Coming from the composer behind the Dead Space series, 2013’s Tomb Raider, and loads of other horror and sci-fi games, you can expect plenty of tense, taut drama and creeping dread from Until Dawn’s soundtrack. Take a listen to three tracks from the game above before to get a feel for what the full album holds.
Events, Game Music, Music Production

Maestros of Video Games Panelists Announced for PAX Prime

August 27, 2015 | Shawn Sackenheim | Comments Off on Maestros of Video Games Panelists Announced for PAX Prime Share this

Those attending PAX Prime this weekend will have another chance to sit in and listen to five video game composers regale them with their experiences and stories. Held at the Sphinx Theatre, Sheraton at 5:30pm, the 60-minute ‘Maestros of Video Games’ panel marks its return in 2015 with Gareth Coker (Ori & the Blind Forest, Ark), Sarah Schachner (Assassin’s Creed series), Jason Graves (Until Dawn, The Order: 1886), Cris Velasco (Bloodborne, God of War) and Grant Kirkhope (Yooka-Laylee, just about every Rare game).

From 7-9pm at the Westin join the composers for a meet & greet and autograph signing session. Don’t forget to bring your transforming cleavers, plush Banjo dolls, commemorative wrist blades, and dying tree spirits. Pens will probably be provided.