4Players: First of all: Please introduce yourself with some examples of your work?!

Jesper Kyd: My name is Jesper Kyd and I am the composer of soundtracks such as Hitman: Contracts, Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, Hitman 1, Freedom Fighters, Brute Force & Messiah.  I have also composed music for films such as Night All Day (Movie-Website ) directed by award-winning German director Basil Schlegel, featuring Ilia Volok (Air Force One, U-Turn, Swordfish) and George Tasudis (Metropolis, City Of Angels, The West Wing).

4P: How do you become a composer especially for game music? Does the Amiga demo scene influence you to found JKP (Jesper Kyd Productions)?

JK: In some ways it did. After the Amiga scene I wanted to find a way of continuing to produce music on a creative and experimental level, and videogame soundtracks are the best outlet for free form music composition. I have also loved playing games since I got my first computer. My appreciation and understanding of game development and music allowed me to enter the demo scene and later write music for interactive media. 

4P: Do you often play computer games? Do you think the music score is necessary for an intense atmosphere?

JK: I play games regularly.  I think it’s very important for a composer to be passionate about the project he/she writes for, whether it’s a game or a film. Without passion the score may sound over produced and lack soul.

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I believe a quality music score greatly enhances the atmosphere in a game world, especially if it’s implemented in an intelligent and thoughtful way. A predictable, mediocre or generic score is not going to enhance even the best game. It will add just enough to the atmosphere to make the game work, but will not draw you into the game like a score that affects your emotions.

4P: How do you get the inspiration for the score in each game? What influences have the greatest effects on your work?

JK: There are many elements that can inspire a score. First of all, if the game is really unique,

I get a feeling right away that there is a huge opportunity here to do something great with the atmosphere, music style and music implementation. So I work on coming up with ideas that are untraditional and unconventional. Also, the storyline of the game corresponds to what can be done with the music atmospherics.

As far as influences are concerned, movies and film soundtracks also inspire me as well as numerous genres of music. I listen to everything from dance music to classical.

4P: When in the development of Hitman: Contracts did you begin your work? How did you interact with the developers? Did you have a directly influence on the game design?

JK: I talk to the game designers in-depth about all my ideas for implementing their vision of the game, especially at the beginning of the music writing process, where music style/atmosphere is established. At this stage it’s very important to be in touch with the developers on a regular basis in order to pinpoint and solidify the exact plan of action.

4P: Is hard to create a soundtrack for a game like Hitman 2: Silent Assassin or Hitman: Contracts, because the gameplay is different from time to time and the player can choose what he or she wants to do. There is no linear approach like in a movie.

JK: It is quite difficult to create a good game score and quite easy to create a generic game score.

I think this is one reason why there are so many predictable, bland scores in games. There are so many things that can go wrong with writing music, therefore it’s easier for a composer to come up with what’s expected instead of creating something cutting-edge or experimental.

With the Hitman titles, there are many challenges from a composer’s viewpoint. You have to be able to get inside the game and score it from a gamer’s perspective. This helps create a soundtrack that takes all the difficult gaming mechanics into consideration.

Download: Hitman 2 Silent Assassin: Samples (7,43 MB)

Download: Hitman Contracts: Soundsamples (4,03 MB)

4P: Does the publishers or developers give you complete freedom to create the music for the game? Or are there some restrictions?

JK: There are some obvious guidelines, but these do not take away from creative freedom. Once I understand the game that is being created, I am not going to suggest a music style that doesn’t fit with the atmosphere of the game.

For the Hitman games I have been given a lot of creative control, especially with Hitman: Contracts and Hitman 1. For Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, the music followed the storyline very closely, so I employed instruments and musical elements from the different locations around the world.  This gameplay style and story provided the Hitman 2: Silent Assassin score with a few more guidelines to follow than Hitman: Contracts and Hitman 1.

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4P: What style of music did you choose for Hitman: Contracts? What were the main challenges by creating the music for this game?

JK: Hitman: Contracts is the darkest score in the Hitman series. It’s hard to explain the score. It breathes a late nightclub ambience without being dominated by dance music. The challenge with this score was to add lots of melodies and make the score entertaining and interesting, while at the same time being provocative, fear inducing and unpredictable. I also had lots of strange percussion and beats. A couple of tracks feature live choir performances by the Hungarian Radio Choir.  

4P: How long takes the development of the Hitman: Contracts music?

JK: The writing took about 3-4 months. After that I implemented all the music into the game and wrote music for the US and European Hitman: Contracts TV and cinema commercials. The cinema promo opened for Kill Bill Vol. II in theatres across Europe. Then I mixed the Hitman: Contracts Original Soundtrack CD which was recently released.

4P: How long is the score for Hitman: Contracts in relation to the complete game time?

JK: I wrote about 90 minutes of original music for Hitman: Contracts. The music changes and interacts with the game player, depending on what you do, how you do it and when you do it.

4P: How do you know when music is necessary or not? When is music necessary to make the game experience more thrilling? When is silence more suspenseful?

JK: There are no set rules for this equation. Sometimes it’s good to build up tension by using music and then right before something scary happens remove the music altogether. Other times the game gets more cinematic if music is suddenly added after a break in the music. I do a lot of experimentation to find the best ways of blending silence and music.

4P: Is it different to develop music for the consoles (PS2, Xbox, GC) as for PC?

JK: Technically speaking, there are different limitations on the hardware, with surround capabilities that vary with each of the different consoles. Generally, I end up writing wave files that have to be implemented separately on the different platforms. For me it’s more about coming up with ideas to work within these limitations, and how to mix several music tracks together and make the experience as smooth as possible. I take these ideas and implement them directly into the writing process and structure of the track.

4P: In Freedom Fighters you choose a very interesting and alternative mixing of electronica, orchestral music and choir. How the publisher or developer reacts on this cool mixture? How the idea about this unconventional mixture comes along?

JK: I was given complete creative freedom by the developer to come up with something different. Manhattan being invaded by a Soviet Superpower fits well with the sound of a choir singing in Russian. We also used the choir to add heroic elements to the story, for TV newscasts, and when a character blows up an object of significance.

Regarding the electronic elements, I wanted to add these to make it an intense action score. Also, electronic music works well with the alternate future setting.

Download: Freedom Fighters: Main Title (6,75 MB)

4P: What can we expect in the future from Jesper Kyd?

JK: There will be a Hitman orchestral suite performed live at the 2004 GC-Games Convention concert in Leipzig this August. I am also working on several new game and film projects, but I can’t talk about these just yet. Sorry! :-)

Thank you for taking the time for this interview! We wish you good luck for your further compositions.