TROELS FOLMANN ON CREATING A SCORE
Copyright 2006 www.tombraiderchronicles.com

[ October 12th 2006 ]

BAFTA award-winning composer Troels Folmann has given a candid interview with Create Digital Music on scoring Tomb Raider Legend, and the concept behind micro-scoring, a new technique for presenting music in video-games by segmenting samples through the application of triggers.

"Micro-scoring is essentially about breaking the score into a variety of small components that are assembled in real-time according to player action and/or interaction. I scored over 4 hours of orchestral/electronic music for the game and it took me about 8 months to finalize the whole project." Explains Folmann.

On the success that was Tomb Raider Legend, Folmann expands: "Tomb Raider has sold over 30 million units through its 10 year lifespan. Crystal Dynamics has a long history in action-adventure games and Tomb Raider Legend was a unique opportunity for the studio to embrace the brand and renew it at the same time.

"I originally came to Crystal Dynamics as a Ph.D. scholar, while conducting field studies into the game business. I have always had a very pragmatic approach to things, since I don't believe in dry and boring academia.

"I had previously worked with Crystal on their award-winning FPS Project Snowblind and we had a very inspiring collaboration. Crystal Dynamics invited me over to conduct field studies and invent new methodologies for interactive scoring in Tomb Raider Legend."

Troels Folmann has published the complete, unabridged interview with Create Digital Music on his official blog.