- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 composer Jason Graves says there’s a big difference between how music “functions” in multiplayer mode and in the campaign
- Graves says a campaign usually has narrative beats and “dramatic moments” to follow, while “multiplayer is completely unpredictable”
- He adds that “It’s less about following a story and more about supporting the player’s experience”
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 composer Jason Graves has explained the biggest differences between scoring a multiplayer mode and a campaign because of how the music “functions.”
Speaking in an interview with TechRadar Gaming, where the composer discussed his creative process for the game’s multiplayer music and what inspired him most when writing the score, Graves said writing tracks for an online gameplay experience is much different from a story mode with certain narrative beats, because you have to factor in the unknown.
“The biggest difference is how the music functions within the game,” Graves said. “In a single-player campaign, you’re usually following a narrative with specific characters, locations, and dramatic moments. You have a much better idea of what the player is experiencing and when.”
The composer continued, saying, “Multiplayer is completely unpredictable,” and suggested that it requires you to think outside of the constraints of a standard narrative score.
“You have no idea how any given match is going to unfold, so the music needs to work within a much more flexible framework,” Graves added. “It’s less about following a story and more about supporting the player’s experience without getting in the way of the gameplay.”
Elsewhere in the discussion, Graves said multiplayer mode has “a completely different vibe from the campaign” and “the music needs to make you feel like anything could happen at any point in time.”
“A lot of what I was trying to capture was forward momentum and pure adrenaline,” he said. “I always thought of myself as the musical equivalent of Master Sergeant Apone in Aliens, pumping up all the troops beforehand, keeping them in line and focused in combat, and rewarding them when they come back home. ‘Every meal’s a banquet! Every paycheck’s a fortune! Every formation a parade!'”
