30th October 2020

COMPOSING THE MUSIC FOR FURY OF DRACULA: DIGITAL EDITION

As we’ve just announced that the Fury of Dracula: Digital Edition Official Soundtrack will be available on Steam, we thought we’d sit down with Dan Meadowcroft, the composer and performer behind the Fury of Dracula: Digital Edition soundtrack. Below he talks about how he created the music for the game, and his process for creating the soundtrack!

So, let’s start from the beginning! What were your inspirations for the soundtrack?

I started off looking at the theme of the game, and then music styles that fitted that theme. The soundtracks to Hammer Horror films was an obvious first call, but the less obvious thing to look at were the soundtracks for Sherlock Holmes media.

A lot of Sherlock soundtracks have a ‘detective theme’ with a Victorian influence, which fits perfectly for Fury of Dracula. I also looked at a lot of film noir soundtracks, as I wanted to make sure that the mystery element of the game didn’t get lost beneath the horror. For example, I found that vibraphones were used heavily in film noir, so I could use them to create the mysterious sound I wanted when I leaned into the detective elements of the game.

So I dove in to listening to tons of soundtracks to get an idea of the kind of sound I wanted.

In the end, the soundtrack for Fury is a fusion of 50s horror, gothic Victorian and noir detective that words really well - if I do say so!

So were those soundtracks how you picked which instruments are in the soundtrack?

Pretty much! Thanks to modern technology, I have a huge amount of instruments at my fingertips for when I’m composing and creating music digitally. But just because I have the ability to use something, doesn’t mean using it is the right call. Not every soundtrack needs more cowbell.

I took all the research I’d done and made a list of the instruments I should definitely use and the instruments I could use. I ended up with a strong list that would fit with the horror/detective theme I was going for, and carrying them through the entire soundtrack helps to keep it consistent while you listen.

One of the coolest things about the Fury of Dracula soundtrack is how the soundtrack changes based on Dracula’s influence. How did you go about doing that?

So, when I compose any music I always start by playing it on piano first. I use it as a ‘baseline’ for each track, and then build upon it by adding more instruments until I have the complete track.

By doing this, I could make sure that the core of each track increased in intensity with Dracula’s influence. It wasn’t just a case of ‘adding more intensity’ to an existing track, but making sure that each one was composed from the bottom up to reflect that increasing feeling of dread.

Was it a similar process for the sound effects in the game then?

Sort of! For the sound effects in the game I wanted to make sure it was more suited to what was happening in the moment, instead of fitting the overall theme of the game.

I wanted to make sure that the sound effects were gritty and visceral to fit the horror theme again, but also to fit the animations we have in the game. A lot of the combat animations can be quite gruesome, so having sound effects that amplify the shock of seeing that violence was super important.

I also implemented a lot of mechanical sounds, in order to bring through the feeling of being in the industrial revolution. When used in the right way, mechanical sounds can be quite unnerving, which of course adds to the horror as you play.

How long does it normally take you to make a soundtrack? Did Fury of Dracula take longer than usual?

I can give you the information about exactly how many hours it took me to make the soundtrack, but the actual process of making music is a lot longer than that.

A huge amount of time goes into the understanding of music, which then informs the music you create. All the time studying music theory, the time thinking about the music before you actually start putting it down and composing it all counts too. You can’t just sit down and make a soundtrack sadly - there is a huge amount of work you need to put in before you even ‘begin’.

Think about it like a house. When the house is finished, you can appreciate how nice it is without seeing all of the framework and foundations that were put in. But without that strong foundation, the whole house would come crashing down. Composing music is very similar.

You need to make sure that you put in the work to build a strong foundation to work from in order to make sure the finished product stands up.

How do you find working solo on a soundtrack?

It definitely has its perks! Doing the entire soundtrack and the sound effects myself means it’s a lot easier to keep the soundtrack consistent from start to finish. Once I nail down the theme and the type of sound I want the soundtrack to have, I can make sure it flows through the whole game from start to finish.

Of course, there are limits on what I can do solo. I can’t exactly play every single instrument on the soundtrack, even if I wanted to.

Also, it was quite nice to have a change of theme to work with. Previously I’d worked on the soundtracks for Talisman and Mystic Vale which do have their differences, but they do still fall into the ‘fantasy’ theme. Creating a horror/mystery fusion definitely meant I could flex some creative muscles I haven’t used in a while, which was nice.

Finally, if someone reads this and wants to know more about game soundtracks or how to start making their own, what would you recommend?

First of all, I’d be entirely honest with them - there is a very high bar of entry for making video game soundtracks. All that work I talked about that goes into making a soundtrack beforehand? A lot of the academic and music theory you’ve got to put in before you even get the job. It’s easier if you can work as a composer, but even then it’s a lot of work.

Understanding how different instruments work is a great way to get to grips with what you’ll need to know. Nowadays you can recreate a huge range of instruments digitally, so making sure you have a wide knowledge of how and when to use them will be massively useful to you.

Thanks for taking the time to chat Dan!

Hey no worries, hopefully that gives people an idea of what it was like putting together the soundtrack for Fury of Dracula.

Want to listen to the Fury of Dracula soundtrack when the game launches?

We’ve got good news for you - we’re going to be adding the official soundtrack to the Steam release of Fury of Dracula: Digital Edition for you to purchase!

On launch day, you’ll be able to grab a bundle that includes the game and the soundtrack, so you can listen to the official soundtrack whenever you want! You’ll even be able to play it in the background while you play the physical board game if you want a truly immersive Fury of Dracula experience.

If you’re interested, you can check it out on Steam below: