While story is important and the combat must be enjoyable, one of the reasons that Star Wars is so enjoyable is because of the music created by John Williams. And, while he is not a composer for TOR, LucasArts and BioWare knew that they needed to create music that really fit with the game. And, they also knew that the sounds needed to sound epic because we can all remember the sound of a lightsaber powering up and how powerful sounding that is. Therefore, music and sound is so important for anything Star Wars.

The only problem I can see coming from this is that creating that much music and sound for such a large MMO should be a daunting task. While it might have been, it seems as if BioWare and LucasArts had no problem doing it. The composers of LucasArts all got together and worked on writing a ton of music. And, the sounds people made unique sounds that really are great. The music and sound, while it won’t make or break the game, will really add so much to the experience.

Music in TOR

To begin with is the music. Music is so important when it comes to Star Wars. I can remember first popping A New Hope into the VHS–oh yeah, the VHS–and listening as the opening words crawled up the screen with that epic music. Or, how about when we first are introduced to Darth Vader? The Imperial March? All of these different songs had such an impact on the experience and added to what made the movies as amazing as they were.

Fortunately, we can expect to see the exact same, epic type of music in TOR. In their most recent Developer’s Dispatch, BioWare released a bunch of information on what the music is going to be like. The five minute video talked about the composition of music and about what went into making the music.

To begin with, the game is going to have five and a half hours of original music to complement KOTOR music as well as music written by John Williams. In other words, we will hear music that was from the KOTOR games as well as stuff John Williams wrote for the original movies. But, on top of that, five and a half hours of music was recorded just for Star Wars: The Old Republic.

John Williams’ music was included because, as they said in the video, he really created the emotional landscape for the movies. We got attached to what was going on because of the music. When you hear that Cantina Band play, you know it even if you don’t see their funny faces. Williams made that possible and the game wouldn’t be the same without the music.

We can expect to see choral music as well as orchestra music. One of the choral pieces demonstrated has a similar sound to the Duel of the Fates song found in Phantom Menace. I can remember watching Darth Maul fight Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui Gon Jinn with this song in the background. At the same time, there are full, romantic orchestras performing music. There are fifteen first violins and fourteen second violins to just describe the strings. There are so many pieces coming together to make the music.

The overall point of the music is to add to the landscape. If you are walking through Dromund Kaas and suddenly the music changes, you know that something is bound to happen. It helps to add to the suspense of the game and to provide warnings to the game.

Overall, the music really adds to the game and makes the game stand out as a unique experience. When I am fighting against a Sith Warrior as a Jedi Knight, the music will be epic. But, what would the game be without some equally epic sound effects?

Sound in TOR

The developer blog written about sound is in depth and quite enjoyable. It opens with a small quote by George Lucas that really is so true. “Sound is 50 percent of the moviegoing experience, and I’ve always believed audiences are moved and excited by what they hear in my movies at least as much as by what they see.” When that lightsaber turns on, we know what it is and it excites us.

The first section was about the voice. As we all know by now, the game is completely fully voiced. That is just awesome. When I talk to a NPC and then talk to a different one, there will be two different voices. In my opinion, that rocks. It takes an “army to do something like this.” And it really does. They need so many different people. While one voice actor might do different roles for the same project, they might change their voice to still make it sound unique. The voice is going to be awesome.

The next section is about aliens. This is so important. We are talking about the unique different voices that are not speaking basic. We are talking about communicating in an entirely different language. We are talking about different species talking in their native language. Without these different languages, the game would sound dry. Why would a Wookie speak in basic? Exactly.

Combat sound is so important. One of the things that is exciting about the sound they are creating is that different weapons will have different sounds. It’s more detail they don’t need but are adding regardless. If I use a pistol, it’ll sound one way. If I use a massive rifle, it will sound an entirely different way. But, it’s also exciting because different lightsabers will make different sounds. This just adds to the experience.

One of the things they do say, though, is that they are not looking to drown the game out with sounds. While you might hear lightning in the background on Dromund Kaas, that doesn’t mean it’s all you’ll hear. It just adds a little to the experience without being overpowering.

In the end, music and sound is so important for the game. Star Wars had great music and the sounds were such a big part of the experience. This game is going to include things that the games had, only this time, it’ll be so much larger than any movie or game could ever be. I am so pumped for this.