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Technology has changed a lot since the Marathon days, how has your process changed along with the technology?

How much of the audio design is dependent on technological limitations?

What techological improvement are you most grateful for?

Sorry, this one's technically not in your rules, but I'm not sure how to ask it.

When designing the audio environment, where do you start? Do you start with music, sound effects like gunfire, or do you just have an idea of what it should sound like when you start and then you just put things together to match that idea? Do you target a particular feeling?

Are there any special techniques you use to debug audio issues in live game audio such as certain sounds being lost in the mix?

Does changing from stereo, to 3D audio with surround sound, to headphones on a VR headset change how you design the audio?

What is the most difficult sound you have had to record?

What is the most interesting sound you have ever recorded?

If I remember correctly, you gave a talk about music and ownership and how Paul McCartney's experience was different from yours. Is there anything you are going to do differently at Highwire in regards to music and ownership?

Hello Mr. Maestro Marty O'Donnell Sir!

I know you have a "Golden Goose" Axiom, but do not know of it? What is it? Why is it? How did you come to this conclusion?

A: Ok, not to be a jerk or anything, but I did set some basic rules. No compound questions please.

However, since I'm not a jerk, I'll answer.

The goose lays the golden eggs. Of course you shouldn't kill the goose, but most people forget how to be nice to the goose. Corporations especially tend to be mean to the goose (teams that create amazing things) and think they only need to be nice to the golden egg - thus starting a process that creates ever lessening quality franchises.

Be nice to the goose, and you'll get more golden eggs. Perhaps a franchise or maybe just more new cool stuff!

Also, be nice to your inner goose.

Previous Bungie alumni starting small studios have had very limited success despite their talent. What makes Highwire different in your mind?

A: Yeah, it's always a bit of a crapshoot. This time we've got 5 former Bungies, so that means 5 times the chances for success!! Hey, Max Hoberman did pretty well.

Why did Halo 3, ODST, and Reach mix voices on the Center, Left and Right channels during cutscenes, as opposed to the industry standard Center only?

A: 'Cuz industry standards stinks. I want people on your right to sound like they're on your right and so on.

Also, the film industry doesn't set the standard.

Will Highwire be at any trade shows or be doing any demos this year, such as at VRLA?

A: Can't say which ones yet, but yes.

Probably because of Game of Thrones. ;)

Why was Peter Dinklage really replaced?

A: I honestly don't know.

However, I do know that his contract didn't initially have as many sessions or scope. By the time even more sessions were being planned I would imagine that either he was too busy or too expensive.

I know you highly value the rights of the artist, but what happens when that interferes with the preservation of games? For example, the Super Meat Boy soundtrack had to be completely replaced for its PSN release due to a dispute between the composer and Team Meat.

A: Work for Hire is an important and necessary concept for collaborative projects. It needs to be handled properly however, and many contracts either misuse it or do it the wrong way. I don't know what happened in Team Meat's case, but I imagine it was a screwup. Artists can do work for hire and still be treated fairly.

Read about Moral Rights.

Is there anything specific we can do to help get Music of the Spheres released?

A: I have no specific instructions that I believe will cause MotS to be released. However, perhaps posing your question to the corporation that has the power to release MotS will bear fruit.

I have no idea how I can be of help in this area.

I've asked on b.nut a million times, never an answer as to "Why not/"

;(

Everyone always asks you which songs were your favorite from the Halo series. What about Myth. Could you name a few of your favs?

A: For personal reasons I'm fond of Siege of Madrigal. But I also like the Epilogue from Myth 1. I've been considering producing a complete orchestral high def remake of the best of all the Myth music. O'Donnell/Salvatori Inc. (TotalAudio) has the complete rights to that music and can do it without permission.

Hi Marty,

Years ago I'm sure I read in an interview you talking about how few games were trying to do interesting things with gameplay and music, the kind of thing that (for example) Halo 3 did with the soundtrack during the big fight with the two scarabs. What, if any, games today do you think are good examples of interactive and interesting game scores that play to the strengths of the medium?

Look forward to hearing what you come up with next!

A: Well, we did that kind of thing all the way back to Halo 1. I like the fact that people didn't really notice. At least for me, that meant I was successful.

Two games this year that not only had good scores but did nice adaptive work were Ori and the Blind Forest and Everybody's Gone to the Rapture.

Games that try and adapt or score every little moment or action, one to one, bother me. In movies that's called Mickey Mouse and that's one film standard I'm in agreement with.

A: New rule - ask question in the body of the message.

Sir George Solti was an amazing conductor.

Big fan of Ralph Vaughan Williams.

I'd love to get inside your head on what makes for good composition and how to properly apply that to an orchestral environment to help me and other aspiring composers know what works and what doesn't. Specifically, I was hoping you would be willing to do a breakdown of one of my original compositions. Maybe list what works and what doesn't, and any advice you can give. Brutal honesty would be appreciated.

If you're willing, I'd like to use this piece. It was inspired by Halo Reach's soundtrack.

A: Ok, if I get the time I'll come back to this. Be patient. It'll take me over 3 minutes just to listen.

I imagine you know much of the musical & conducting arts. That said;
Is there anything you are learning or struggle with?

A: Never been good at skateboarding.

What were some of your favorite songs from MotS?

A: The Ecstasy probably first, but I also liked The Ruin. Someday I hope you'll all get to hear MotS the way I intended. I would also love to answer questions about it - after you hear it.

Were you always musically inclined?

A: I was attracted to music from as long ago as I can remember.

Unfortunately I know of quite a few behind the scenes stories that could be described as bad or ugly or downright awful, involving things that have gone down in the videogame industry. While such madness is not lone to this industry, I find the outlook of such abuses to be very concerning. I wonder if you have any good stories to tell? The bad ones get made and are told far too much. I know this is a very broad question.

A: Yes, I have some great stories to tell. I heard Cody mention somewhere that someone should interview a bunch of former Bungies and write a book. That could be a good story.

I don't believe that the secrecy around the video game industry is completely necessary. We're not making nuclear warheads, or curing cancer or anything. It's just games. Let the sunshine in.

Why PS4 VR and not PC VR?

A: Many reasons. 40 million perhaps?

Also, Sony gave us money and support to make our game.

Which song symbolized Earth from MotS, The Tribulation or The Hope? Do each of the songs from that soundtrack symbolize a planet?

Thanks a ton for answering these questions, I can't imagine how hard it is for you since it is unknown if this beautiful collaboration will ever be released. Wish we could help out, :(.

A: See? That's exactly the kind of question I wanted to answer 4 years ago! Yes, the seven movements of MotS symbolize a planet and The Hope was Earth.

Have you ever been composing a track for part of a game thinking that no one else would go for it but it was well received? Examples?

A: Two pieces that mostly started in Mike Salvatori's head and didn't have a place in the games right away: Siege of Madrigal, and Unforgotten. I helped bring those pieces to life, but my main contribution was making sure I found a place to sneak them in the game. Mike returned the favor by making sure that excerpts from MotS made it on the Destiny OST.

Some day we'll be working together again.

See, that's a good story.

TheFirstDreamer

Q:Ytram, are Mike and you still actively collaborating together (Mike helping with The First Dreamer and you helping with Destiny or other works)?

A: Nice bonus points for including the link! I'm afraid we're not actively collaborating due to present circumstances. We're still friends and are pulling for the Blackhawks to take the Stanley Cup again this year!

Also, nice Riven reference, and TMA formatting.

Why did you choose to start his own studio and make your own games instead of working somewhere else?

A: Well Jaime was the first one to make me an offer. I liked the idea of taking a chance, moving in a new direction, and having a big impact once again.

What recent games have had impressed you the most with sound design?

A: The Battlefield games have some amazing sound.

There's a story on how Billie Jean went through dozens of mixes, but mix #2 was ultimately the one that "shipped."

Do you go through a lot of mixes before a tune is considered done?

A: Yes, almost always. It's much worse now in the digital age than during the analog era. Doing a "final mix" used to mean something when it was impossible to perfectly re-perform the mix multiple times. Now I have files with the name "final final mix 08".

And it turns out the one we shipped is "final FINAL mix 06".

Thanks for doing this, Marty! I backed Echoes last week and really hope it's successful!

You have given me many exciting goosebumps over the last 15 years playing games, and, perhaps more importantly, have given me so many soundtracks to daydream to and to draw to. When I made my Fistful of Arrows comic, your music kept me excited to make the next page.

Q: Has Nobuo Uematsu ever been an influence? He's my OTHER favorite composer. :) Some of the boss battles in Destiny, like with Sepiks Prime, reminded me of some of my favorite RPG battle tracks from SNES!

A: I love FF music from Nobuo. I've met him at a Play concert a few years ago and he's a really nice guy. Annie Roth, our Chicago string contractor, works with him on all his concert presentations. However, I think I was too old to really be influenced by his work. If you look at the composer credits for Sepiks Prime you'll see other composers listed that might have been influenced.

What are your favorite video games from the past and present?

A: Adventure, Super Mario Bros, Zelda, Half Life, Myst, Ico, Her Story, Everybody's Gone to the Rapture.

Thanks for being a champ, Marty. I love that you're doing this for us.

My question:

To your knowledge, in Bungie's old Haloverse, was there a link between Tolkien's Melkor (aka: Morgoth Bauglir) and the dominant mind within The Gravemind?

A: Not to my direct knowledge. However, we all were immersed in Tolkien, Lewis, and other mythologies so it wouldn't surprise me if there was a connection.

If you could compose a soundtrack for a film based on a comic book character of your choice, who would it be?

A: Congrats on asking a question I've never had before.

Mister Mxyzptlk.

Or Jughead.

Alright, I pledged what I could. I've only backed one project before, but it was a success and community related so I hope that trend continues!

Q.) Through the Halo games you've worked on, were there any sound effects that were particularly difficult to come up with? (Maybe a Covenant weapon, vehicle sound, ambient noise etc)

A: Overall the Covenant weapons and vehicles were difficult because they need to sound unique, alien, and "neverheardbefore" while at the same time sounding correct and representative.

The voice of the Gravemind was difficult but really fun to work on with Dee Bradley Baker.

Q.) In the Halo games you've worked on, who was your favorite character\actor to record lines for\with? (example, Sgt. Johnson, Buck, Arbiter)

A: That's a tough call. Stacker and Johnson (Pete Stacker and David Scully) are two of the funniest people I've ever had the pleasure to work with. Their sessions got out of control almost every time. David Cross was another one who cracked me up. Nathan Fillion and Alan Tudyk also amazing. But Ron Perelman, Keith David, Katee Sackhoff, Tricia Helfer, Ron Livingston, John Huertas, Peter Dinklage, Bill Nighy...gah!!!

I love them all.

Jen Taylor.

Joe Staten.

Q.) One of my favorite things in Halo is Joe Staten's Grunt voice. There's got to be a story there somewhere (and maybe it's come up in other interviews I've not seen) about how exactly his grunty-voice came to be, why you all allowed him to do it. How did that happen?

A: Great question. Ok, here ya go.

While working on Halo, we had a plan to have an alien language. I was told that someone was going to work on the alien script. In the meantime we needed placeholder dialog for the aliens. We took the existing marine recordings and used the already cut and implemented AI categories to test in-game. For the elites we took Sgt Johnson's lines, pitched them down and reversed them. For the grunts we took the "scared" marine (we're all gonna die man!) and pitched his up a couple steps so we could distinguish grunts from marines.

That version of the game was played by our team, testers, and user testing people for quite a long time. Meanwhile, we were getting closer to shipping and I still didn't have an alien language. Then we found out that most everyone loved the grunt voice because he made them laugh. So, we never got alien dialog, we had to enlist Joe Staten to become the grunt, pitch his voice up and that's what we shipped. By the way, we never changed the elite voice. Wort wort wort is Sgt Johnson's go go go backwards and pitched down.

Q: Was there ever any doubt?

Awesome. :)

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;)

Now Marty can rest tomorrow, if he likes.

Q: Was there ever any doubt?

A: WooHoo!!! Thanks everyone!

Ok, I'll keep answering questions. Remember, the more money in the Kickstarter the better the music will be.

Or something like that...

During the development of the games at Bungie/Highwire, do you offer advice/suggestions to other fields of the game, such as writing/programming, story ideas/multiplayer features, etc. Or do the creative juices flow strictly within audio production? I ask, because I remember that CoffeCam you had while making your rounds in the studios and I had some nostalgia going...

A: Ah yes, the coffeecupcam. Those were the good ol' days, I like to call Bungie Camelot.

I love game development. I have opinions about almost everything involved in game production. Ask the testers. I've found some of the most obscure bugs. Of course not all my opinions are great nor were they accepted, but I didn't take all the music suggestions either. During the Camelot days, everybody had a say.

At Highwire, there's only 11 of us. You can't just hide in your own area of expertise.

What's your favorite piece of writing by CS Lewis?

A: Perelandra. Also, The Discarded Image (non-fiction). He was a genius.

In Bungie's old Haloverse, there has been some confusion amongst fans as to whether or not there was a dominant mind within The Gravemind, because of the fact that it assimilates all minds into itself that it can.

In Halo 2, it would sometimes refer to itself as "We" and other times as "I", but in Halo 3, it seemed to always be "I".

Who/what is that Dominant Mind within The Gravemind?
(For example: A Precursor, an AI, something else, etc.)

I'm dying to hear anything I can about him. Easily the most interesting character in the series, IMO.

A: I thought he was just a blobby Captain Keyes.

Kidding.

Anyone who says he's a monument to all your sins sounds like he might be a bit confused himself.

Ask Joe Staten.

First, congratulations!

Second, thank you for answering my questions.

Q.) Since you've touched on the origins of some of the Covenant voices, what was your process or inspiration for the voices of the enemies in Destiny?

A: Yah...so, some of this might be getting into creative differences that aren't important any longer. However, some amazing work was done by Stephen Hodde on the Destiny enemies.

Q.) Are (or were) there any audio inspirations or influences that you carried over from Halo into Destiny?

(I'll be honest here, Destiny's campaign was and is, a let down for me, but there were times and moments from what DID ship in year 1 that were good, and a lot of that had to do with your music, making it shine. Sometimes I had deja vu moments that made me feel like I was playing and hearing something spiritually similar to Halo.)

A: Ok, so this is an AMA. However, it doesn't mean I have to answer everything.

I'd say that in general, I found that my opinions about Destiny's design and production were less impactful than they had been on Halo. There are probably many reasons for this, which I won't go into here or now. However, much of the sound and music was produced while I was Audio Director/Composer and I'm proud of what the audio team shipped.

I’m always looking to expand my classical music horizons. Who are some lesser-known composers that you’d recommend checking out?

A: Depends on what "lesser known" means. Satie, Ravel, Vaughan Williams, Barber, Bartok, Shostakovich, Prokofiev, all these composers are well known, unless you've never listened to much of their work.

If you were to sit down at the piano and play the audio expression of your current mood, what chord would it be in?

A:

Yeah, that'll work.

I'm not sure if you are allowed or want to answer and I don't what your
: relationship is with Joe Staten post Bungie, but thought I'd ask anyway.
: As we've recently heard about your departure with Bungie, do you believe
: we'll hear anything from Joe Staten and his departure from
: Bungie in the near future?"

: Cheers!

A: My relationship with Joe and his family is great! I just saw him a few weeks ago in his hotel room in San Francisco. His wife Susan was there and we had a wonderful time.

Joe's departure from Bungie was different from mine. You'll have to ask him.

The only time I'm going to mention this:

TheFirstDreamer

We're close.

Really hope you get there, it's real close!

How cool would it be if DBO put us over the top?

Hey, who's asking the questions around here?

(Crap, hope that doesn't count as my question for this post...)

Question:

I'm really curious about The Lighthouse theme, as it was found to be a slowed-down version of The Array. Was that your work/the plan, or was that done afterwards?

A: Pretty sure that was done afterwards.

Who did the voice acting for the Spartan that was in the E3 2000 trailer?

The one who said
"Can you walk?"
"Enemy airborne battalion inbound. Let's get you onboard."
"Yes. My battle has just begun."

A: That's a great question. I'm going to have to look that up someplace. He was a Chicago voice actor and I can't remember his name off the top of my head. He was officially the first Master Chief. I wonder if Steve Downes could tell me?

See, I can put questions in my answers without breaking the rules, right??

I don’t think I’ve ever heard the full story of how you got into video game development with Riven and Myth. Were you and Mike actively seeking to get into the industry, or was it just a serendipitous alignment of paths?

A: Mike wanted nothing to do with it.

My friend Dick Staub had an 18 year old son named Josh who wanted to visit our recording studio in Chicago. Josh came and saw that I was interested in video games. He told me he had friends in Spokane who were making a video game and that he was working with them over the summer before he was going to start college at UW in Seattle.

He brought a CD with the beta version of their current game and I started playing. It was Myst and the rest is history.

This was in July of 1993. He is now working at Disney and has won an Oscar for best animated short.

I still want to know what that funny music at the end of the Halo demo is from. What in the world is it?

https://youtu.be/U9kdq7r3JcI?t=9s

A: I think that's library music from a disk called Total Cheese. We thought it was funny so we licensed it.

Q: Does everyone here know that https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/135470902/echoes-of-the-first-dreamer got funded today?

Also, I feel so happy ;D

A: Me too. I think DBO put us over the top.

It's been fascinating and illuminating to hear from The Elder. Wishing you best of fortunes in the future :)

A: Thanks, and I hope to meet you soon™

This may be a bit random, but what were your thoughts on Star Wars Episode VII? I know that's a broad question, but DBO had some pretty fun discussions, and I'd love your input!

A: I like JJ and I like that he is putting new spins on old franchises. This episode was fun and a pretty good movie. There were a few too many logic stretches for me in there to call it great.

If you're able to narrow it down, what movie score or soundtrack has just utterly blown your mind and is worthy of being known as your favorite?

A: Rozsa's Ben Hur, Goldsmith's Alien, Shore's LotR. Loved the simplicity of the score to Ico, and this year my favorite was Everybody's Gone to the Rapture. Yay for Jessica Curry.

TheFirstDreamer

Cayde from Destiny:
"Royal cards stood for weapons, Spades meant Hakke, Clubs for Crux/Lomar, Diamonds for Omolon, and Hearts... well, Hearts were for this girl I knew."

Q: Is there a way to 'play poker' or 'blackjack' within Destiny?

A: Yes, it's a still to be discovered easter egg.

not

What did Neill Blomkamp's MJOLNIR look like?

That's another one that I am *dying* to know.

A: Ha! I don't remember, except that if it was spray painted white it ended up in District 9.

I got one successful question posted but I've tried three other posts. The problem? I end up writing three paragraphs about how awesome his music is, how the strings that come in as the dropships head to the Ark in Halo 3 STILL give me chills, how as a cello player, he uses cellos SO well...

And then I realize I don't have a question! Gah! It just turns into the old Chris Farley talk show (with relevant guest).

A: Yes Leviathan I remember writing for cellos. That was cool. I also remember working with Paul.

Do you ever sleep-dream about composing music?

A: Yes, several times. But always really bad music.

What did Bungie's "superhuman" Forerunners look like?
I felt like The Awoken from Destiny weren't very far off from my own mental image (though they were blue and purple and such.)

Now that your Forerunners have been written out of existence, I'm very limited on where I can find information like this.

A: I don't think we ever did concept art for them. Who wrote them out of existence and how could that possibly be cannon?

For me, outside of games like Halo, I think back to Ocarina of Time, Lost Odyssey, Final Fantasy VI, or even Sonic 3. I love those soundtracks. Are there any soundtracks in particular from other (non-Bungie) games from any time period that have just blown you away?

A: Like I already said, Jessica Curry's work this year was great.

Would you rather travel to the past, travel into the future, or travel into the realm of one of the games you helped create?

I think I'd travel back to the late 1950's to meet my great-grandfather, but the streets of New Mombasa during a rainstorm would be sweet as hell as long as I could jam to some of that amazing sax from ODST. Speaking of which, now I'm loading up the soundtrack and I'm supposed to be getting to bed. Thanks alot Marty :)

A: Easy, travel into the future where time travel and immortality are things.

Someone unfunded, glad I don't know who they are ... It's all good now though, back to funded ;D

Back it now!

Favorite movie soundtrack?

A: Bernard Hermann too.

It was a nice surprise to login tonight and see all these cool questions answered. It reminded me of some dialogue from an old video game:

The Community: Silence fills the empty grave, now that I have gone. But my mind is not at rest, for questions linger on. Now I will ask, and you will answer.

MartyTheElder: All right... Shoot.

:)

A: Did you all notice that Cortana AND the Gravemind both tweeted about backing The First Dreamer?
So did Master Chief.

<3 congrats Marty

A: Hey how's the composing going?

TheFirstDreamer

The Masters is just wrapping up

(Augusta:)

Q: Do You have a favorite tune, theme, or melody that comes from the wide world of sports?

( please do not let it be The Bears Super Bowl Shuffle! :D )

A: I know the guy who recorded and mixed the Super Bowl Shuffle - be careful.

Actually, Here Come the Hawks the Mighty Bla-ack Hawks!

Also, watched the Masters today at my dad's house. The Surly Dwarf says "hi" to one and all.

I do want to chime in and say thanks. Not just for this, but for always being so open and kind to fans.

A: You're welcome but come on Kermit, not even one question?

In one of Beorn's questions, you mentioned that before you joined Bungie you had an interest in video games. What about video games interests you as a composer versus, say, scoring a film or a tv show or composing music without a visual medium as part of the process?

A: Composing music for visuals has always been interesting, but the added hurdle of interactivity makes it extra fun.

TheFirstDreamer

Ok, thanks everybody! See you next time. It was fun.
- Marty

I really enjoyed reading through this. I'm sad I missed it and will never not look at DBO again on a weekend. (does that even make sense?)

I love when people behind the things we love take time to interact with fans of the work. Thanks for being a class act Marty!

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I know it has already been said, but thank you so much for taking the time to do this. I could gush for paragraphs, however, I'll spare you that and hope it is sufficient to say that your music is inspiring to me in all of different moods and genres you explore. I am so pleased to see your project funded and I hope the best for you.

I also just wanted to say that these types of interactions are the reason I became loyal to Bungie and B.org community in the first place. I know the B.org community has waned in its prominence, but it'd sure be fun if more people stopped by every once in a while. Who knows, we may just help fund them in return. Thank you for reminding me why I started coming by this community.

You're welcome.

Also, there are places with tens of thousands of fans and meaningless threads.

Then there are places that cater to thoughtful, real fans. They represent not just the "hard core" but the only real core that means anything to thoughtful creatives.

Thanks, Claude, for letting me do this AMA on one of those places.

I don't know why I didn't post this on Saturday, but if you're still answering questions...

Q: What is your favorite DAW to use, and why?

A:

In case he doesn't answer, I'm pretty sure he mentioned using Pro Tools in the reddit AMA. I don't recall him explaining why though.