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How the Overwatch Cities & Countries Album came to be
Blizzard Entertainment recently released an album - the Overwatch Cities & Countries album celebrates the selection of music from the popular game. Here's what we know
While game soundtracks aren’t new, this album is a special one because of how various countries and cities are celebrated in the game. Popular maps like Numbani (a mythical African city) or real life Paris combine the magic of Overwatch’s lore with real life elements from the countries that host these make believe and sometimes real cities.
Adam Burgess and Derek Duke are key composers and the music producers of the Overwatch Cities & Countries album. They also happen to be working on Overwatch 2. Both Burgess and Duke have impressive CVs but more importantly share a huge love for Overwatch and the characters. Burgess says his favourite hero to play in Overwatch is Junkrat because the hero is fun, energetic and makes him laugh (they both happen to be Australian which might also be a factor). Duke finds it a bit more difficult to pick a hero. He says his favourite has changed several times and jumps between Winston and Tracer. Tracer was his favourite but he has slowly formed a love for everyone’s favourite gorilla - especially because of what he has lived through and had to overcome, while still wanting to bring people together. He says he’d love to meet Winston one day because of his deep but also accessible nature.
Overwatch
© Blizzard
So what does it take to create a soundtrack for not only a new Blizzard franchise but one that requires understanding of various locations AND needs to suit an FPS game - where music can sometimes detract from the sounds that players rely on for intel and frags?
Duke, who worked on the likes of Starcraft, says there was a huge challenge to compose music for Overwatch because it was the first Blizzard franchise in 20 years. He says the process involves more than just writing for a video game. He rather focuses on creating a sound for an entire franchise and ensuring that the sound created will live on and stand the test of time.
It’s fascinating to understand the process of composing music within the confines of a multiplayer game like Overwatch. Burgess points out that most music in Overwatch only plays for twenty or thirty seconds as you load into the game - to introduce you to the map. As a composer the challenge is to use that small amount of time to create something original, energetic and uplifting that also provides momentum as you load and ultimately excites the player before the game begins. The Overwatch Cities & Countries album did allow the team to extend the map songs to two or three minute arrangements which meant they could extend the feel of emotions expressed in the shorter in-game musical tracks.
Overwatch
© Blizzard
A multiplayer first person shooter game also presents a few challenges. Players don’t want music to overshadow in game sounds. The composer works closely with the game team to ensure the music paces correctly in competitive mode. They need to be observant in how the music is utilised to enhance the game. Important things like footsteps or directional sound cannot be overshadowed and the music cannot affect the ability to play. This confines the compositions somewhat as it cannot overshadow gameplay sounds but also needs to be utilised to notify players of important calls. Certain musical compositions need to become synonymous with a game starting or over time occurring. The music in your favourite game isn’t just there for ambience. It’s a narration and alert tool as well.
Numbani is a mythical African city where Omnics and Humans lived as relative equals and there was a level of integration. This futuristic make believe space still has a musical feel that is distinctively African. Duke explains that Numbani has a rich history in the game and features in various cinematics. The challenge with creating music for Numbani was ensuring a merge of the futuristic with the more traditional African rhymes. Duke studied West African musicology and wanted to incorporate those sounds with what he envisioned to be an Omnic sound. He’s quick to point out that composing music for Numbani was very explorative into the history of African sound while also allowing for the freedom of imagination in determining what a world would look like where humans and Omnics lived together.
The immense creative process, research and beauty involved in creating the unique music we hear in Overwatch is amplified and celebrated in the Overwatch Cities and Countries album which will be a delight for fans to listen to and take you on a journey through the game without you having to launch it. When Burgess and Duke talk about their work and the heroes in the game, it is clear that they’ve immersed themselves in the magic and that they live and breathe Overwatch. The album is an extension of that passion and can be listened to on most good streaming services now. It’s also available on YouTube as a playlist:
