I had the most extraordinary opportunity this past week to witness the recording of The Banner Saga 2! I helped to copy the parts for the musicians, and Austin Wintory, the composer, was kind enough to invite me to my home town of Denver for the big event!
Austin Wintory leads The Colorado Symphony at Boettcher Concert Hall. And yes, that is a Thunder Sheet the height of two men.
Austin was a great host. He put up with my fanboishness and went out of his way to make sure I got the most out of the experience. It was another example I personally experienced of a successful composer who is just the epitome of class and simply wants the best for his or her less experienced colleagues. It meant so much to me that he was willing to take valuable time away from his insane schedule to answer questions and admonish me with orchestration pointers and career tips. I also got to meet the developers of the game, who were similarly awesome people.
The score itself was very similar to the original…but of course it throws new elements into the mix as well. I personally found it more epic, but that’s probably just because I was hearing it live in a fantastic concert hall, where the percussion sounds like doom itself and the brass so vividly belting out the strained fanfares of the desperately heroic.
Be vewry quiet.
I can’t stress enough how amazing it was to be around such positivity. Such a thing doesn’t always exist in the professional world, but this team of artists, programmers and musicians stand as a shining example of vitality and non-snobbery. It was a career-affirming experience that I absolutely treasure.
I made a post about the original Banner Saga game way over here, and at that point I never imagined I would actually be a part of the process for the second game. But long story short: you should check it out…especially if you are a fan of Vikings, turn-based strategy or fantasy stories with awesome characters.