Composer Olivier Derivière has been hailed by MTV as “game music’s eclectic daredevil”. He is the creative mind behind the soundtracks to games such as Assassin’s Creed IV, Black Flag, Freedom Cry and Remember Me (for which he received the International Film Music Critics Association Award for “Best Original Score for a Video Game or Interactive Media”). Olivier Derivière is currently working on the sci-fi RPG The Technomancer.
At Nordic Game 2016 next week, Olivier Derivière will take the stage with his talk “Don’t Ask for Permission: Assert Your Creative Freedom!”
NG: What was the first game that really made you aware of games?
OD: My very first memory was when I was around six years old. It was at my dad’s friend’s house on a Commodore 64. I can’t remember the name but it was mind-blowing! You could move a character (about five pixels) through a succession of ropes: Mind-blowing!
NG: Which game has made you most frustrated or angry?
OD: Lately I have to say Demon Souls made me quite angry, and depressed… I was (almost) willing to quit as a self-confessed hardcore gamer. I approached the Dark Souls series with much more humility and felt better… but still… I have some bad memories…
NG: Which game have you spent the most time on?
OD: If I combine all the multiplayer and solo campaigns together it must be the Halo series. I spent a ridiculous amount of time on these games but The Elder Scrolls games are also my refuge. I spent hundreds of hours wandering in the vast world of this series.
Check out The Technomancer trailer from Gamescom 2015:
NG: What game, genre or game mechanic would you like to see brought back the most?
OD: Actually, I am not sure I would like to play something from the past. Last time I tried Megaman I couldn’t pass the first four screens… I was so ashamed. I am looking for the future based on our past experience to have new experiences! Is it VR? Who knows?
NG: What is the best detail you ever noticed in a game?
OD: It is that which you can’t put your finger on, but without it the experience would be less fulfilling. There are too many to mention in so many games.
NG: Which game would do well in another media form?
OD: Other media are not about gameplay and games are unique experiences mostly thanks to the gameplay. So to adapt gameplay to another media form might be… difficult. Now, lots of games have truly amazing settings, characters and stories. We could see many adapted to movies and books (as it is already happening). For years I wanted to read a book or watch a movie that tells the end story of Shenmue but since the announcement of the third game, I just can’t wait to play it.
Olivier Derivière’s session “Don’t Ask for Permission: Assert Your Creative Freedom!” is scheduled for Thursday afternoon, 19 May at Slagthuset in Malmö. Read more about Olivier Derivière here and his talk here.
Ready to listen? Olivier Derivière – game composer extraordinaire – another great reason to join us for Nordic Game 2016, 18-20 May in Malmö, Sweden. Register today!
