When a video game is all about the music, the songs have got to be a cut above. The new release, Rock University: The <a href="www.barkinglizards.com.>Naked Brothers Band, from developers Barking Lizards and THQ, is music-driven from start to finish, giving players the chance to live the superstar life of breakout group The Naked Brothers. Ensuring that the sound lived up to the onscreen action was a must, which is why <a href="www.stephenarnoldmusic.com.>Stephen Arnold Music (<a href="www.stephenarnoldmusic.com.>SAM) was selected to create 27 full-length album-style songs for the game.
“Music and sound are really one of the new frontiers in video gaming — it’s such a crucial piece of the puzzle but it often gets overlooked,” says Bryan Pritchard, President/COO of Barking Lizards. “Many games today are moving into a more cinematic presentation, and with that we’re starting to see more and more focus on the audio aspect. Working with a company like <a href="www.stephenarnoldmusic.com.>Stephen Arnold Music, who can help guide the direction of the audio production, is the key to the success of audio in games.”
In Rock University: The <a href="www.barkinglizards.com.>Naked Brothers Band, based on the Nickelodeon TV show, players embark on a nationwide tour where they can experience all aspects of being in the band: singing, playing multiple instruments, controlling stage effects and much more. For 27 of the game’s songs, <a href="www.stephenarnoldmusic.com.>SAM produced, recorded, and mixed in stems so that each player could control and hear a specific instrument, including guitar, bass, keys, drums, and even cello. In addition, <a href="www.stephenarnoldmusic.com.>SAM tracked all of the instrument “mistake’ tracks as well, a component of the the sound design used when a player commits an error.
The deep video game experience of <a href="www.stephenarnoldmusic.com.>SAM‘s team of producers and composers, working out of their fully equipped Dallas studios, was crucial to the project. In addition to quickly establishing an efficient workflow with Barking Lizards, <a href="www.stephenarnoldmusic.com.>SAM was able to tackle singificant musical challenges that The <a href="www.barkinglizards.com.>Naked Brothers presented. To expand on the available songs from the band’s existing catalog, <a href="www.stephenarnoldmusic.com.>SAM‘s writers needed to make original compositions that retained the band’s original flair while not copying any of their existing songs. Another difficult task to solve was writing all 27 rock songs to have cello constantly playing throughout – an arrangement/mixing quandry made necessary by the fact that any instrument can be a featured solo at any point via game plan.
“Developers understand that music is a driving force behind the emotions of a game,” says Stephen Arnold, President of <a href="www.stephenarnoldmusic.com.>SAM. “The <a href="www.barkinglizards.com.>Naked Brothers required a music vendor that could produce real tunes, and that’s where <a href="www.stephenarnoldmusic.com.>SAM shines. We base everything on musicality, and know how to create songs that have a true verse, chorus, and bridge. Those are capabilities that require going way beyond simply threading together loops and textures, and we really enjoyed working with the great team at Barking Lizards to create a truly musical experience for the game’s players.”
For Barking Lizards, the versatility and real world music production expertise of <a href="www.stephenarnoldmusic.com.>SAM made them indispensable to The <a href="www.barkinglizards.com.>Naked Brothers Band the Video Game. “We came to <a href="www.stephenarnoldmusic.com.>SAM because of their ability to create a wide array of styles of music, the quality of the tracks we heard, and their overall professionalism,” Bryan Pritchard says. “We fully leveraged their ability to interpret the original content from The <a href="www.barkinglizards.com.>Naked Brothers Band, and recreate new and interesting tracks that we could build fun game play around. The team at <a href="www.stephenarnoldmusic.com.>SAM also provided us with frequent updates, and kept us in the loop through the whole process. <a href="www.stephenarnoldmusic.com.>SAM really brought the gamut.”
About <a href="www.stephenarnoldmusic.com.>Stephen Arnold Music:
As a multiple Emmy, Addy and Promax Gold award-winning music production company, <a href="www.stephenarnoldmusic.com.>Stephen Arnold Music has over 15 years of success in delivering the sounds that make a difference to networks, television stations, advertising agencies, film studios and video game companies the world over. The company’s Commanding Sonic Branding approach to music production and commitment to industry-leading service is at the core of its promise. For more information, please visit www.stephenarnoldmusic.com.
About Barking Lizards Technologies:
Headquartered in Richardson Texas, Barking Lizards is a technology company formed by game professionals and technology innovators. Over the years, Barking Lizards has crafted games for many platforms including Sony Playstation 2, Sony PSP, Nintendo GBA, Nintendo DS, PC, Nintendo Wii and a diverse variety of Mobile devices. Barking Lizards is also a licensed developer for Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. We base our reputation on building quality and innovative games in a timely fashion. For more information visit www.barkinglizards.com.
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