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After several weeks of silence, id Software has addressed the controversy surrounding the quality of its official Doom Eternal soundtrack, and in particular the comments made by original songwriter Mick Gordon in light of fan complaints, confirming that Gordon will not be working on music for the Doom Eternal DLC again.
Soundtrack-related issues first surfaced in late April, when Ruff Audio founder and audio blogger Reace “thatACDCguy” Niles noted dramatically variable differences in recording quality, which he attributed at a reduced dynamic range on certain tracks.
Niles pointed an accusing finger at Gordon, writing “I hope much better from him”, to which the composer replied, explaining that he had only mixed a “small handful of tracks” and “would not have done that” on the other tracks
In a separate but related comment, Gordon told an inquisitive fanatic that he doubted he would work with id Software again, sparking speculation that relations between the two sides had deteriorated, which, in turn, and inevitably depressed , saw id’s main audio designer. , who was responsible for remixing the rest of the soundtrack, became the target of online abuse by certain sectors of the Doom community.
Here’s a comparison between the original BFG Division from the official Doom 2016 soundtrack (left) versus the BFG 2020 remix on today’s Eternal soundtrack (right).
Notice how the wavelengths in BFG 2020 form an almost perfect straight bar against the original with more definition pic.twitter.com/TCJRdOe1Yf
– Doominal Crossing: Eternal Horizons? (@thatACDCguy) April 19, 2020
Now, in a lengthy statement posted on the Doom subreddit, Doom Eternal executive producer Marty Stratton has addressed the “speculation and criticism” surrounding the release of the soundtrack. “Some have suggested that we have been careless or disrespectful to the game’s music,” he wrote, “Others have speculated that [Gordon] He was not given the time or creative freedom to deliver something different or better. The fact is, none of that is true. “
“What has become unacceptable to me,” Stratton continued, “are the direct and personal attacks on our lead audio designer, particularly given his outstanding contributions to the game, as well as the damage this mischaracterization is causing to many talented people who have contributed to the game and continue to support it. “
While Stratton praised Gordon’s skills, he admitted that the two sides had “struggled to connect with some of the more production-related development realities” and that “communication around those issues has eroded trust. For identification This has created an unsustainable project pattern of uncertainty and risk. “
The rest of Stratton’s post includes a detailed breakdown of the Doom Eternal soundtrack pre-release events, covering everything from the original id deal with Gordon (who was hired to deliver “a minimum” of 12 tracks. ), until the developer granted a six-week extension to the composer’s request.
According to Stratton, however, as the revised filing date approached, he “became increasingly concerned with [Gordon] delivering the OST to us on time, “and asked id’s lead audio designer to start mixing tracks as a backup plan. Stratton notes that this internal mix was created using precompressed music snippets by Gordon for use in the game (from hence the reduced range dynamics on these tracks) and not the composer’s original material, which the developer “typically [doesn’t] have acces to”.
After a last-minute delay, Gordon finally released nine of his own mixes, with the rest requesting delivery “as soon as possible.” However, Stratton was not happy that most were “ambient in nature” and that only one featured “the kind of heavy combat music that people would expect,” something he felt would not “meet the expectations” of fans.
As such, both parties finally agreed to combine Gordon’s tracks with id’s internal efforts, a suggestion Gordon had previously made, according to Stratton, at the time, the finished soundtrack was assembled and sent to nature.
Stratton says that after criticism of the soundtrack and Gordon’s comments about his future relationship with the ID, the studio contacted the composer “to understand what triggered his online posts.” Gordon is said to have outlined a number of concerns, including edits to certain tracks, the nature of some of the snippets of music used by id, and problems related to a co-composer credit, all of which are detailed in the lengthy rebuttal. of id.
The end result of this correspondence, despite Stratton’s insistence that id Software “had never discussed the end [its] The collaboration with “Gordon at the time of the composer’s original comments is that the developer is now” about to move on and will not be working with Mick on the DLC we currently have in production. “
“I am as disappointed as anyone at this point,” Stratton concluded in his statement, “but as we have done many times before, we will adapt to changing circumstances and seek out the most unique and talented artists in the industry with who to collaborate
“Our team has really enjoyed this creative collaboration and we know that Mick will continue to delight fans for many years to come.”
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