As we get closer to the December 3rd release of Rayman Legends Retold, Montpellier studio was kind enough to discuss the upcoming remake of the seminal platformer. In the discussion, Grant Kirkhope and Charlie Atanasyan discussed a variety of things, from the game’s use of music, to some of the newer content coming with the remake, including brand-new musical levels.
Ray Mann’s music has a distinct sense of playfulness and adventure. When reimagining that sound for Retold, which musical qualities felt essential to preserve and where did you see room to surprise long-term fans?
Grant: I worked on the new world – the world for the living dead, so it’s a bit different to what people expect from Rayman, and Charlie has told me he is looking for a different kind of sound, because Rayman has changed, he’s not a kid anymore, he’s a teenager, he’s kind of getting a bit older. So, we wanted a slightly more mature feel, and by this, I mean just a little bit of something that makes him a bit more cheeky or edgy than perhaps he was in the days gone by.
When I first started writing the Living Dead level, I was expecting it to be more of the kind of Rayman thing that you would expect, but it really isn’t. It’s quite a bit darker. Charlie kept saying to me “darker, darker, darker!” and whilst I was thinking to “oh, this is getting quite dark” it still has that bit of that humour in there, and the kind of sound that you would identity and expect with Rayman.
So, it was a fine line trying to get something that was like a bit darker in tone, but that still retained some of the old sound and humour.
Charlie Atanasyan: Also for this new game, we were exploring some new musical styles that we have not really used or explored in the previous game, and that has been very interesting because it brings greater diversity, and adding to this we also brought back instruments that we’ve probably not used for the past 20 years.
What was the starting point for Retold‘s original score? A melody, an instrument, a visual idea, or something else? Could you talk, could you walk us through one piece that changed significantly between its concept and final form.
Charlie Atanasyan: It is a back-and-forth process between Grant, the team and also myself. Everything starts with some concept art to give a sense of the mood and the tone that we want to bring when we develop a new level or new world.
And from that, I kind of start to think what could fit, what could be the texture, the mood, the pacing also and I write a kind of early brief, but without getting into too much detail, and share that with Grant and we discuss it together and with the team. We do use a lot of concept art which can be useful to give the sense of the emotions, the mood, the tone.
Grant: I guess, I like to work where I’ll send a little bit, maybe like the 1st 16 bars, 20 bars, you know, 30 seconds, 20 seconds, and then I’ll say, Charlie, “is this in the right direction?” And he’ll say, yes, carry on, no, start again, and we work from that.
I like working like that because it saves you writing say a whole 5-minute piece, where the team might say “no, we don’t like it, start again”. So, most people that I work with over the years like that way of working because it gives them a real insight right at the start by what I’m first thinking of and say, “yeah, that really works” or “No, it doesn’t” and it’s quicker. It makes it all quicker in the end as once you get this kind of direction established, you can write the rest of it easily.
So it’s just getting that first kick-off. And it’s always a little bit of, you know, to and fro, we like that bit, but that bit doesn’t sound in the right style. Because, you know, the team always has the grand vision whilst us composers try and bring what the team is hearing in their heads but maybe not hearing from me just yet. So, it is a bit of to and fro at the start, but I think it’s always like that.
I do actually like strong direction and Charlie and the team have been great, both in providing that direction and that feedback. Whatever I’ve worked on and presented to them, they’ve been super quick in their feedback which I really appreciate. This gives me a real solid kind of direction which helps gets you in the zone quicker.
What does each composer bring to Retold‘s musical identity and how did you combine these individual voices into a cohesive score? Was there a moment when a collaborator’s unexpected idea might have changed your approach, for example?
Grant: Because me and Christophe worked on the Mario Rabbids DLC together I think we both knew our music really fits well together. Christophe has got such a fantastic style, and he really can write anything.
He can write such grandiose Hollywood-esque music, but also write super quirky oddball things in just a heartbeat. So, I think both our styles kind of meet in the middle somewhere. I really like Christophe, he’s a super cool guy, so it’s just been one of those things and it’s not often that I get that kind of connection with somebody.
Charlie Atanasyan: Yes, definitely, and it’s not that common to have multiple composers on a project, but that went very well and both of you were a really great combination.
And with dynamic remixing, making the music respond to player actions, how do you preserve and track’s musical flow when players move unpredictably, hesitate, or make mistakes? What was the hardest interaction to make sound natural?
Charlie Atanasyan: The main goal was to give the feeling to the player that in some way they can control the music a bit. So, in every level we really try to find a specific point in a location or certain gameplay action that you have to do to progress that will link the music to that.
We also use some techniques to kind of blur the music and the sound effects in the environment altogether that creates a strong link between the music and the game.
Rayman Legends made music an active part of the gameplay. How are you approaching that relationship in Retold, and how closely did the composers and gameplay designers work together when the needs of a level and musical arrangement conflicted?
Charlie Atanasyan: I and the team try to share as much content and detail with the composer about what we are planning to create and what kind of style or mood we want to bring.
So we try to share as much content and detail as possible, but it’s a very iterative process of going back and forth with Grant and Christophe with regular calls every week.
Grant: People have known Rayman over the years and so many years, so you want to make sure that you touch all those points that people like. This can be a fine line, as you’ve got to keep the thing about the game that everyone loved, but it’s also nice to introduce some new bits, and introductions that complement the old bits.
In this process everything changes and if you think something is going to work and it doesn’t, then you change it. So, yes, so it’s definitely a back and forth process.
Rayman‘s character conveys so much personality through expressive sounds and comic timing. How did you direct the voice performances to retain that charm while giving emotional moments room to breathe, particularly when voices, music and sound effects compete for attention?
Charlie Atanasyan: When it comes to voices, music, or SFX, we try to find the right moment for every action or every kind of sound. The aim is to give these elements the room to express themselves – not all at the same time, but to spread them across levels and time in the right balance.
Voices and music were definitely a huge topic, and concerning the former, I’m very happy as we tried as much as possible to bring back some of the original voice talents that were present in the previous game. So it was great to work again with such talented people.
It’s also cool to have Rayman and his friend talking again – during the cinematics of course, but also during the gameplay now, and we hope player will enjoy hearing them speaking about crazy stuff and responding to each other when you play in co-op.
Grant: Yeah, like I only provide one bit of that, right? Charlie is about that puts it all together. So, you know, it’s a, you know, it’s the, I’ve been an audit director years ago and it’s not an easy task. So I think, I think he’s done a fantastic job. It’s been, it just sounds amazing.
