LJ> Here's wishing you the best in broadening your horizons. 
  Yes, I know, I know!  :-)  But until I see a sftwr.idsoftware or something 
similar, you're going to have to deal with me.
 LJ> I'll be brutally honest - I don't listen too much to other games' music.
 LJ> There are a couple of good reasons for this.  First, I don't want to be
 LJ> accused of ripping someone else's stuff (i.e., the John 
 LJ> Williams syndrome),
 LJ> and believe me, that is an easy thing to slip into at the rate that game
 LJ> composers write.  Second, when I do listen, I tend to listen to a lot of
 LJ> things all at once - sort of a saturation trick that helps me overcome
 LJ> problem #1.  Finally, a lot of complex emotional things 
 LJ> happen to me, which
 LJ> I won't go into here:  suffice it to say that it always takes me a day 
r
 LJ> three to get back into the groove afterwards.
  Don't call it a rip-off, call it inspiration!    And I think 
inspiration is indeed valid, though in a more general sense.  For example, if 
you stutter "hey, why didn't I think of that," then you've just potentially 
advanced your skills.
  Something you may want to listen to is the Methods of Destruction CD that 
was done for Quake.  I've only heard minute-long samples, but they were of 
good quality.
 LJ> That's an EXTREMELY huge advantage.  I'd love to have a 100+ piece
 LJ> orchestra at my disposal, but they wouldn't fit into my studio.  IMHO, 
the
 LJ> sounds that they took from the movie were, of course, movie-quality.
 LJ> However, the ones that were new were so-so.
  Who said you had to do the recording in your studio?  The best place would 
be a concert hall.  Mind you, I don't know how much orchestral music would be 
appropriate for a Vegas trip like DNF or a mystical journey like Prey.
  Perhaps some cultural music - Native American music, for instance.
 LJ> I intend to make it as good as I can.  However, you have to keep in mind
 LJ> the first rule of game music composition - the music should add to the
 LJ> game, not detract from it or overshadow it.  It's like trying to blend 
the
 LJ> subliminal with the spectacular.  A neat trick, if you can pull it off.
  It's kind of hard to walk that fine line though.  Wipeout XL's soundtrack, 
for instance.  There's a lot of top-notch electronica talent, so you may 
argue that it overwhelms the game.  But conversely, you might argue that it's 
just nice to listen to.
  Speaking of music "rules," here's #2 in my opinion: "instrumental version" 
is your best friend.  It will still hark back to the original piece itself, 
but you won't be distraced by the lyrics.  I believe The Tea Party's music 
would be great as instrumentals.
 LJ> Not the theme, maybe, but that wasn't the goal there.  Besides, I'll 
admit
 LJ> that the theme isn't one of my favorites.  George liked it, though, and
 LJ> that cinched its place within the game.
 LJ> Anyway, I think there is at least one piece that works to the extent 
hat
 LJ> you imply - Lo Wang's Rap. IMHO, it's worth listening to regardless of
 LJ> whether or not you have the CD.
  You need to convince George that electronica and bass matter a lot.  Tape 
his eyelids open and force him to watch "R U Receiving" on MuchMusic!
 LJ> You're right - say no more.  Further inquiries will be 
 LJ> routed to /dev/null.
 LJ> I'm not saying a word about any deals involving DNF, regardless of 
whether
 LJ> or not they exist (which at this time, they don't).  
 LJ> You'll just have to be
 LJ> patient and learn when everyone else does whether or 
 LJ> not there was anything
 LJ> at all to learn about in the first place.
  I won't probe too much further, but can you say that the band is well-known 
in North America?
  
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