The mock-medieval pomp and stateliness of Ted’s compositions brilliantly comments on his former life as a conman bankrolled by various rich lovers. The fact that Nimdok used to be a Nazi scientist conducting horrific medical experiments is unobtrusively, but effectively communicated by adding snare drums to the ensemble. But Ottman finds individual tone colours for each protagonist to underscore their individual storyline – which has the added benefit of staving off monotony. There’s no doubt that the I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream soundtrack feels overwhelming claustrophobic, as if underscoring a doomed search for answers in some subterranean, darkly-lit cavern. As such, it perfectly mirrors the murky emotional and moral state of its protagonists. Like few other game scores, I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream keeps the emotions it conveys fascinatingly ambiguous and unstable. This is a soundtrack that demands and rewards multiple close listens under headphones to unearth its myriad subtleties. Ottman’s overwhelmingly chromatic harmonies are constantly surprising, while his jazz-influenced melody writing has a complexity and maturity rarely encountered in game scores. His compositions may rarely change their languid pacing and oppressive demeanour, but they are anything but predictable. What makes the I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream soundtrack even more intriguing is the fragmented melodic and harmonic material Ottman writes. The resulting instrumental palette produces a claustrophobic and haunting mood – but at the same time is capable of intimate expressions of regret and hope, vital to properly underscoring the protagonists’ conflicted, multi-faceted personalities. Ottman makes creative use of chamber music-sized orchestrations, relying heavily on woodwinds (including saxophone) and percussion. As such, I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream forms a more organic part of Ottman’s output than one might think.Īnd while the I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream soundtrack doesn’t have Snow White’s sudden mood changes, it shares the same feeling of morbidity that seeps into every single note. And it’s worth keeping in mind that several of Ottman’s early film scores were written for movies with horror aspects – particularly Snow White: A Tale of Terror. This likely provided him with the experience writing for the sort of MIDI instruments used on the I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream soundtrack. Known for grandly orchestrated work, Ottman had cut his teeth composing for movies by rescoring his friends’ student films. Seeing him score a gloomy mid-1990s adventure video game is a surprise, but maybe only initially. Thankfully, the developers found a composer who was more than up to the task: John Ottman, who would see his breakthrough the same year scoring and editing Bryan Singer’s neo-noir classic The Usual Suspects.Īrguably, Ottman is best known for his large-scale, near-symphonic soundtracks including some of the X-Men movies, Superman Returns and Jack the Giant Slayer. The task at hand was to underscore a very, very downbeat narrative in the understated style typical of adventure game scores – while working with a narrative and characters that were much richer than what most video games would offer. Musically, the I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream soundtrack would have presented both a formidable challenge and immense opportunities. Still, even decades after its release, the game stands out for its unflinching look at some immensely depressing subject matter, articulated through the repugnant yet tragic life stories of the five survivors players control during the game. However, I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream suffered from some design flaws that held it back from becoming a genre classic. Having Ellison himself involved in the creation of the game made sure it featured far better writing than most other video games. The best known example of these edgier adventure games might be Sierra’s Phantasmagoria, but arguably more confronting and thought-provoking was I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream.īased on Harlan Ellison’s short story of the same name, the game presents a bleak sci-fi scenario in which a super-computer eternally tortures humanity’s final five survivors following a nuclear holocaust, simply for its own pleasure and out of infinite hatred for mankind. Not surprisingly, this period also saw the genre daring to branch out into previously untapped, darker subject matter – although whether this was always handled with the necessary maturity and taste is up for debate. Point-and-click adventure games arguably reached the peak of their popularity during the mid-1990s. I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream Soundtrack, John Ottman, 1995
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