Tom Salta Puts the Fear in “Cold Fear”
By Louis Bedigian

“I was inspired by the setting of the game and all the various elements they wanted to incorporate into the music.” 

Darkness surrounds you, foreboding explorer. Evil is in the air, bringing a chill that isn’t felt as much as it is sensed. Goosebumps aren’t too bothersome, but the hairs standing on your back – now those have you worried.

You take a deep breath, clinching your weapon as you walk through the door. Darkness has completely enveloped this building; your only light source is a double-A flashlight. The batteries are half-dead, but you can’t worry about that right now. You’re more concerned the monster lurking in the shadows. He’s half-dead, but it’s the part that’s half-alive that you’re afraid of. 

Pushing forward, you walk past a large window. A shadowy figure appears to have flown by, but with your imagination running wild, you ignore the vision and write it off as nothing more than a figment of your brain’s creativity. 

Crash!! A monster breaks through the window, knocking you down. It lunges forward, landing on top of you, leaving few defense options. You struggle and struggle, but can’t get up. 

In a desperate attempt to escape, you bash the back of your shotgun into the monster’s head. It wasn’t your hardest blow – it’s not easy to hit a homerun when you’re pinned to the floor. 

Incredibly it worked. The monster was distracted for a moment, giving you an opportunity to escape. That freshly broken window should work just fine. 

Gamers cherish moments like these. We anticipate them for months before the game is ever released. Then when the moment finally comes, we’re either happily scared or angrily disappointed. The outcome is determined not by the graphics, the intensity of the sequence or the realism of the monster. It’s determined by sound. Music, sound effects, every aspect. If the music doesn’t put us on the edge of our seats, then that game is as good as dead. 

Ubisoft doesn’t want that to happen with their new action-horror game, Cold Fear. Who did they turn to in their time of need? Where did they go to acquire a soundtrack that will have gamers as entertained as they are frightened? None other than the man behind Atlas Plug, Tom Salta. 

You’ve heard his addictive tunes in Ghost Recon 2 (theme), RalliSport Challenge 2 (theme and in-game music) and Need For Speed Underground 2 (in-game cinematics). NBC has used his tunes for Third Watch; UPN grabbed him for Top Model; and MTV got him involved with Making the Video.

Now take the journey to dark worlds, monstrous locations, and all things horrific. Just be sure to keep the speakers cranked the whole time.

Action-Horror: this is a big change for you! Are you excited? Nervous? Or both? 

Tom Salta: I was very excited to work on this game. When I first looked over the creative documents, I was inspired by the setting of the game and all the various elements they wanted to incorporate into the music.

 
Could you get me some aspirin? All of a sudden I have this burning headache.

We've known of Cold Fear's existence for several months now – when did you jump on board?

TS: I boarded (pun intended) in late October of 2004. 

Who was it that asked you to do the music? 

TS: It was the publisher, Ubisoft, who asked me to score the game.

Some composers approach every game the same, others approach each one differently depending on the genre. How did you approach Cold Fear? 

TS: My top priority when working on any project is to understand the client's vision and deliver exactly what they are looking for. The artistic director on Cold Fear, Manu Bachet, did a fantastic job of communicating his ideas to me. There were reference documents describing the textures and emotions they were after. Ubisoft also provided various music clips to help me understand specific styles they wanted to incorporate.

The way I like to approach a project like this is to take a few days before writing a note to fully absorb all the information and musical references provided. By the time I'm ready to compose, I know instinctively what I'm trying to create and it usually all comes very quickly. Most of the score was unanimously approved on the first draft. But I give the credit to Manu. It would never have been possible to match their vision so precisely without Manu's thoughtful preparation.

Which genre does the Cold Fear soundtrack fit into? It's a horror game, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's all dark themes and ghoulish howls…or does it?

TS: I guarantee it will raise a few hairs, but I was asked to cover a lot of ground with this soundtrack so it's hard to generalize its style. Besides pure orchestral music, there is also a lot of industrial and dirty, eerie, ambient music. I also incorporated the sound that I've become known for which I call "Orchestronica." It integrates aggressive electronic music with the popular "Hollywood" Orchestral sound. Most importantly, it worked very well for certain tracks in the game. 

We also wanted to use a sound palette that would incorporate the essence of the player's immersive environment. In nearly all the music you will hear heavy industrial percussion, dirty metallic sounds, gurgling liquid and even whale song. We all feel the music greatly enhances the game playing experience.

How did you compose the music? Which tools/instruments did you use?

TS: The whole score was created in my studio. I work on a rig that incorporates several computers and gives me a huge palette of sounds. I use Logic as my DAW (Digital audio workstation) with lots of soft synths. I also have two PC's with one running Gigastudio and a bunch of real synths as well.

Cold Fear has some great-looking effects.

Will your music play throughout the entire game, including movie sequences and the ending credits?

TS: Yes, my music is used throughout the entire game, including the special features like the galleries you unlock.

How many songs did you write for this game? Were there any that didn't get used, or some that were started but never finished?

TS: There is over an hour of music in this game and everything I composed was used. I believe there were about twenty different themes and nine cinematics.

Are there any particular songs that you have high hopes for? Any specific points in the game that you hope players will really enjoy?

TS: I feel the theme itself is the main focus of the game's soundtrack. I think it really captures the feeling of a whaler ship being tossed around in a storm and the dangerous adventures our hero, Tom Hansen, must face. The melody is integrated throughout the game and makes a triumphant return in the finale of the game (no spoilers here). I will admit there's a cool plot twist which I won't divulge but they kept much of the game-play a secret … even from me! I'm actually playing it for the first time now so I'll have to get back you on that. :) (laughs) 

What influenced the music you created for this game? Things you've heard in movies/other games? Things you hear in your head and felt should have been in horror games, but hasn't been? Or something else? 

TS: The creator's vision for the game was my primary influence. Once we decided upon the kind of textures and elements to use, they listed all the various tracks they wanted along with the mood they wanted each one to create. I was given descriptions like "Safe," "Tense," "Spooky," "Massive Action," "Horror," etc. From there I just had fun and used all the tools at my disposal to create music that would simply scare the pants off people. :) (laughs)

Did the game's story influence your music at all?

TS: Absolutely, you might notice that the main theme itself, which was my demo pitch for the game, symbolizes the storyline. It begins on the whaler ship being tossed around in a storm, and then it dives into an eerie tense atmosphere complete with whale song, industrial rhythms, ominous effects (even a broken radio transmitter). Then the last section breaks into a heroic anthem and ends with a low monstrous growl.

I’ve got my laser on you.

"2 Days Or Die" has been a great selling point to game publishers and developers. Do you believe it's the reason they wanted you to work on Cold Fear?

TS: Actually, being hired to score Cold Fear was completely based on the theme I created as my demo pitch. There were lots of great composers pitching for this project and I'm just very fortunate they chose me.

All music is challenging obviously – it's not easy to compose anything. But would you say that Cold Fear was more or less challenging than your previous compositions?

TS: Like anything else, it's always a challenge to do your best and push yourself to break new ground. I will say though, I completely resonated with this project and it was one of the most enjoyable game-scoring experiences I've had to date.

Sounds great. I’m sure your hard work and dedication will stand out as soon as we delve into the final game.

Thanks for your time.