Assassin's Creed III is a beautiful game both visually and musically. The songs in the new game add an incredible depth to many of the game's key sequences. In a recent interview with Forbes, the man behind the music of Assassin's Creed III, composer Lorne Balfe spoke about what influenced him while creating the main theme and several other musical pieces that play throughout the story.
Balfe said that the game's historical setting and Connor's Native American heritage allowed him to utilize traditional instruments and create a new layer of narrative within the game.
"I got my inspiration from the game itself," Balfe said. "The characters and the historical period of time lent itself to have an interesting though uncommon style that we were able to take advantage of musically. Having a lead character that was of Native American decent let me delve into an original world of traditional instruments as well as percussive chanting, helping to create a new layer of storytelling within the game."
Connor's heritage wasn't the only cultural influences on the game's soundtrack. According to Balfe, each major region in the game had music that was influenced by its location and culture.
"The game takes place during the American Revolution and this meant musically we could showcase some of the cultures that were rooting in America," Balfe told Forbes. "Each major region of the game was given a distinct musical style that varied based on locale and culture. When the player finds his or herself in the Homestead, we added Celtic musical tropes to create a distinguished sonic landscape. A game as complex as Assassin's Creed begs for stylistic variation."
Balfe also told Forbes that he approached Assassin's Creed III as if it was a Hollywood film and that he wanted to create modern music without the heavy use of electronic instruments.
"This Assassin's Creed is as visually enthralling as any Hollywood film and because of that, I wanted to created a big sound," Balfe said. "I wanted to create a contemporary score but not rely on electronic instruments too heavily."
Although Assassin's Creed III is part of the series, Balfe said that the game is a completely different playing experience and that although they used some elements from previous games, the developers wanted a new theme.
"The developers wanted a new theme for the game and so, though we used elements of the previous Knights Templar and Labored and Lost themes, I didn't really approach the game thinking that it had to musically relate to the rest of the franchise," Balfe told Forbes.
You can read the full interview with Balfe at Forbes. Assassin's Creed III is now available for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. A PC release will follow on Nov. 20, while a Wii U version will be available at the consoles launch on Nov. 18.
Interested in what historical events and figures were left out the game? Check out another interview with scriptwriter Matt Turner about what was left on the cutting room floor here. Check out the great images from Assassin's Creed III's multiplayer mode in our slideshow here.
Did you know that Assassin's Creed III's protagonist Connor could be getting two more games? read about it here and watch the trailer revealing his story here. Have you seen the AC3 weapons trailer? Check it out here. Read about the planned George Washington DLC here. Read about the exclusive content coming to the PlayStation 3 version here.
