GameDAILY BIZ: When did you decide that you wanted to pursue a career in the video game industry and how did you get your start?

Tommy Tallarico: I've been playing piano since I was 3 and composing music since I was a teenager. I grew up on video games but never thought to put my two greatest loves together until I moved out to California when I turned 21. I moved out in 1991 with no money, no place to stay, no friends or family, no job... nothing! I was literally homeless and sleeping under the pier at Huntington Beach. The first day I was in California I picked up a newspaper and got a job selling keyboards at Guitar Center. I started the next day and the first customer to walk in the store was a producer at a new video game company called Virgin Mastertronic (which later turned into Virgin Games). I was wearing a TurboGraphix t-shirt and we struck up a conversation about games. I went down to the studio and was hired the next day as the very first games tester. It was then that I decided what my career was going to be.

I wanted to help change the way people thought and felt about video game music. I didn't want it to be associated with child-like bleeps and bloops; our generation had grown up and we were still playing games. I wanted to create thematic film score music, rock, blues, electronica, and all the music I would normally listen to. At the time you had to be a computer programmer in order to do music for games. I barely knew anything about programming so I had programmers build me systems in which I could play my midi keyboard into the actual game systems. I then convinced the programmers and big brass to give me an unheard of amount of cartridge space so I could use samples and other tricks to create the best possible audio experience. It all worked out great for my career and the games I worked on. Titles like Global Gladiators, Cool Spot, The Terminator, Aladdin & the Earthworm Jim series were all winning audio awards to help me prove my theory that game audio should be taken a lot more seriously in games.

BIZ: If you never made it into the game industry, what would you be doing today—what are your other interests besides music and games?

TT: I've always wanted to be an actor and musician my entire life. So I guess the answer would be actor. Although my other job as host of the longest running video game television shows Electric Playground & Judgment Day (G4/MTV) allows me to once again marry two loves together.

BIZ: What is your opinion of music in games today? In what ways does it need to improve?

TT: We have come so far over the last couple of years due in part to the non-profit organization I founded over 3 years ago called the Game Audio Network Guild (G.A.N.G.) at www.audiogang.org. G.A.N.G. is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating audio folks as well as publishers and developers. We currently have over 1000 members and major corporate sponsorships. We've done things such as help rewrite the union contracts to further the ability to use live orchestras and we just recently submitted a proposal to NARAS to get our own category in the Grammy Awards next year. We have scholarships, student & apprentice programs as well as thousands of threads on our message boards, and our annual G.A.N.G. awards show which spotlights the best audio in games each year. As our budgets grow each year you will continue to see a huge rise in big production and high quality audio. The technology is getting to a point where the platforms are no longer limiting the possibilities of what we can do.

BIZ: Over the course of your career, which musical artists have been an inspiration to you when composing for games?

TT: Beethoven, John Williams & Jerry Goldsmith would be my greatest orchestral compositional influences. Steven Tyler, Sting, BT, Van Halen, Enigma & Delerium would be others that have influenced additional musical styles.

BIZ: As Hollywood and the game industry converge more and more, game soundtracks and film scores are becoming quite similar. How would you compare music for movies vs. games?

TT: The biggest difference between film & video game scores is the interactivity element. Because movies are so linear it is a lot easier to know the exact feeling on screen to create background music. In games, a lot of times the music drives the action and can change accordingly to the mood or player's interaction. Because of this, video game music almost becomes foreground music as opposed to background music.

BIZ: Video game soundtracks sell pretty well in Japan and in parts of Europe but they haven't quite taken off here in America. What do you see for this market in the U.S.?

TT: This will absolutely continue to grow and change in the U.S., which we are already starting to experience. In November of last year the Halo 2 soundtrack was released in America and charted on Billboard! It's already sold over 170,000 units and if we get our new category in the Grammy's next year you'll see even more and more soundtracks in the U.S. market. Currently there are about 50 video game soundtracks released each year in the U.S. (not including imports). It's a growing market that will continue to gain acceptance in the coming years. Soon you will even see game music on iTunes.

BIZ: We've learned that you've just finished working on the score to Majesco's Advent Rising. What can you tell us about the game and your involvement on the project?

TT: It's been an amazing experience. My team has been working on the game for about 3 years now. In December we recorded a 70 piece Hollywood union orchestra on the Paramount Pictures stage. I had an Academy & Emmy Award winning team of mixers, engineers and the conductor. I later went to Salt Lake City to record the adult and childrens choir. The score is very unique in that it was written like a cross between an Italian Opera and a major motion picture. I think it will have a huge impact on the playing experience. The game's rich and unique storyline enabled me to break some musical ground in this regard.

BIZ: How do you decide what style of music is appropriate for a game you're working on?

TT: Normally I sit down with the designer and we talk about it. Lots of movie styles are always referenced for certain instrumentations or sounds. I feel that most video games rely too much on location-based themes as opposed to moods, characters and motifs. For example, just because you are in a jungle doesn't mean the music should sound like jungle music. Who are the characters you are about to encounter? What is the mood? What is about to happen in the game experience? Who do you have with you in your journey? What is the goal of this particular journey? All of these things can be incorporated in the music direction as opposed to just taking the easy route out and saying... "Well, they're in a jungle so let's do jungle music."

BIZ: Have budgetary constraints ever gotten in the way of making the music that you wanted in a game?

TT: Hell yes! However, these are barriers which are being broken down each and every project. Publishers are quickly learning that in order to provide a full entertainment experience that the audio MUST be top notch. Live orchestras, union actors, separate sound designers and sound editors, voice-over directors, casting agents, unique sound programmers, implementers, mixers, music supervisors are now incorporated into creating the perfect audio experience. None of these positions were present a few years ago and it was hard to compete with the biggest and best Hollywood motion pictures out there. Now that we have the attention and respect of the publishers we are starting to play on an even field.

BIZ: We're already seeing some great use of DD5.1 surround sound in today's consoles. How will the next-generation of consoles make the audio/musical experience of games even better?

TT: The next generation of platforms will make it easier for audio people to communicate with the game engines. We rely a lot on programming and implementation to achieve success. In our industry creating a piece of music or sound fx is only half the work. The other half is getting into the game and triggering it properly. As the audio tools and platforms continue to evolve we will see the implementation process get easier and easier for composers and sound designers to ensure their creative elements are processed in the best possible way.

BIZ: So besides Advent Rising, what can we expect from Tommy Tallarico in the near future?

TT: My most exciting project to date is about to launch in July named Video Games Live (www.videogameslive.com). I am putting on a world tour of the greatest video game music and licenses of all time played by a 60 piece orchestra and a 32 person choir. It will also feature huge interactive video screens, lasers, special fx and a live stage production. We have 20 segments in the show which will be featuring such titles as Halo, Medal Gear Solid, Warcraft, Everquest II, Sonic the Hedgehog, Medal of Honor, Tron, Myst, Beyond Good & Evil and of course Advent Rising! (just to name a few). We will also be starting off the show with a Classic Arcade Segment entitled "In the Beginning..." I will definitely get you more information as we get closer to July.

Nowhere in the history of the video game industry have 20,000 fans gathered together to celebrate video games! We will be doing this about 3 times a week throughout the nation all summer long.

In closing, for further information about my career please feel free to check out www.tallarico.com.

BIZ: Thanks very much for your time, Tommy.