Jack Wall (composer)
Encyclopedia
Jack Wall is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 video game music composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

. He has worked on video game music for over 20 games including the Myst franchise
Myst (series)
Myst is a franchise centered on a series of adventure video games. The first game in the series, Myst, was released in 1993 by brothers Rand and Robyn Miller and their video game company Cyan, Inc...

, Splinter Cell
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow is an action-adventure stealth game, developed and published by Ubisoft Shanghai, while Ubisoft Montreal, creator of the original Splinter Cell, was working on Chaos Theory. Pandora Tomorrow is the second game in the Splinter Cell series endorsed by...

, Jade Empire
Jade Empire
Jade Empire is an action role-playing game developed by Canadian developer BioWare and first published in 2005 by Microsoft Game Studios as a worldwide release for the Xbox. The later, two-disc Limited Edition contained extra content...

, and Mass Effect
Mass Effect
Mass Effect is an action role-playing game developed by BioWare for the Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows by Demiurge Studios. The Xbox 360 version was released worldwide in November 2007 published by Microsoft Game Studios...

. Wall earned a degree in civil engineering
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...

 from Drexel University
Drexel University
Drexel University is a private research university with the main campus located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. It was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a noted financier and philanthropist. Drexel offers 70 full-time undergraduate programs and accelerated degrees...

 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, and, after a brief stint working in civil engineering, transitioned into music production. He worked with musicians such as John Cale
John Cale
John Davies Cale, OBE is a Welsh musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the experimental rock band The Velvet Underground....

, David Byrne
David Byrne
David Byrne may refer to:*David Byrne , musician and former Talking Heads frontman**David Byrne , his eponymous album*David Byrne , Irish footballer*David Byrne , English footballer...

, and Patti Smith
Patti Smith
Patricia Lee "Patti" Smith is an American singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist, who became a highly influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses....

, and, after performing increasingly complex production and sound engineering tasks, moved into music composition in 1995.

Wall immediately began working in the video game industry, composing the soundtrack to Vigilance. Primarily composing in an orchestral style, by 2001 he composed the soundtrack to Myst III: Exile
Myst III: Exile
Myst III: Exile is the third title in the Myst series of first person adventure video games. While the preceding games in the series, Myst and Riven, were produced by Cyan and published by Brøderbund, Exile was developed by Presto Studios and published by Ubisoft...

, which was the title he says put him on the map as a video game composer. In 2002, Wall became one of around 20 co-founders of the Game Audio Network Guild (G.A.N.G.) as well as senior director. In 2005, Wall, along with G.A.N.G. founder and fellow composer Tommy Tallarico
Tommy Tallarico
Tommy Tallarico is an American video game music composer and musician. He is best known as the co-creator of the concert series Video Games Live...

, produced the Video Games Live
Video Games Live
Video Games Live is a concert series created and produced by industry veterans and video game composers Tommy Tallarico and Jack Wall. The concerts consist of segments of video game music performed by a live orchestra with video footage and synchronized lighting and effects, as well as several...

 concert series. Wall serves as the conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...

 for the international concert tour. His latest released soundtrack is that of 2010's Mass Effect 2
Mass Effect 2
Mass Effect 2 is an action role-playing game developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The game was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 on January 26, 2010 and for PlayStation 3 on January 18, 2011...

. His soundtracks for Myst III: Exile, Myst IV: Revelation
Myst IV: Revelation
Myst IV: Revelation is the fourth installment in the Myst computer game series, developed and published by Ubisoft. Revelation was the first game in the series released exclusively on a DVD-ROM format; a multiple CD-ROM version was not produced as it would have taken twelve compact discs to fit all...

, Rise of the Kasai
Rise of the Kasai
Rise of the Kasai is an action game developed by BottleRocket Entertainment and published by Sony Computer Entertainment America for the PlayStation 2 video game console. Released in 2005, the game serves as a followup to the 2002 game The Mark of Kri...

, Jade Empire, Mass Effect, and Mass Effect 2 have been nominated for and won multiple awards.

Early life

Jack Wall, born in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania
Phoenixville, Pennsylvania
Phoenixville is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States, northwest of Philadelphia, at the junction of French Creek with the Schuylkill River. The population is 16,440 as of the 2010 Census.- History :...

, earned a degree in civil engineering
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...

 from Drexel University
Drexel University
Drexel University is a private research university with the main campus located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. It was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a noted financier and philanthropist. Drexel offers 70 full-time undergraduate programs and accelerated degrees...

 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, and began a career "planning out sub-divisions and shopping malls". At the same time he was in a rock band, as he was also interested in music. After recording a demo tape with the band, he was inspired to change career paths and quit his job to work in the music industry. He initially worked as a bartender and later started working in recording studios in Philadelphia and later Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

 and New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, where he worked for Skyline Studios. In 1991 Wall left Skyline, and until 1994 worked as an independent music producer and sound engineer in New York City, working with musicians such as John Cale
John Cale
John Davies Cale, OBE is a Welsh musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the experimental rock band The Velvet Underground....

, David Byrne
David Byrne
David Byrne may refer to:*David Byrne , musician and former Talking Heads frontman**David Byrne , his eponymous album*David Byrne , Irish footballer*David Byrne , English footballer...

, and Patti Smith
Patti Smith
Patricia Lee "Patti" Smith is an American singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist, who became a highly influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses....

, as well as local bands. Over those three years, Wall consistently worked with Cale, eventually handling arrangement and orchestration of Cale's compositions as well as producing and working as a sound engineer. While working with Cale on the soundtrack to a movie, House of America, he watched as Cale composed thirty minutes of music in almost real time, and was inspired to begin composing music.

Career

By late 1995, Jack Wall was living in Los Angeles and was married to singer Cindy Shapiro, who he had met in 1994. She knew Ron Martinez, who was starting a video game company, PostLinear Entertainment, and he asked Wall to work for it as a composer. He composed the soundtracks for several games for PostLinear; the first released was Vigilance in 1997. His daughter Gracie was also born early in 1997. After leaving the company, he composed the soundtrack to 2001's Myst III: Exile
Myst III: Exile
Myst III: Exile is the third title in the Myst series of first person adventure video games. While the preceding games in the series, Myst and Riven, were produced by Cyan and published by Brøderbund, Exile was developed by Presto Studios and published by Ubisoft...

, which was his first orchestral score and the work that he said put him on the map as a video game composer. It was also interesting to him, as it was a sequel to the first video game he had ever played, Myst
Myst
Myst is a graphic adventure video game designed and directed by the brothers Robyn and Rand Miller. It was developed by Cyan , a Spokane, Washington––based studio, and published and distributed by Brøderbund. The Millers began working on Myst in and released it for the Mac OS computer on September...

. Myst III was nominated for the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences
Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences
The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences , founded in 1996, is a non-profit organization that promotes computer and video game entertainment with the annual D.I.C.E. Summit event, where its Interactive Achievement Awards ceremony has been held annually since 1998...

 "Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition" award, which it lost to the Tropico
Tropico
Tropico is a series of construction and management simulation computer games developed by PopTop Software and published by Gathering of Developers in April 2001...

soundtrack.

In 2002, Wall became one of around 20 co-founders of the Game Audio Network Guild (G.A.N.G.) as well as senior director. The group works to promote the appreciation of video game music, as well as serve as a professional resource for video game music composers and musicians. It was developed and headed by Tommy Tallarico
Tommy Tallarico
Tommy Tallarico is an American video game music composer and musician. He is best known as the co-creator of the concert series Video Games Live...

. As of 2010, Wall serves as vice chairman, after stepping down from heading the board of directors in 2007. He continued to compose soundtracks for games such as The Mark of Kri
The Mark of Kri
The Mark of Kri is an action-adventure game developed by SCE San Diego Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. The game was released for the PlayStation 2 on July 19, 2002 in North America, March 14, 2003 in Europe and October 23, 2003 in Japan....

and Unreal II: The Awakening
Unreal II: The Awakening
Unreal II: The Awakening is a first-person shooter video game, designed initially only for a single-player campaign. The game is part of the Unreal series. It was developed by the now defunct Legend Entertainment, published by Atari and released on February 4, 2003 for Microsoft Windows...

. His work on Myst IV: Revelation
Myst IV: Revelation
Myst IV: Revelation is the fourth installment in the Myst computer game series, developed and published by Ubisoft. Revelation was the first game in the series released exclusively on a DVD-ROM format; a multiple CD-ROM version was not produced as it would have taken twelve compact discs to fit all...

in 2004 earned him his first three awards, those of "Best Live Performance Recording", "Best Original Vocal Song: Choral", and "Music of the Year" from the G.A.N.G. awards.

Wall, along with Tommy Tallarico, has produced the Video Games Live
Video Games Live
Video Games Live is a concert series created and produced by industry veterans and video game composers Tommy Tallarico and Jack Wall. The concerts consist of segments of video game music performed by a live orchestra with video footage and synchronized lighting and effects, as well as several...

concert series, which began on July 6, 2005. The two had been planning the concert series, which presents orchestrated versions of music from dozens of games, for three years. The concerts consist of segments of video game music performed by a live orchestra with video footage and synchronized lighting and effects, as well as several interactive segments with the audience, conducted by Wall. Video Games Live was intended to take the idea of a symphonic video game music concert, which was popular in Japan, and combine it with a rock concert to make it appealing to western fans. The series is international and ongoing, with more than 70 shows planned for 2009. Although Wall composed the soundtracks to three games released in 2005 including the award-winning score to Jade Empire
Jade Empire
Jade Empire is an action role-playing game developed by Canadian developer BioWare and first published in 2005 by Microsoft Game Studios as a worldwide release for the Xbox. The later, two-disc Limited Edition contained extra content...

, his only works released since then have been 2007's Mass Effect
Mass Effect
Mass Effect is an action role-playing game developed by BioWare for the Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows by Demiurge Studios. The Xbox 360 version was released worldwide in November 2007 published by Microsoft Game Studios...

and 2010's Mass Effect 2
Mass Effect 2
Mass Effect 2 is an action role-playing game developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The game was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 on January 26, 2010 and for PlayStation 3 on January 18, 2011...

. Mass Effects score earned Wall several awards and nominations, as did Mass Effect 2.

Musical style and influences

Although many of his works are orchestral, Jack Wall has worked in a wide variety of styles, including "heavy metal meets orchestral" and "tribal percussion". For Jade Empire, he focused on using Chinese instruments and Taiko
Taiko
means "drum" in Japanese . Outside Japan, the word is often used to refer to any of the various Japanese drums and to the relatively recent art-form of ensemble taiko drumming...

 drums. When writing a video game score, Wall prefers a collaborative approach with the game designers to creating the music, as he feels that the "tug back and forth of ideas" makes the music stronger. He notes, however, that he has to be flexible, and willing to create his own vision for the music. As part of this, he prefers to be able to see illustrations and game design documents before beginning, as they provide insight into the feel of the game so that his music can mesh in with it. He also believes that a good video game music composer needs to have a lot of technical sound production skill to be successful. Wall has said that the Myst and Mass Effect soundtracks are his favorites that he has created. Wall stated that he was primarily interested in scoring games that are "interesting", and that his main concern was creating something original. Although he has worked with live orchestras and synthetic orchestras, Wall recommends that game developers use a live one, despite the expense, as he feels they add a much more dynamic sound to the music and allow the composer more freedom than synthesizer samples.

Discography

  • Vigilance (1997)
  • 10-Six (1998)
  • Flying Saucer (1998)
  • Evil Dead: Hail to the King
    Evil Dead: Hail to the King
    Evil Dead: Hail to the King is a survival horror game for the PlayStation and Dreamcast video game consoles and PC.-Plot:Eight years after his adventures in the Army of Darkness movie, Ashley "Ash" Williams finds himself haunted by nightmares of deadites...

    (2000)
  • Animorphs: Know the Secret
    Animorphs: Know the Secret
    Animorphs: Know the Secret is a 2000 game for Microsoft Windows. It is based upon the popular Scholastic book series Animorphs by K. A. Applegate.-Gameplay:...

    (2000)
  • Ultimate Ride
    Ultimate Ride
    Ultimate Ride is a Roller Coaster game for Microsoft Windows 95/98/NT/ME and is designed for people to build and ride roller coasters. The game was released in September 2001 and opened an official website where members could upload their designs and share them with other members...

    (2001)
  • Secret Agent Barbie (2001)
  • Disney's Extremely Goofy Skateboarding
    Disney's Extremely Goofy Skateboarding
    Disney's Extremely Goofy Skateboarding is a game created in September 2001 for PC. In this game, players are able to play as either Goofy or Max, from the Disney animated TV series, Goof Troop...

    (2001)
  • Myst III: Exile
    Myst III: Exile
    Myst III: Exile is the third title in the Myst series of first person adventure video games. While the preceding games in the series, Myst and Riven, were produced by Cyan and published by Brøderbund, Exile was developed by Presto Studios and published by Ubisoft...

    (2001)
  • The Mark of Kri
    The Mark of Kri
    The Mark of Kri is an action-adventure game developed by SCE San Diego Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. The game was released for the PlayStation 2 on July 19, 2002 in North America, March 14, 2003 in Europe and October 23, 2003 in Japan....

    (2002)
  • Ben Hur: Blood of Braves (2003)
  • Unreal II: The Awakening
    Unreal II: The Awakening
    Unreal II: The Awakening is a first-person shooter video game, designed initially only for a single-player campaign. The game is part of the Unreal series. It was developed by the now defunct Legend Entertainment, published by Atari and released on February 4, 2003 for Microsoft Windows...

    (2003)
  • Wrath Unleashed
    Wrath Unleashed
    Wrath Unleashed is a strategy game for the PlayStation 2 and the Xbox created by The Collective, Inc. and released by LucasArts in 2004 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox...

    (2004)
  • Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow
    Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow
    Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow is an action-adventure stealth game, developed and published by Ubisoft Shanghai, while Ubisoft Montreal, creator of the original Splinter Cell, was working on Chaos Theory. Pandora Tomorrow is the second game in the Splinter Cell series endorsed by...

    (2004)
  • Myst IV: Revelation
    Myst IV: Revelation
    Myst IV: Revelation is the fourth installment in the Myst computer game series, developed and published by Ubisoft. Revelation was the first game in the series released exclusively on a DVD-ROM format; a multiple CD-ROM version was not produced as it would have taken twelve compact discs to fit all...

    (2004)
  • Rise of the Kasai
    Rise of the Kasai
    Rise of the Kasai is an action game developed by BottleRocket Entertainment and published by Sony Computer Entertainment America for the PlayStation 2 video game console. Released in 2005, the game serves as a followup to the 2002 game The Mark of Kri...

    (2005)
  • Neopets: The Darkest Faerie
    Neopets: The Darkest Faerie
    Neopets: The Darkest Faerie, released on November 15, 2005, is a single-player PlayStation 2 action-adventure game based on the popular Neopets universe.-Setting:...

    (2005)
  • Jade Empire
    Jade Empire
    Jade Empire is an action role-playing game developed by Canadian developer BioWare and first published in 2005 by Microsoft Game Studios as a worldwide release for the Xbox. The later, two-disc Limited Edition contained extra content...

    (2005)
  • Dungeon Siege II
    Dungeon Siege II
    Dungeon Siege II is a computer role-playing game and is the sequel to 2002's popular Dungeon Siege. It was developed by Gas Powered Games and released on August 16, 2005, one year delayed from original projections. The story is a continuation of the Dungeon Siege storyline...

    (2005) — Trailer cinematics
  • Mass Effect
    Mass Effect
    Mass Effect is an action role-playing game developed by BioWare for the Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows by Demiurge Studios. The Xbox 360 version was released worldwide in November 2007 published by Microsoft Game Studios...

    (2007)
  • Mass Effect 2
    Mass Effect 2
    Mass Effect 2 is an action role-playing game developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The game was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 on January 26, 2010 and for PlayStation 3 on January 18, 2011...

    (2010)


Awards

Year Award Category Work Result
2001 Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences
Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences
The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences , founded in 1996, is a non-profit organization that promotes computer and video game entertainment with the annual D.I.C.E. Summit event, where its Interactive Achievement Awards ceremony has been held annually since 1998...

Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition Myst III: Exile Nominated
2004 Gamespot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...

 Best of 2004 Awards
Best Original Music Myst IV: Revelation Nominated
Game Audio Network Guild Best Interactive Score Myst IV: Revelation Nominated
Game Audio Network Guild Best Original Vocal Song: Pop Myst IV: Revelation ("Welcome") Nominated
Game Audio Network Guild Best Live Performance Recording Myst IV: Revelation Won
Game Audio Network Guild Best Original Vocal Song: Choral Myst IV: Revelation ("Main Theme") Won
Game Audio Network Guild Music of the Year Myst IV: Revelation Won
2005 Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition Rise of the Kasai Nominated
Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition Jade Empire Nominated
Game Audio Network Guild Best Live Performance Recording Jade Empire Nominated
Game Audio Network Guild Best Original Instrumental Song Jade Empire ("Main Theme") Nominated
Game Audio Network Guild Best Original Soundtrack Album Jade Empire Won
2007 Game Audio Network Guild Best Original Instrumental Song Mass Effect ("The Citadel") Nominated
Game Audio Network Guild Best Original Soundtrack Album Mass Effect Nominated
IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...

 Best of 2007 Awards
Best Original Score Mass Effect Won
Gamespot Best of 2007 Awards Best Original Music Mass Effect Won
2010 British Academy of Film & Television Arts
British Academy Film Awards
The British Academy Film Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . It is the British counterpart of the Oscars. As of 2008, it has taken place in the Royal Opera House, having taken over from the flagship Odeon cinema on Leicester Square...

Best Original Music Mass Effect 2 Nominated
Game Audio Network Guild Best Soundtrack Album Mass Effect 2 Nominated

External links

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