Descent 3 is the third instalment in a popular video game series of 'six-axis shooters,' developed by Outrage Entertainment and published by Interplay Productions in 1999. 'Six-axis' refers to the ability to move or rotate freely in any direction in three dimensional space. The games were notable for pioneering the new genre, and were well-received in their day.
The game features notable music for its cinematic cutscenes. At the helm of the music for Descent 3 were Jerry Berlongieri and Tim Jones, with apparently Berlongieri supplying music for the in-game levels, and Jones for the cutscenes. This post is an examination of one such scene: the game's striking opening cinematic.
An unusual amount of depth, warmth, and beauty is added to the game's opening cinematic by Jones' supplied music, appearing on the official soundtrack album with the title, "Requiem." The result is stunning, memorable even years after I first came across it. While the game and its visuals are by now quite dated, the sweeping orchestral score almost elevates it out of time, making it relevant and emotionally resonant even today. Here is an overview and brief analysis of the cinematic.
It begins with a nearly unconscious pilot drifting in a disabled ship towards the sun. He is subsequently rescued into the hands of a sympathetic organization. During the drifting sequence, the score borders on heartbreaking, with a series of lamenting suspensions over a poignant chord progression. The music then gains orchestral muscle as the ship is snatched out of its plummet by a powerful tractor beam, trading the earlier, falling suspensions for rising, awe-inspiring grandeur. As the pilot is extracted from the damaged ship, the wordless vocals return, leading to a rousing finish to propel the game off to a solid start.
A haunting female voice and electronic synth pads capture well the feeling of lamentful drifting in space. Observe how the suspensions are often calculated to result in a strong harmonic colour, such as a flat-nine or flat-thirteen chord.
Observe how the music abruptly shifts character. Delicate, falling suspensions have been replaced with powerful, triumphant rises. A few chord changes a tritone apart give it an epic, 'space' sound.
As the pilot is recovered, and extracted from his ship by a series of inanimate robots, the wordless vocals return in a soothing, reassuring guise, bringing warmth and emotion to an otherwise lifeless scene. Here, in my opinion, is where the music really shines, because this is where the visual content needs the most supporting. Jones does well to capture the wonder and hope as we piece together and anticipate the next chapter in the pilot's story.
Not only is this music noteworthy in its quality even by today's standards, but it is all the more so given the norm at the time of its release, considering the limited capacity of its storage media, the now defunct compact disc. Tim Jones and Outrage Entertainment did well, and delivered a piece of storytelling that far outlasts its time, still resonating with its viewers almost two decades later.