Pharaoh I’m one of those city builders that I never really understood how to play as a kid, but it would be nice if I didn’t spend hours and hours building neat rows of little farms and making animals. way for my citizens to find. It’s a game I have fond memories of and Dotemu publisher’s latest development log on the soundtrack for upcoming remake brought me right back to those glorious afternoons, if rather useless afternoons spent staring at the computer in my parents’ living room. Musician Louis Godart is recreating the original game’s music from scratch for Pharaoh: A New Era, but he also adds some realism of his own to help carry those classic tunes.
You can check out the full developer diary below, where Godart co-founder and Triskell Interactive developer Théophile Noiré talks about how they made the music of A New Era. It’s an intriguing watch regardless of whether you’re an old Pharaoh fan or just interested in video game music in general, as it raises interesting questions about authenticity while remaining true to what fans know and love.
For example, to ensure A New Era’s music stays true to Keith Zizza’s 1999 source material, Godart describes how he transcribed the entire soundtrack of the original Pharaoh game – and as a who tried to create my favorite violin tunes. video game songs of the past, it was some feat of ear-shaking music. However, he then goes on to talk about his research on traditional instruments from ancient Egypt, as well as how he works with traditional instrument artisans to ensure authentic sound. and as detailed as possible.
Godart said: “It was important for me to find people who understood the musical traditions of the Middle East well, and to add a touch of authenticity that was hard to come by in the early Pharaoh’s music, ‘ said Godart. “Original music remains a vision of a mystical artist of Oriental music. This music was created by people who were not aware of all the mysterious nuances of this musical tradition. For me, it’s a way to go further to find details and to add some life.”
If that sounds like a big Zizza composite score, don’t worry. Godart also talks about how he contacted Zizza to discuss his early Pharaoh music, and allegedly Zizza said that if he and his team were able to afford to create what Godart was doing , he will definitely go the traditional musical instrument route. If only the sound cards of the late 90s were a little more advanced? But I guess that’s part of the beauty of complete remakes, right? We get to see and hear these games in a new light, and often a little closer to what the developers originally intended.
Heck, I just love seeing what all these tools really look like in the flesh.
Pharaoh: A New Era is still listed as “Coming Soon” on Steam, but I think we can comfortably take that to mean at some point next year as we’re in December now. You can still play the original Pharaoh + Cleopatra on Steam and GOG if you like, but personally I’m more than happy to wait for A New Era and its revamped music and 4K artwork (not to mention its free build mode). Maybe this time I’ll finally learn how to play it properly.
