Borislav Slavov and the Success of Baldur's Gate 3 Soundtrack

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I consider myself an electronic game composer and am very proud of it.

As the composer of the fantasy RPG game Baldur's Gate 3, Belgian Borislav Slavov is having a dreamy year. Since the official release of Baldur's Gate 3, the game's soundtrack has received wide acclaim. In early May, at the London Games Festival, Slavov performed the music from Baldur's Gate 3 with an orchestra. This was Slavov's second trip to London in a month - at the 2024 British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Games Awards ceremony, he won the Best Music Award with Baldur's Gate 3.

It's incredible. Slavov said when recalling the experience of winning the award, I can't believe it's true, but several of my friends and colleagues from Larian Studios were gently pushing me beside, making me realize I had to go on stage to accept the award. So far, it's probably the brightest moment of my entire career.

Slavov is a die-hard gamer, and at the ceremony, he also met the composer of the horror game Alan Wake 2, Petri Alanko, and the two quickly began to praise each other's works. I told Petri that he created amazing music that was stronger than mine. Petri told me that only the soundtrack you composed made me want to cry. We were chatting like two drunkards, it was a really special moment.

Like other members of Larian, Slavov was shocked by the unprecedented success of the game. Since August 2023, in addition to selling tens of millions of copies, Baldur's Gate 3 has also won awards in many industry award events. However, Slavov pointed out that the development team put a lot of effort into completing this game. After the completion of Larian's previous game, Divinity: Original Sin 2, Slavov immediately threw himself into the Baldur's Gate 3 project. I really wanted to prove myself and bring the music of Baldur's Gate 3 to a new height.

Slavov promoted music to be an active participant in the narrative of Baldur's Gate 3, linking some of the crucial moments in the game with the excellent music he created. For example, the theme of ThePower comes from the wonderful original soundtrack DownByTheRiver: when players spend dozens of hours playing and the campaign is about to end, the game will bid farewell to the players with this soundtrack. And Raphael's Grand Finale is like a Disney-style musical, and the wily demon Raphael will sing his Boss battle theme. Interestingly, at the BAFTA Games Awards ceremony, actor Andrew Wincott, who played the demon Raphael, also won the Best Supporting Actor Award.

Slavov pointed out that the soundtrack of Baldur's Gate 3 is deeply loved by players largely because this game interweaves music and narrative. As human beings, we always remember the exciting moments in life very easily. I think there is no difference between those exciting important moments in real life and in our favorite electronic games.

However, this musician spent years honing his skills before enabling a harmonious symbiosis between game and music. In the process of creating music, in order to fully understand this game, he spent a lot of effort studying the details in the game. Unlike many composers who create music across film, TV, and game fields, Slavov focuses entirely on composing for game s. Everyone has their own path. Personally, I consider myself an electronic game composer and am very proud of it.

Slavov's relationship with Larian probably dates back about 10 years ago. At that time, Larian founder Sven Vincke invited him to visit the headquarters studio in Ghent, Belgium. Before that, I had played every game Larian made, and I decided to give them a surprise, so I prepared an adaptive music system because I liked Larian's games so much.

Slavov realized that if he joined Larian, he would have the opportunity to create highly flexible adaptive soundtracks. This is because Larian encourages players to actively explore, and the game scene may change drastically in just a few seconds, and the music will also change accordingly. Looking back now, I feel like I'm one of the luckiest people in the world, because not only do I have the opportunity to work here, but also have full freedom to express myself and explore and strive to create the best works.

At the London Games Festival, Slavov met many players of Baldur's Gate 3. For me, one of the most exciting moments during the concert is to meet the players. It's an unforgettable experience. I don't know them, but when our eyes meet, I know they are the ones who appreciate me. I've never seen them before, but at the moment of saying hello, hugging me, or shaking my hand, I realize that everything I do is worth it. The reason why we gather here is to share emotions and celebrate electronic game music as an art form.

I put great passion into this concert. When Baldur's Gate 3 attracts widespread attention, it's really great to hold an exciting game music celebration event in the Royal Festival Hall in London.

Whenever it comes to his life after the release of Baldur's Gate 3, Slavov often stops to think and tries to find the right words to express his gratitude. At the same time, Slavov greatly appreciates his colleagues at Larian.

At present, Larian has not officially announced the studio's next game, but has confirmed that it will not make Baldur's Gate 4. Slavov revealed that he will participate in the development of Larian's new work. We are moving towards the goal of achieving the ultimate role-playing experience. The success of the 3rd generation is just a small step on this path. Personally, I hope to build on the existing achievements and create even greater glories, because this is the only way for me to prove to myself that the direction is correct. Our ultimate goal is to tell the players: 'You have all the freedom and can play in the way you feel appropriate and write your own story in the game world.'

My friend, we're just warming up. I also want to tell you what we're doing, but the only thing that can be revealed at this stage is that from a musical perspective, the new game will be quite crazy and will have the largest and most ambitious music system in the company's history.

This article is compiled from: https://www.nme.com/features/gaming-features/baldurs-gate-3-soundtrack-composer-borislav-slavov-game-music-festival-3752742

Title: 《BorislavSlavovonscoring'Baldur'sGate3'andwhat'snext:“We'rejustwarmingup”》

Original author: AndyBrown