RAISON VARNER is a composer, music director and sound designer who has worked on video games such as: PREY, RED FACTION GORILLA, ALIENS: COLONIAL MARINES, and BATTLEBORN. He been directing music for the popular video game franchise BORDERLANDS since the very first game which was released back in 2009. He returns to direct and contribute original music for BORDERLANDS 3 this time with co-composers: Jesper Kyd and Michael McCann.

BORDERLANDS 3 is an action role-playing first-person shooter video game developed by Gearbox Software and published by 2K Games. The game was released on September 13, 2019 for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Google Stadia, Microsoft Windows, and Macintosh operating systems. It is the sequel to 2012's Borderlands 2, and the fourth main entry in the Borderlands series. At the hard edge of the galaxy lies a group of planets ruthlessly exploited by militarized corporations. Brimming with loot and violence, this is your home—the Borderlands. Now, a crazed cult known as The Children of the Vault has emerged and is spreading like an interstellar plague. Play solo or co-op as one of four unique Vault Hunters, score loads of loot, and save the galaxy from this fanatical threat.

In this episode, RAISON VARNER describes the complexities for writing a score for an RPG-shooter hybrid game and the conceptual approach he ended up taking. He reveals how one of the goals was to write music that created various potentially conflicting atmospheres and emotions for the player such as: awe, humor, and adrenaline-spiking-action. Lastly, he discusses a, one-time, low-priority piece that he wrote for the game, which ended up being one the most sought after tracks by players and fans.

ANNOTATED TRACKS / SEGMENTS

02:35 - The Arrival

05:31 - A Forgotten Space

08:55 - Digby Vermouth

13:31 - The Family Wants the Machine

SOUNDTRACK

The original score for Borderlands 3 was released by Laced Records on November 11, 2019, on digital and vinyl and can be purchased at Amazon.com, iTunes, or streaming on Spotify and Apple Music

MORE ABOUT THE COMPOSER

You can hear more music by Raison Varner at his official Soundcloud page or you can follow him on Twitter @raisonvarner.

ABOUT THE ANNOTATOR

This podcast is produced by Christopher Coleman(@ccoleman) and you can Find more episodes at THEANNOTATOR.NET or you can subscribe via iTunes, Stitcher Radio or wherever you find quality podcasts.

SUBSCRIBE

iTunes

Spotify

Stitcher Radio

RadioPublic

Google Podcasts

RSS Feed