Wilbert Roget II explained

Genre:video game score
Birth Date:7 December 1983
Birth Place:Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Label:Materia Collective
Occupation:Composer
Years Active:2006–present

Wilbert Roget II (born December 7, 1983)[1] is an American composer known for his work on video game music, particularly Mortal Kombat 11 (2019), (2017), Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris, (2014)[2] and Helldivers 2 (2024). His scores have won multiple awards and nominations from the Game Audio Network Guild and the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.

Early life and education

Roget grew up in Philadelphia and starting playing piano at the age of four. He became interested in the possibilities of cinematic storytelling in video games during high school, and found particular inspiration in Japanese video game and anime soundtracks such as Nobuo Uematsu's[3] and Hitoshi Sakimoto's music for the Final Fantasy series[4] [5] and Yoko Kanno's music for Cowboy Bebop.[6] He earned a BA in music at Yale University in 2005, studying with composition faculty including Kathryn Alexander and Matthew Suttor.

Career

Roget joined LucasArts as a staff composer in 2008, where he scored Star Wars franchise games including [7] and served as music editor on various titles. His final soundtrack for LucasArts was the unreleased Star Wars: First Assault, a live orchestral score recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios.[8] He then left LucasArts to pursue a freelance career.

Working freelance, Roget has scored major titles such as , Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris, and Mortal Kombat 11, as well as independent titles such as Anew: The Distant Light. He often records his own flute, keyboard, accordion, and guitar parts. When discussing his influences, he often cites classical music; for example, his Call of Duty score was influenced by Claude Vivier's "Zipangu," Toru Takemitsu's "Requiem for String Orchestra," and Krzysztof Penderecki's "Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima."[9] In Forbes, Erik Kain declared that the Call of Duty score made him "an instant fan."

Roget is also a sample library developer, and products from his audio software company Impact Soundworks are widely used in film and video game composition.

Although Roget works primarily in the music industry, he is also active in academic music programs. He served as visiting faculty at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music from 2018-2019 in the Department of Technology and Applied Composition,[10] and has guest lectured at Yale University and the University of Rochester.[11] In 2016, he completed a solo carillon commission, Island Stones, for the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance. He has also given talks and appeared on panels at the Game Developers Conference, ASCAP Expo, PAX, PAX Dev,[12] and MAGFest.[13]

Awards and recognition

Roget's scores have earned multiple awards and nominations from the Game Audio Network Guild (GANG) and the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences (AIAS). In 2018, he swept the GANG Awards for Music of the Year, Best Interactive Score, Best Original Instrumental (tied), Best Game Audio Article/Publication, and Best Soundtrack Album for his soundtrack,[14] which was also nominated for the D.I.C.E. Award for "Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition." In 2014, his soundtrack for Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris was nominated for the D.I.C.E. Award for "Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition", and the GANG Awards for Music of the Year and Best Original Instrumental. In 2012, his soundtrack for won the GANG Award for Best Original Instrumental. In 2009, his soundtrack for was nominated for three GANG Awards. He also received GANG Awards in 2011, 2010, and 2006.[15]

Discography

Composer

Video games!Title!Year!System!Notes
2011Windows
Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris2014PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One
2017Windows, Mac OS XTracks include: Army of the War God, Enter the Fire God, Minions of Kralkatorrik, Undead of Elona, and Eternal Conflict
2017PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One
2018Stadia, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One
Mortal Kombat 112019PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows, Nintendo SwitchMain theme and story mode music, gameplay music composed by Matthias Wolf and Armin Haas of Dynamedion.
[16] 2019Oculus Quest, Oculus Rift S
2020–2021Android, iOSSeason 9 and Season 5 2021 - In Deep Water
Mortal Kombat 1[17] 2023PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Windows, Nintendo Switch
Helldivers 2[18] 2024PlayStation 5, Windows
Pacific Drive2024PlayStation 5, Windows
Star Wars Outlaws[19] 2024PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Windows
Animated series!Title!Year!Notes
TBANetflix ONA series[20]

Other credits

Video games!Title!Year!System!Notes
2008PlayStation 3, Xbox 360Music editing and implementation
2008Nintendo DSMusic editor
Fracture2008PlayStation 3, Xbox 360Music editor
2009Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DSMusic assistant
2009PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DSMusic assistant
Lucidity2009Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360Piano on "Carte d'Etoile"
2009Macintosh, PlayStation 3, Wii, Windows, Xbox 360Music editing
Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings2009PlayStation 2, WiiMusic editing
2010PlayStation 3, Windows, Xbox 360Additional compositions, music editing
2011Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo DS, PlayStation PortableMusic editing

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Wilbert Roget, II - Concerts, Biography & News - BBC Music. BBC. en-GB. 2019-08-15.
  2. Web site: Wilbert Roget II. IMDb. 2019-08-14.
  3. Web site: Meet the Seattle composer who scored the latest 'Call of Duty' blockbuster video game. 2017-11-25. GeekWire. en-US. 2019-08-14.
  4. Web site: Can You Hear the Call of Duty? . Selena . Lee . yaledailynews.com. en. 2019-08-14 . December 1, 2017 .
  5. Web site: Yale alum composes Call of Duty score . Julia . Carabatsos . yaledailynews.com. en. 2019-08-14 . 28 November 2017 .
  6. Web site: Interview: Wilbert Roget II On Composing Call Of Duty: World War 2's Original Score. Kain. Erik. Forbes. en. 2019-08-14.
  7. Interview with Call of Duty: WWII Composer Wilbert Roget, II . Roget . Wilbert II . Sam . Hughes . 2018-01-10. The Sound Architect. en-GB. https://web.archive.org/web/20190814201316/https://www.thesoundarchitect.co.uk/interview-with-call-of-duty-wwii-composer-wilbert-roget-ii/ . 2019-08-14.
  8. Web site: Visiting Faculty . SFCM . 2019-08-14.
  9. Web site: Interview: Discussing the Music of Call of Duty: WWII with composer Wilbert Roget II. Square. Push. 2017-11-19. Push Square. en-GB. 2019-08-14.
  10. Web site: Visiting Faculty SFCM. sfcm.edu. 2019-08-14.
  11. Web site: Event : Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. www.hajim.rochester.edu. 2019-08-14.
  12. Web site: Materia Collective - Wilbert Roget, II. Materia Collective. 14 Aug 2019.
  13. Web site: MAGFest G.A.N.G. Remix Competition 2019 Results!. www.audiogang.org. 29 January 2019 . 2019-08-14.
  14. Web site: 2018 G.A.N.G. Awards Press Release. www.audiogang.org. 31 March 2018 . 2019-08-14.
  15. Web site: Wilbert Roget. www.audiogang.org. 2019-08-14.
  16. Web site: Exclusive: Hear Four New Songs from the 'Mortal Kombat 11' Soundtrack. www.yahoo.com. 28 June 2019 . en-US. 2019-08-14.
  17. WilbertRoget . 1755521548902129941 . So happy to announce I'm returning once again as Principal Composer of #MortalKombat #MK1 !! It's been a wild ride and I'm so proud of what the game team has accomplished. Check out our reveal trailer:.
  18. WilbertRoget . 1750509408520687931. Excited to announce my score to the upcoming #Helldivers2 ! One of my most challenging orchestral OSTs yet, combining tongue-in-cheek military action with 90s sci-fi horror and extensive synthesis. Check out the trailer linked below, featuring excerpts from my score: #gamemusic:.
  19. WilbertRoget . 1668399459318001664 . It’s a huge honor to finally announce I’m the lead composer of #StarWarsOutlaws !! Super grateful to return to my "alma mater" franchise, and I’m routinely amazed with how the game’s shaping up. Please check out our story trailer:.
  20. Web site: Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance Animation's 2nd Teaser Announces Netflix Global Debut. Tai. Anita. Anime News Network. December 3, 2023. December 3, 2023. en.