Hollywood film composer John Debney has had success in both television, where he earned an Emmy for his work on "Sea Quest DSV," and in film, where he was nominated for an Academy Award for scoring Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ. Now the Hollywood veteran, who has scored TV shows like "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and movies like Sin City and Bruce Almighty, has delved into the videogame space with Lair.

Lair

"In the case of Lair, it was very similar to my Hollywood work," said Debney, who is currently working on Hollywood's Sin City 2 and 3 and Evan Almighty. "Because of the size and scope of the game, the creators wanted to treat this game more as a movie experience that has a beginning, middle, and an end. It was much more familiar to me than I thought it might be because this was my first game."

Debney said that the transition from traditional to linear entertainment was made smooth by the game developers at Factor 5. The fact that the game, by its nature, is very cinematic in structure also helped pave the way for this 12-month project.

"Early on we had a lot of discussions about story and defining different characters in the game and developing themes for those different characters, which is very much what I do on a daily basis in film land," said Debney. "I'm not an expert on a lot of the other games, but I would dare say that this is one of the biggest scores that's ever been done for a videogame."

Debney assembled a diverse 92-piece orchestra to perform in London's famous Abbey Road Studios. Unlike many films that he's worked on, Debney did not have the opportunity to record the orchestra with game footage on a screen in the background. He said that he was moving so quickly because of the scope of the work, and the intricacy of what he and the game makers were trying to do, that the orchestra had to imagine the battles and set pieces as they played. Debney did have the luxury of writing the score directly to the game's key sequences, which were provided by Factor 5.

"The scope of the music is quite grand and I'm hoping people enjoy it," said Debney. "It's, by intention, a large work. We wrote about two hours of music for this game. It's a pretty grand undertaking."

Another aspect that made this first foray into videogames interesting for the composer was the fantasy subject matter. Debney has long been a fan of science fiction and fantasy novels. He was drawn to this game because of the subject matter and setting.

"It's a very interesting world where two civilizations are at odds with each other and there are dragons and creatures that they have in this world," said Debney. "There's a wonderful chivalry that goes on with these different cultures. I'd liken it to a Lord of the Rings-type adventure. The game is populated by incredible animals and beasts and great warriors. It is a fantastic world that harkens to Tolkien and a lot of great fantasy novels. I think it's wonderful that it's not just a shoot-em-up. Although it has a lot of action, there is a great story line and there are characters that hopefully you'll feel something for."

Resistance: Fall of Man™

Debney knows what he's talking about when it comes to shooters. He has three boys, ages 18 to 23, and his house has every PlayStation system ever made. He has spent many hours blowing away Chimera in Resistance: Fall of Man™.

"I'm pretty good at Resistance: Fall of Man, although my boys tell me I'm really not," joked Debney. "I'm trying to get better. I like that game. It looks and sounds really cool."

So as PlayStation® kept Debney abreast of development with new playable builds of the game, he knew his way around the SIXAXIS™ wireless controller. He also was able to see the weekly progression of the game as Factor 5 improved on all aspects of the world and gameplay.

"It's pretty stunning," said Debney. "I'd never seen anything like this. The 3D quality and the 360-degree movement that you can make when you're on the dragons is unbelievable. We played the game on a hi-def TV with 5.1 surround sound. There are some great games out there and they're getting better and better, but I'm just amazed at the way you can move with these creatures. The controls really free you up to experience the world. I think the visuals and the sound is stunning. PS3™ is an amazing system."

Now that he's spent time working within the game space, Debney's hooked. In fact, he believes within a short time, games will be on par with great films.

"I walked away from this great experience realizing that as videogames are getting better and bigger in scope, they're going to be on par with a major Hollywood production," said Debney. "I'm really delighted by that because I think that as the different companies get more ambitious and do bigger and better games, it's going to attract a lot of Hollywood talent that might have shied away from the idea of doing a game just a few years ago."

Lair

One of the things Debney found really interesting about Lair is the use of perspective mixed sound effects and music within the game. Since players can fly through the air on the backs of dragons or fight on the ground, the sound effects and music will change depending on their in-game altitude.

"I'm hoping to do more game work," said Debney. "I'm hoping a lot of other people will see this game and realize that this medium is really coming of age. Games are not just for kids any more. I think people will take these games very seriously. If it's the right situation, I'd love to do this again."