Fallout: New Vegas DLC Music Track and Q&A

This is some interesting trivia: Obsidian Entertainment sound designer Justin Bell and his girlfriend Stephanie DeBrule, along with Chris Avellone and Mikey Dowling, apparently put together the “Begin Again” track that plays within the Sierra Madre Casino in Fallout: New Vegas’ Dead Money DLC. Due to its popularity, Bethesda has released the track in MP3 format on their official blog, while also providing us with a short Q&A about its creation:

What were some of your inspirations for the song?

Mikey Dowling: For me it was how sorrowful Justin’s music was that inspired the tone of the lyrics. I’m sure he could elaborate more on his end, but in terms of the lyrics, I knew Vera’s story and I knew that Chris had wanted the song to contain the words (begin again,) and (to let go,) somewhere within. I ended up listening to Justin’s song on repeat for a bit and came up with lyrics that I felt would not only capture what Chris had been looking for, but also capture something that could feel as though it would fit in an old Hollywood film.

Justin Bell: Easy Chopin’s prelude in E minor. I was trying to go for an early 20th century post-romantic sound that fit the period. I didn’t want it to sound too modern, which is why I choose to write the piece on the piano as it’s a timeless instrument. When going for the vocal style, I was thinking Judy Garland someone with clear diction.

Is this the first time your girlfriend, Stephanie, has sung in an Obsidian game?

Yes it is, actually. She just started here at Obsidian in late July of last year and we found out that she used to do musical theatre when she was younger. When it came time to temp out how the song would work in the game, we turned to Steph. We were so happy with how the song turned out that we wanted to keep it in the game and decided to do a (reverse Disney) and cast someone based on Steph’s singing voice so when the player heard Christine talk in the game, then heard Vera’s song it wouldn’t feel disjointed.