Music in Civilization IV

In all versions of Civilization (even the first) we try to create a musical environment that reflects both the cultures represented in the game and a sense of the vast amount of time covered by the game.

Soundtracks
In Civ IV we took a similar approach. In the early stages of the game, there is very little music in the “soundtrack” (music that plays while you are playing on the main map) and what is there reflects our idea of what stone age or very early music might have sounded like (lots of log drums, wood flutes, and other percussion sounds – even grunts and vocalizations of various sorts), but of course seen through the eyes (and ears) of modern day composers. When “Music” is discovered and researched by the player, he begins hearing great music from history – medieval, renaissance, classical, romantic, modern, and so on, as time goes by. You’ll hear works from luminaries like Palestrina, Bach, Beethoven, Vivaldi, as well as pieces from the celebrated living composer John Adams.

Leader (Diplomacy) Music
Music of the various cultures represented in the game can be heard at anytime by simply mousing over a town or having diplomatic encounters with the leaders of the nations. Each leader gets his own music and where possible, it is based upon a traditional tune associated with the culture or nation the leader represents. Of course in many cases, there simply is not a well-known tune to represent a culture, so we make it up.

Another important consideration is time period. We wanted the music for each leader to reflect how developed his culture is at the current time in the game. So, we created three different versions of each leader piece (early, middle, and late), to represent the selected culture’s current progress. The more advanced the culture (in science, industry, and the arts), the more developed the arrangements of the leader’s music.

For example, the American leader, Franklin Roosevelt, plays the Marine Hymn when you see him or mouse over one of his cities, while George Washington plays a fife and drum tune called “Washington’s Artillery Retreat.” Early in the game these tunes are presented in primitive fashion, but later they become more sophisticated until by the late game modern, sometimes orchestral or marching band renditions are used. So, the diplomacy music represents not only the culture being portrayed, but also the historical era the leader’s culture is in currently..

Another great example is the music for Frederick the Great. We used the “Volga Boatman’s Song.” The early arrangement uses only marimba, played with various mallets (soft, medium and hard) and the tune is hinted at very discreetly. By the time the late era piece is heard though, it’s a full orchestral performance.

Movie Music
The other major area of musical experience in the game is in the various movies. There are actually two opening pieces: one composed for Civ IV by Christopher Tin, that is heard during the dramatic opening sequence, menu selection and game set-up. The other, written by yours truly for Civilization I, is the underlay for our version of the beginning of the universe and the world. In Civ IV, this piece is finally realized for full orchestra and is narrated by Leonard Nimoy.

As always, we hope you enjoy our game, but this time, listen to the music closely and enjoy!

Jeff Briggs
President / CEOFiraxis Games