True Crime: New York City [PS2]

Yahoo! Video Games: Can you tell us a little about your background? What did you do before coming to Activision, and which games have you worked on since then?

Tim Riley: Prior to joining Activision I was a founding partner of Westies Music, where I supervised music direction for action sports films and video games. I have over 13 years of experience in the music industry and an extensive background in A&R and music supervision. I've formerly held A&R positions at some of the industry's top record labels including Jive, Giant/Revolution, Warner Bros., and Geffen, as well as Zomba Music Publishing.

I've been at Activision for about three years now and have worked on many titles including several Tony Hawk games, GUN, Spider-Man 2, Ultimate Spider-Man, Call of Duty 2, Call of Duty 2: Big Red One, X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse, Fantastic 4, Madagascar, American Chopper, MTX: Mototrax, Shrek 2, and more.

YVG: Tell us about how you came up with the list of artists and tracks for True Crime New York City.

TR: Plenty of research! I lived in Manhattan for almost nine years and worked in the music industry the entire time so I have a very good understanding of music and NYC. I also conducted extensive research by reading books such as Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation, Yes Yes Y'All: The Experience Music Project Oral History of Hip Hop's First Decade, Punk Rock Aerobics, and Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk. I also referenced the classic NYC based films such as Across 110th Street and The Warriors. Additionally, I tapped into Source magazine's "Top 151" Hip Hop tracks ever written and we were able to license in songs from the top 20 NYC-based artists off that list.

As quoted in our Redman news announcement, Jay-Z said the True Crime soundtrack "is New York City." It is important to note that a project this large can not be handled by one person so I worked closely with the entire Activision music department and with the True Crime development and production teams in order to create the quintessential NYC soundtrack.

YVG: What advantages do licensed soundtracks offer for Activision?

TR: The songs we license at Activision are extensions of the games we release. We go through whatever efforts it requires to make sure we put the best music possible in all of our titles. We spend hours meeting with the games' producers and developers in an attempt to fully know what their intentions are. We want to help them convey the vibe, tone, and feel of the game via a killer soundtrack to enhance gameplay through great music.

YVG: Do you see game soundtracks moving more towards licensed music or original compositions? Do you prefer one over the other?

TR: I think it is very game specific and it really depends on the game. As far as my personal taste goes I lean more towards a combination of score and licensed music -- kind of how Quentin Tarantino scores his films.

YVG: Were there any tracks you wanted to include on the True Crime New York City but could not?

TR: After all of the research we found we had 1,500 songs to choose from and of course we had to narrow those down to the over 80 that made it into the game. Also, some of the songs that did not make it into the game were a result of what happens when you start digging around in a Hip Hop catalog. Some of the songs are filled with samples which get into a lot of licensing red tape making some classics un-useable.

Other than that we got pretty much all the music we wanted except for some Lou Reed and Thelonious Monk songs but that's about it; at the end of the day, I think this soundtrack could serve as a history lesson in NYC music -- we've pretty much covered it all.

YVG: Do you see "custom soundtrack" features available on Xbox, PSP, and PC titles as devaluing the importance of publisher-bundled music?

TR: Actually we are very excited about those features and see them as extras. I consider "custom soundtracks" as just another way for the gamer to further enhance gameplay if they desire to do so.

YVG: What lead to the wide variety of styles, artists, and periods that we see on the True Crime New York City soundtrack?

TR: This was answered in #2; however, I would like to add something. We also wanted to highlight the various areas of the city and after spending close to a decade in NYC I became well aware of the different types of music that played in the certain neighborhoods or street blocks. For instance, when you're up in the Harlem/Washington Heights area, you would hear more Hip Hop music then you would go down in the Bowery, where it's mostly punk or rock music.

YVG: What upcoming projects do you have that we should be looking out for?

TR: I can tell you that I am working on the next True Crime, which will also take place in New York however that is all I can say at the moment. The other games I am working on haven't yet been announced however you can expect some very robust soundtracks in them!