“I would kill to make a Star Wars game”
MeinMMO: What comes after Pray to the Hunter? Do you want to continue making music about video games and if so, which IPs are primarily on your mind?
Alea: I would kill at some point to make a Star Wars game. Or a soundtrack for a Star Wars game.
Falk: Currently, I don’t think we have anything in the pipeline, except our other project with Hämatom together, the Metal Fight Club. In the fall, the tour is coming, which we are very much looking forward to. We have our 22-year anniversary in the fall, and it’s not sold out yet, so everyone still has a chance to come to the tour and hear the songs live.
And then we’ll see how it goes. I mean, sure, we’re always up for something like that. Because we realized it’s just incredibly fun, and it’s also a completely new area of activity for us.
MeinMMO: Many MMORPGs, including ESO, incorporate instruments and the “making music” theme to varying degrees. In Guild Wars 2, Final Fantasy, and Co., entire bands form, providing in-game performances for hundreds of fans. What do you think of that? Would that be something for you?
Falk: I would jump at the chance if we could pull it off somehow. I think that’s incredibly cool. The first time I played a musical instrument in a game was in Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and I thought it was totally great. I believe anyone who has experienced a player meeting in-game knows what kind of dynamics can arise. Where people were excited and had a lot of fun. I would definitely be on board, for sure.
Alea: It’s always about creativity, and creativity is always cool. And being able to come up with totally different ideas is just mega. Really cool.
MeinMMO: Are you involved in other multiplayer games and MMORPGs besides ESO?
Falk: Right now.. difficult. For me, I am currently anchored in Horizon: Zero Dawn and am fighting through it. Other than that, not so much.
Alea: For me, it’s still Star Wars Battlefront 2 because I have a group that meets every 2 to 3 weeks in the evenings. We also have a Belgian guy who speaks like Arnold Schwarzenegger when he finds a Gatling gun. That’s extremely funny.
But it’s just an MMO without the RPG. But specifically on MMORPGs, nothing at all. THQ Nordic has now brought something over for the PS5 that I’m interested in, but I have to be honest: I really don’t want to start it because: When am I supposed to do that?
ESO takes up so much of my time because I also have two characters – one on PC and one on PS5 – which are very different. One is a dragon knight, and the other is a nightblade. That’s like playing an entirely different game. So I actually have more than enough to do.
“If there were an MMO in the world of Horizon…”
MeinMMO: Given your presumably very limited personal time and the seemingly endless selection of games and MMORPGs – what are the criteria for you for a game to gain your attention?
Alea: You can always pull me in with graphics and atmosphere. That always works. It doesn’t matter what kind of environment it is. I also find it really sad that although StarField is not coming out this year, such a setup, such a world interests me. I am totally into sci-fi; I’m a huge Star Wars and Alien fan. Everything that goes a bit in the direction of organic worlds I find super exciting and cool. I’m also a massive fan of Doom Eternal. With such a style and good graphics, you can definitely get me.
Falk: It’s always difficult. A good graphic is very important to me, but I also love the comic style totally. I think I am also a bit infected by WoW. I also like it when my characters look like, let’s say, comic figures. Otherwise, the atmosphere is very important to me. I couldn’t say what I want to play next. What it has to be able to do is: good graphics, great story, and maybe also a new approach.
You always hear things and think, I want to play that. There’s something else, I know I’m not even sure if I’m allowed to mention this, but I definitely want to play it – Diablo Immortal. I’m sorry, I said it. I’m not sure if that’s an MMORPG already, but I’ll definitely try it. Otherwise, the last one was really Lost Ark. The first announcement in 2014, waited for 7 years!
Alea: For me, it’s really the thing – why should I play another fantasy RPG?
Falk: I thought that too – until I played Witcher.
Alea: Good, that’s not an MMO – but an incredibly great game. It’s the same as, never start God of War, you can’t stop. It’s really crazy.
Falk: But Witcher really succeeded. I really thought I had seen everything. Every quest, all the dialogues, and so on. And then CD Projekt comes along and releases a game that just blows your mind. That thing as a massively big game, MMO, open-world – that would be mega.
Alea: Yeah, that’s true, I would also want that. If there were an MMO in the world of Horizon: Zero Dawn – I would sink into that. I think the design is incredibly good, and the whole story thrills me.
MeinMMO: That musicians and development studios work together is not new. However, it’s rare in the world of MMORPGs. How exactly did the partnership with Bethesda come about, and why Elder Scrolls Online and not any other MMORPG?
Alea: It was actually that one evening. I am also a cosplayer, have been for some time. And suddenly I received a request from a very good friend who supports me with games every now and then, asking if I would like to go to an event from Bethesda as a cosplayer and if I had an “Elder Scrolls” cosplay.
And of course, I first had a panic attack and said: “No, I don’t have one. But I have this band that would be perfect!” That was the push that led to our meeting.
Falk: They are all so nice. The people at Bethesda are just amazing. It was an incredibly wonderful evening when we were able to play live there. And then it was clear that if they can organize such beautiful evenings, they must be able to do a lot more. There was also the human aspect because it works so well. And then one idea led to another, and I am really delighted. Enormously delighted with the collaboration.
MeinMMO: I thank you for the interview and your time. Is there anything else you would like to add?
Alea: We have to thank!
Falk: I am very happy that it worked out and that you are interested in this direction. I never thought that as a hurdy-gurdy player I would ever play Wacken. But that I can now give an interview as a hurdy-gurdy player on an MMO page, one would have never thought.
We thank Alea and Falk for the interview and wish the boys from Saltatio Mortis continued success in Elder Scrolls Online and many new fans!
By the way, what it’s like to play in such a purely in-game band, the Songbirds from Final Fantasy XIV tell us in the interview:
In Final Fantasy XIV, Bards throw cool concerts – We spoke with one of the most popular bands
