Where Age of Wonders 3's soundtrack was a mixture of original work and remixes or re-imaginings of the original's songs, this one is predominantly comprised of completely new material with a few winks and nods to legacy songs, though very difficult to spot. The result is a soundtrack that definitely feels rooted in the Age of Wonders tradition, but with a style of its own that sets it apart and fits the setting of this iteration of the game. This was by choice at first due to the aesthetic and setting of the game but that was soon decided to become grating for the player when listening to it for too long, though a few of these songs remain on the soundtrack.Īs the preliminary phase of production went along, I started to add more processing to these instruments and reintroducing synths, though at a far more subdued level than in previous entries in the series.

The initial run of songs contained a lot of traditional medieval folk instruments without much processing added, resulting in a much more in-your-face sound. With Age of Wonders 4 the process of finding the right 'feel' was a slightly longer one. This has been the norm since the original when, due to its Tracker origins, options were very limited and the mixing of those two elements was a matter of necessity rather than choice. In the years of composing soundtracks for Age of Wonders games, there was always something at the forefront: Traditional orchestral sounds drenched in synths, either subtly or pronounced. His work was most recently featured in Age of Wonders: Planetfall. He also composed for previous instalments in the Age of Wonders series as well as the Overlord series.

This dev diary was contributed by Michiel van den Bos the composer of the Age of Wonders 4 soundtrack. And some insights into its creation: Creating the Age of Wonders 4 OST

Age of wonders 3 dragon throne scenario