Peter McConnell
Peter Nelson McConnell is the composer for most of Plants vs. Zombies 2, the entirety of Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare, Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2, and Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville.
Other than composing for the Plants vs. Zombies series, he is also known for his work at LucasArts and for composing soundtracks for video games such as the Sly Cooper series.
He began composing for PopCap when an employee he had previously worked with contacted him to work on the first Garden Warfare. He was subsequently contacted by the music director for Garden Warfare after approving the demos McConnel had submitted.
His soundtracks have won awards for multiple categories, including his soundtracks for the Plants vs. Zombies series.
QnA session
Q&A session with various users from The Lawn Discord server that took place on February 6, 2021,[1] with questions being asked in a different channel ahead of time.[2]
Answer #1: Which was my favorite PVZ Game to compose for? Probably Garden Warfare 3, because we got to explore some of my favorite music styles. In particular, I picked up a rare Gibson banjo from 1928 for the project, which is my pride and joy.
Answer #2: How did I decide to be a composer? The answer is that I realized that I did not want to be a physicist, but the journey took a while. I took some time off from college, learned some piano and played guitar and sang in the streets, came back and majored in music, but it still took some years to actually get paid for writing music.
Answer #3: A number of folks have asked about my process and tools. I am a melody guy, so I typically start by humming melodies into hand-held cassette player. Now that was back in the 90's - now I hum into my iphone. I may wait a while to listen to what I hummed. If I still like it, I go to the next phase, which is track up a mockup in Pro Tools. If the project team likes it I replace what I can with live instruments.
Answer #4: I've also had a number of questions about whether there are any tracks for the PVZ series that were unreleased. There's only one I can think of - that was in Garden Warfare where I id a rap about garden gnomes. Probably a good thing they didn't release it. I'm not the best rapper.
Answer #5: I also see a question or two about SuperShigi. I have never had the opportunity to work with her, but I owe her a great debt of gratitude for her original work on the series IMO she is a god-- a real inspiration.
Answer #6: Cuqui asks why did I use kazoo in the Middle Ages? That is a great question. If you listen to real instruments from that time, many of them sound kind of - rough - compared to modern instruments. Reed instruments called Shawms are an ancestor of the modern oboe and bassoon -- and can sound a bit like a kazoo. And I really love playing the kazoo!
Answer #7: A number of folks have asked about whether I use soundfonts or plan to release my sounds. The answer is yes I did use soundfonts for some tunes, but I couldn't tell you which off the top of my head. A lot of my sounds are off the shelf, maybe tweaked slightly or used with particular FX.
I was inspired by Lara Shigihara's original sounds and tried to stay with that low-fi vibe for PVZ2.
For Garden warfare I went for bigger sounds because the game is "bigger" -- in all cases I bounce all the pieces through an analog mixer to warm them up and give them some punch.
Answer #8: Several folks have asked whether I like the plants or zombies better. I'll never tell. But I will say that I like singing the zombie voices. :)
Answer #9: A couple of questions about advice for aspiring composers...After I graduated with a BA in music I had to support myself so I got job as an audio programmer. Interesting and challenging, but not my ultimate goal. I will never forget the advice that someone gave me at that time: be sure that no matter what, you spend at least an hour every single day doing what you love. Preferably the first hour.
Answer #10: Pealover asks if I have gotten burnt out after all those years of PVZ tracks. Good question. The answer is: heck no! With a game like PVZ, they keep on coming up with more fun and different worlds to score, so there is always something new. I could do that until the cows come home.
Answer #11: I have a number of questions about whether I would change anything I've done. One in a while when I listen to something after a long time I might think, "well I would do that differently now" just because I've changed in my skills and preferences. But I think of each piece as coming from a moment in time. And I know that in that moment, I listened to it a hundred times and got exactly what I wanted then.
Answer #12: Two other questions from Pealover...1) How much artistic freedom do I get? Another excellent question. I find that for games in general, there is more artistic freedom than in other genres, partly because unlike, say, film, the music isn't being asked to fit every single moment that happens in a fixed linear story. So there is more room to riff. PVZ has been no exception. Sometimes a piece might get thrown out or used in a different spot than originally intended, but that's rare.
I may be asked to make changes. But honestly in 30 years of doing this (!) I have never been in a situation where I was asked to make a change that I didn't ultimately agree with. The team always knows the game best.
Answer #13: Question 2) what is it like to be a composer? Is it stressful? Sure it's stressful, because the amount of work can fluctuate wildly. My worst year's earnings were less than a 10th of my best year's earnings. So you have to be able to roll with that. Last year I worked 3000 hours that's 50 60 hour weeks. I'd rather it be less, nut not a lot less, because I love writing music. My kids know their dad loves his work, and I think that is a powerful thing. Plus I get to work at home...not very unique these days, but it;s never gotten old.
I have had nightmares about work before, but never a nightmare about writing music. Thats always a good dream.
Answer #14: Do I enjoy composing or re-mixing more? Probably composing, although sometimes it's nice to get the opportunity to re-record a piece if we didn't have the budget to do it the way I wanted to in the first place. I am so happy to have been able to Re-master old Lucas titles like Full Throttle and Grim Fandango.
Answer #15: A number of questions about my favorite track. I have many favorites, and they change from time to time. In the same way, I don't have a favorite genre of music. If I am sitting down to listen I will listen to something both enjoy I can learn something from, like hard free jazz or Mahler or Stravinsky. But in a day I might listen to reggae or a Stevie Wonder tune, or some new band. Some people say they like all kinds of music and they mean everything from AC-CD to Led Zeppelin. I say I like all kinds of music, and I mean All. Kinds. Of. Music.
Trivia
- His favorite game in the series to compose was Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville as it let him explore various music genres he likes.
- In the Q&A session, he referred to it as "Garden Warfare 3."
- When asked if he liked plants or zombies, he didn't answer the question.
- However, he did reply that he likes the singing zombie voices.
- When asked if there are any unused tracks for any of the games he worked on, he revealed that there was an unreleased track for Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 where he rapped about the Gnomes.
- He stated that he was glad that the track wasn't included, as he claimed that he is "[not] the best rapper."
External links
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