Maclaine Diemer and the Music of Guild Wars 2

Special guest Maclaine Diemer takes us behind his music for the hit game Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons. End of Dragons is the third expansion for Guild Wars 2, and one that presented a special challenge: how to revisit a fan favorite area from earlier iterations of the game while re-imagining it with more respect and sensitivity. Taking inspiration from Korean history and culture, the soundtrack needed to weave Korea’s unique musical traditions with the familiar sounds of the Guild Wars franchise. Maclaine goes through the process of educating oneself as an outsider, early missteps, incorporating Korean voices into the team, and ultimately shining a light on a form of music that is sorely underrepresented in Western media. Learn how you can expand creative boundaries, understand and meld disparate musical traditions, and re-invent the sound of a well established franchise, all while avoiding the pitfalls of strip-mining a culture for commercial purposes.