Mamoru Samuragochi (Resident Evil/Onimusha composer) has been using ghost writers since 1996

[Fishy]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-02-05-resident-evil-and-onimusha-composer-exposed-as-a-fraud

Didn't see a thread on this. 'Deaf man didn't really compose music' shouldn't be a huge surprise but he kept that quiet.

[Garpocalypse]

Little early for April Fool's jokes isn't it?

At least I hope that's what it is.

Still, I think the language is pretty harsh and he shouldn't be called a fraud. The article makes it sound like he was still trying to work with only his sense of perfect pitch and his name in Japan made it worth keeping him in the credits.

If I lost my hearing like that I wouldn't make it a week.

Edited February 5, 2014 by Garpocalypse

[Garrett Williamson]

hardly ever played RE, but this is honestly amazing.

he's the Milli Vanilli of game composers.

[Meteo Xavier]

Meh. This sort of thing is a LOT more common in all your favorite media than you'd be willing to believe. Seriously, go pick out your favorite games, music, movies, books, etc. there's a sizable chunk of all that being ghost written and the celebrities taking the credit to help sell it.

[Fishy]

Oh sure, I've spoken to a film composer about ghost writing. It happens all the time, and most of the time it comes down to just not having time to write 2 hours of music on the quick. I'm not intending to start a witch-hunt by posting it, just thought it was interesting to note given that OCR databases who composed what.

Although I would say that pretending to be genius enough to compose music while deaf is slightly dodgier then generic ghost writing.

[Meteo Xavier]

Although I would say that pretending to be genius enough to compose music while deaf is slightly dodgier then generic ghost writing.

Then again, it's like you said, we probably should've figured that out a long time ago.

Also, compare and contrast the arrogance of most music celebrities versus how much music they actually compose by themselves, and it's still a pretty "meh" event.

[Nase]

well i don't even know the guy, but i wasn't completely "meh" about it.

it's not that it's such an outrage and appaling and all that...not shocked about the morality aspect.

but when i tried to picture that guy's story and how it might've developed into this trainwreck of deception, the feeling of loss, grief and shame was tangible.

honestly, i hope coming out with it helped him in some way.

[Monobrow]

honestly, i hope coming out with it helped him in some way.

That's how I feel about it. People lie and we never know the circumstances of how easy it was for him to do this.

I dunno, never go into these things thinking the person is malicious in their deceptions, just that when it's this much... If he's come out NOW of all times... It's either because someone else was going to tell or it ate him up so much that he had to come clean. Either way, it's good that the truth is out now.

Sucks for the hardcore fans of him and the series he has composed for though.

[theshaggyfreak]

With 'big' productions of any sort, there's often more people behind the scenes than you realize. It's just rare that anyone ever comes right out and admits it. Read any biography by a studio engineer and you'll come to understand that pretty quickly. So, Mamoru Samuragochi coming out like this isn't that big of a deal to me. Getting paid to do something doesn't always mean you get credit for it. Things shouldn't be that way but they are.

[Fishy]

With 'big' productions of any sort, there's often more people behind the scenes than you realize. It's just rare that anyone ever comes right out and admits it. Read any biography by a studio engineer and you'll come to understand that pretty quickly. So, Mamoru Samuragochi coming out like this isn't that big of a deal to me. Getting paid to do something doesn't always mean you get credit for it. Things shouldn't be that way but they are.

We all know ghost writing happens, but it's kind of different if you're actually deaf and trying to pretend it hasn't affected you: The plot has thickened as the ghost writers are coming forward. Some of them are even claiming he's pretending to be deaf, it's all getting a bit weird.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-02-06-music-school-teacher-behind-onimusha-composer-revealed

Niigaki said he was paid $77,000 over two decades during which he composed more than 20 pieces of music. "I told him a few times that we should stop doing this, but he never gave in," Niigaki said. "Also he said he would commit suicide if I stop composing for him."

[Monobrow]

Oh wow, well there we go. :/

[Crowbar Man]

I don't like how this guy keeps getting credited as the composer for RE... he only did RE:Dir. Cut.:Dual Shock Ver, which has an awful, awful, terrible soundtrack compared to the original & original Dir Cut version.

Not trying to be offensive, but if someone told me this guy was deaf I'd believe it. At the very least, they didn't know what they were doing:

Original/Director's Cut:

RE:DC: Dual Shock:

Edited February 7, 2014 by Crowbar Man

[CHz]

Most of the score is highly questionable, but the live orchestra credits theme is outstanding (way better than anything from the original Capcom soundtrack IMO):

. This Niigaki guy is credited as the conductor and presumably wrote most or all of it.

The soundtrack album also has a couple of original pieces, a solo organ thing and a ten minute piano sonata, that are also super duper good. How they and the in-game BGM were written by the same person has been a mystery to me for a long time, but a ghostwriter might finally be a solution.

[ad.mixx]

RE:DC: Dual Shock:

This is probably the funniest thing I've heard all week.

[alrubedo]

Dear god, that was massacre unto my ears, that basement theme.

[Nase]

So..he possibly isn't deaf, and could potentially have been an impostor since way earlier?

What if he can't compose at all? That'd be crazy.

For now i'll assume that he is an experienced composer (maybe not a really good or consistent one) and did at least suffer substantial hearing loss, resulting in more and more ghostwriting. Anything else would be very confusing..

[arglactable]

Well, I had never heard of this guy or the music attributed to him (not that much, to be honest), but this story is pretty bizarre.

[Moseph]

RE:DC: Dual Shock:

brb remixing

imma call it "Ghostwriting the WIP"

[Garpocalypse]

brb remixing

imma call it "Ghostwriting the WIP"

This really really bugged me about the Director's Cut. "Original" mode still changed some of the music from the original!

This was the original music for the basement and it was FAR better for the game!

...in my opinion.

edit: crap just looked deeper into the thread and saw this was already addressed. Even though I don't like it I don't think it's fair to say a deaf guy composed it because it's avant garde. It's fairly easy for someone who has no idea about what they are doing to still use only the white keys on a piano or stick to the lines and spaces of a staff and not use any accidentals. I would believe this to be intentional. ...as bad as it sucks.

Edited February 8, 2014 by Garpocalypse

[Moseph]

TBH, I think the biggest single problem with that Dual Shock director's cut basement track is the godawful brass samples. Play it on a piano, and it wouldn't sound nearly as bad.

[Moseph]

There, now it's art music.

[Drakken]

^^^

This is gold.

[SystemsReady]

The "As if Tripping on Alligators" tempo marking made me spit out my coffee, hahahahaha

[Mirby]

Good news, everybody! He's no longer deaf! Apparently his hearing gradually restored itself all on its own.