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Zenless Zone Zerohas quickly established an identity for itself that even its previews couldn’t completely prepare its playerbase for. The quirky, impossibly upbeat adventure at the end of the world is equal partsStreet Fighter-style impactful combat and developer HoYoverse’s more traditional forte, an endless parade of likeable characters available through gacha systems and enough daily enjoyment to keep people on the hook for months or years at a time.
One thing HoYoverse is particularly well-known for is its music -Genshin Impact’s soundtrack is beloved by fans and a popular choice on Spotify (Hoyo-Mix has nearly 2 million monthly listeners).Zenless Zone Zerodidn’t embrace the known when it came to its OST, however, branching off into wildly divergent directions that have yielded interesting results, not the least of which is a collaboration with influential artist DJ Tiesto. Tiesto is considered to be one of the best to ever do it in his genres, which are as expansive as his list of hit tracks - he’s done almost every EDM sub-genre you can imagine, and probably a couple you’ve never heard of.
For any game, getting DJ Tiesto involved would be a huge win. But for one as new asZenless Zone Zero, it feels nearly impossible. The truth is, the fit was a perfect one for the start, and Tiesto’s familiarity with HoYoverse’s other titles made the chance to work onZenless Zone Zeroan appealing one. We chatted with Tiesto andZenless Zone Zeromusic producer Wutao Yang about the soundtrack that colors New Eridu, the collaboration, and more.
Why DJ Tiesto Fits In With Zenless Zone Zero
Screen Rant: What makes Zenless Zone Zero the ideal fit for DJ Tiesto’s brand of music?
Tiesto: As a fan of the world-building in HoYoverse’s other games and seeing how incredible ZZZ is, I was super excited to partner with them on this. The energy of my music is the perfect fit for the game.
What sort of music style would you define ZZZ as having the most of? What do you think is the most obvious and distinctive musical style of “Zero Zone”?
Zenless Zone Zero Music Producer, Wutao Yang: In fact, the music styles of “Zero” are very diverse. If we have to choose the most representative and unique music styles, it would probably be hip-hop and electronic music. We really want to try some different music possibilities in “Zero”, and the game producer is also very supportive of our innovation. Judging from the feedback from players on the music, the overall effect is still quite ideal.
The Branching Paths Of Creativity In The ZZZ Universe
What kind of creative possibilities do you see in games like Zone Zero?
Tiesto: I feel very inspired by the endless possibilities in this game. The world they’ve built is incredible, so it made the creative ideas for the music flow very naturally. The endless possibilities in this game gave me a lot of inspiration. The game world created by “Zero” is amazing, so the creativity of music comes naturally.
Zenless Zone Zero Music Producer, Wutao Yang: For the background music and music for the characters in Zenless Zone Zero, we adopted different production strategies. For the background music, we have relied more on hip-hop and electronic music that has a distinct, unique style. Whereas for our characters, for example, the song we wrote for Qingyi, we’ve opted a more familiar, catchy genre. Through our music in Zenless Zone Zero, we hope to appeal to the varying preferences of different audiences, and we will continue to attempt to strike a balance between popular preferences and individual expression.In addition to the in-game music, we are also experimenting with live performances such as the live set we have just performed at Creamfields. We look forward to hearing the audience’s feedback on our performances. We will take this feedback into account and do our best to provide our audience with the best music we can offer, both in-game and out.
Zenless Zone Zero Shows Off The Darker Side Of One Upcoming Character
Headphones are strongly recommended for this Zenless Zone Zero character highlight reel, which shows that one upcoming character has a ruthless side.
Does Zenless Zone Zero intend to be a home for other musicians who fit the New Eridu vibe in the future?
Zenless Zone Zero Music Producer, Wutao Yang: For our team, we aim to present a more diverse range of music styles and experiences in-game. To do so, we hope to work with more musicians outside of the game and continue to fill New Eridu with vibrant music.
Distinctions Between HoYoverse Soundtracks & Future Plans
HoYoverse games are pretty well known for their excellent scores at this point. How do you keep Zenless Zone Zero on track to achieve a similar level of success?
Zenless Zone Zero Music Producer, Wutao Yang: In terms of music, the role of the in-game music is to serve the scene and characters themselves. Different music designed for different scenes and characters will give players completely different perceptions. We will continue to produce music that will provide players with a better gaming experience, based on different versions of the game and different content.What we can reveal right now is that in the upcoming Version 1.2, we have experimented quite a lot with the music we’ve produced. We can’t wait for players to share their experiences and feedback with us.
Any chance we see a DJ Tiesto NPC vibing around New Eridu at any point?
Tiesto: You never know! I think it would be a lot of fun to see myself in the game, especially in a place as vibrant and unique as New Eridu. I guess we’ll have to wait and see what HoYoverse has in store!
Zenless Zone Zero Music Producer, Wutao Yang: It has been a great experience for us to work with Tiesto and it really inspired us tremendously. We would love to work with him and other musicians in more creative and innovative ways in the future regarding music collaboration. When it comes to the game itself, as a live service game, Zenless Zone Zero is set in a unique world with its own setting and brand, independent of the real world.The game has been out for 2 months, and we will now focus more on the content of the game itself. It goes without saying that we will explore different directions and possibilities based on players' feedback in the long term.
