1UP Looks at the Music of ODST + A Kongregate Contest

1UP interviews Marty O’Donnell and Michael Salvatori (the two composers who have collaborated on most Bungie game music from Myth to Oni to Halo) about the differences between ODSTs themes and past ones, the darker tone, and non-linear gameplay.

Bungie has also put a lot of effort into its interactive music system, which runs invisibly behind the scenes throughout the Halo games. That system determines what music will best match the onscreen events at any given time and seamlessly transitions between pieces as situations shift… “The open hub was a bit different since the encounters weren’t scripted in the same way. I had to adjust to some more programmatic ways of having music played back based on random elements.”

Oh yeah, they also say that Marty is working on music for Halo: Reach right now as well as “something else…”

Also, Kongregate (one of the best Flash game sites around with achievements and everything) has a big ODST giveaway going on now. Four challenges in different games will earn you entries into the sweepstakes. Grand prize is an Xbox 360 Elite and a Mitsubishi 60″ 1080p HDTV plus there are 20 copies of ODST up for grabs.