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Ye Chenyang is a Composer working at Booming Tech, the developer behind Conqueror’s Blade based in Hangzhou, China. Ye joined Booming Tech in early 2021, and his work can be heard in the new battleground besieged by Northmen in Season VII: Wolves of Ragnarok. As part of Music Week, we sat down (virtually, of course) with Ye to discuss his background, influences, and work in bringing beautiful music to the gloriously brutal battlefields of Conqueror’s Blade.

What is your background, and how did you get into music in videogames?

Ye: I studied recording arts at university, with a focus on composition and arrangement. After graduating I began working at NetEase as an audio editor while simultaneously doing a bit of music production.

I joined the games industry because I'm a gaming enthusiast, and I'm very interested in both game and film music, and so I wanted to use my professional knowledge to create music in an area I'm interested in and create music that would touch the hearts of players.

What are your core responsibilities at Booming Tech on Conqueror’s Blade?

Ye: I create music for in-game locations (maps), menus, and videos.



What is your process for making new music in Conqueror's Blade?

Ye: First, I delve deep into the area of history I'm going to create music for. I read up on its culture, the era, game lore, and think about the feeling we want to give the player. Then, I'll create a rough idea of what I want it to sound like in my head, and then set up a few instruments that I might need, and work on a demo. While composing the music I will also continuously share my progress with colleagues, and we'll discuss ways to make improvements to make it even better. Finally, I'll add the music to its area in-game and listen to it for as long as I need to and see whether or not it meets my expectations.

How is your music influenced by the cultures that inspire the game, for instance Vikings in Season VII: Wolves of Ragnarok?

Ye: In Season VII, I created the music for Heilung Fjord and for the login menu. It was my goal to convey feelings of savagery and excitement, and so I took much inspiration from the band Heilung and used many ancient instruments. I added orchestral influences to rather simple melodies to give it a more epic feel, and to make it grander and more exciting without losing the ancient feel.

What was it like being able to use the music of Heilung when creating the soundtrack to Heilung Fjord? Could you tell us about that process?

Ye: The music of Heilung is savage and wild, and fitted perfectly with Season VII’s theme. However, adding such unique music to the game and making it adhere to everyone's taste is no simple matter. For this composition, I divided Heilung's music into several sections and added a section to different parts of the siege battle. This was so I could as closely as possible create a Viking-like atmosphere, while catering to the tastes of a wider audience.
 
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Do you have any other influences that inspire you when you’re making music?

Ye: While creating music, I listen to the soundtracks of other games and live performances to gain inspiration.

What is your favourite piece of music in Conqueror’s Blade?

Ye: The background music for Heilung Fjord, and the new music for Reginopolis that will be added soon.

What other games do you like to play when you’re not working on Conqueror’s Blade?

Ye: League of Legends, Nioh, God of War, and more.

Thanks for chatting with us, Ye!

This feature is brought to you as part of Music Week, a special week of content running from May 10-16 celebrating the history of Viking music, and modern-day compositions by Heilung and Booming Tech. Keep an eye on the Conqueror’s Blade website for more features, a contest, and other surprises!

We are bringing our fresh characters back to the battlefield this week and you may want to join us on Twitch as well as the Twitch Drops are currently active there!

We recently completed the full set of weapon class guides, which are collected below for your viewing pleasure. Within each, you’ll find suggestions for assigning Attribute points and an overview of the weapon’s skills and ultimate abilities.

These are introductory guides intended for new players looking to fulfil typical combat archetypes, but should offer a few hints and tips for established heroes who may be looking to try something different.

Videogames use music to immerse players in their worlds and guide players’ emotions throughout their playtime. Simply, catchy 8-bit tracks were responsible for giving millions of players earworms back in the retro gaming era, but the modern gaming landscape is a canvas of variety, with sweeping orchestral scores being commonplace in the more cinematic, AAA experiences of the current generation. Thrashing metal scores our unstoppable march through Hell in Doom, tinkly piano numbers embrace us within the relaxing island life in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and modern pop and rock tracks get us pumped up to take on the world in FIFA.

Conqueror’s Blade beckons players to fight and shape their own legend in a world at war, and Booming Tech created a suitably epic soundtrack to accompany it. Players’ journeys through cities like Turul Város are met with orchestral, medieval-inspired refrains, and siege battles rage to the beat of furious war drums. When we introduce new factions and cultures to the game, we also look to their historical counterparts for aural inspiration. 

Season VII: Wolves of Ragnarok introduced the Northmen, including the Sons of Fenrir, Berserkers, and Shieldmaidens units, all clearly inspired by Vikings and ancient Scandinavian lore and culture. Many string and wind instruments from the Viking Age have been discovered on archaeological digs, but with written musical notation only being made possible centuries later, we had no direct way to know what Viking music, likely played at small gatherings or among friends, family, and kin, may have sounded like other than written records. 



Thyles and skalds, essentially the jesters and bards of the Viking Age, would compose spoken poetry, much of which still survives in sagas and books like the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda. Some historians speculate their compositions may have enjoyed the accompaniment of a harp or lyre. As for how they sounded, when the 10th century Arab merchant Al-Tartushi visited Denmark, he wincingly described the local Vikings’ singing abilities as “a rumbling emanating from their throats, similar to that of a dog but even more bestial.” 

This was the perfect launching point for Ye Chenyang, a Composer from Booming Tech working on Conqueror’s Blade, who was looking for an animalistic approach to the Viking sound. “It was my goal to convey feelings of savagery and excitement,” said Ye of the new music he composed for Season VII: Wolves of Ragnarok. “I took much inspiration from the band Heilung and used many ancient instruments. I added orchestral influences to rather simple melodies to give it a more epic feel, and to make it grander and more exciting without losing the ancient feel.”

Indeed, the band Heilung was an instrumental part of shaping the soundtrack of Season VII. Their name means ‘healing’ in German, and their mission statement is to leave their listeners “at ease and in a relaxed state after a magical musical journey that is at times turbulent.” Heilung’s use of uniquely era-appropriate instruments and different vocal styles, combined with music and lyrics based on Scandinavian history and legend, made them the perfect fit for Ye’s vision for the soundtrack, and the creative vision for the season overall. 

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Their song Galgaldr, taken from their 2019 album Futha, can be heard in the opening cinematic for Conqueror’s Blade throughout the latest season. The harsh, throaty vocals, apocalyptic atmosphere, and lyrics inspired by Völuspá, the prophecy of Ragnarok, set the tone for a dark yet epic saga to come.

Also introduced in Season VII, Heilung Fjord is a new Viking-inspired siege map named after the band. This new locale features another of their atmospheric compositions: Alfadhirhaiti, an ode to Odin performed in Old Norse. “I divided Heilung's music into several sections and added a section to different parts of the siege battle,” said Ye of Heilung Fjord’s soundtrack, intended to take players on a journey through a chaotic battlefield, and perhaps even to the gates of Valhalla.

Season VII: Wolves of Ragnarok is available to play in Conqueror’s Blade now, with Heilung Fjord available in current Siege rotation.

This feature is brought to you as part of Music Week, a special week of content running from May 10-16 celebrating the history of Viking music, and modern-day compositions by Heilung and Booming Tech. Keep an eye on the Conqueror’s Blade website for more features, a contest, and other surprises!

Despite their fates being bound up in heavenly cataclysm, the gods are pleased with your progress in the season so far. By way of reward, they are raining down upon the earth a series of gifts, to be bestowed upon those that are deemed the most worthy!

...Or, to put it another way, it’s Twitch Drop time again! Between May 7 at 12:00 UTC and May 11 at 12:00 UTC (phase 1), then following on until May 16 at 12:00 UTC (phase 2), simply watch one or more participating channels (listed below), watch for the required amount of time, then claim your free in-game loot!

Throughout both Twitch Drop phases you can also claim a daily reward. Watch for a total of one hour and thirty minutes per day to claim a Twitch Drops Progression Bundle containing one Large Chest of Bronze, five Unit Medals, and two Common Honor Medals!

To claim your items, first make sure you link your Conqueror’s Blade account with your Twitch account:

Log in here (use your Steam account if that’s how you play the game).

Make sure to log in with your correct established account. If you register a new account, rewards will automatically be assigned to that account.

Select ‘Link with Twitch’, and make sure you confirm the connection.

If you’re having trouble, our handy video contains some tips and tricks to help you get started with Twitch Drops:

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Where to watch Conqueror’s Blade on Twitch

If you’re new to Conqueror’s Blade on Twitch, the following channels are all participants in the Content Creator Program and will be streaming Conqueror’s Blade throughout this event as their schedules allow. Remember to follow or subscribe to those you enjoy!

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