Last month, Ubisoft launched Tom Clancy’s The Division, a game that places the player in New York City after it’s been ravaged by a pandemic. As a member of the Strategic Homeland Division, gamers are tasked with restoring order to NYC and uncovering the truth behind the city’s devastation. As for the Division themselves, they are not exactly beloved by the people that they’re supposed to be protecting.

We really enjoyed The Division, and given its high initial sales, this may be Ubisoft’s newest franchise. The Division is also the subject of the latest original song by Gavin Dunne a.k.a. Miracle of Sound. We recently spoke with Dunne about “The Lucky Ones,” his inspiration for the song, and his thoughts on The Division itself.

Nerdist: What aspect of The Division sparked your idea for this song?

Gavin Dunne: The song was inspired by wondering what it would be like for the average everyday civilians in such a dire situation.

N: Which parts of the game’s mythology did you find most intriguing?

GD: The parts hidden away around the city. Phone recordings, laptops, little environmental details. There are a lot of smaller stories in The Division for those eager enough to explore and find it.

N: The POV of this song sounds like it’s from an ordinary survivor as opposed to one of the Division’s members. Why did you make that choice?

GD: It just felt like an interesting perspective to explore, something I hadn’t done before. The cinematic trailer told a story of a survivor that to me, was as interesting as anything in the actual game and that was a big influence on the lyrics.

N: What sound were you going for in this song?

GD: Modern synth ballad I guess! Hard to nail a genre on it. The game’s OST was the main inspiration, but I also listened to a couple of artists like Chvrches, Tears For Fears to get some idea of how I wanted to mix the song’s various layers together.

N: How long did it take to complete this particular song? It seemed to go up pretty quickly after your last one.

GD: I had been working on both of them at the same time, hence the close release dates. It took around 50-60 hours.

N: Did any of the main characters in The Division resonate with you during your play-through?

GD: Not particularly. The civilian stories were more interesting to me.

N: What was your favorite part of The Division?

GD: New York. I spend hours and hours just exploring places I had been in real life to see what they were like in the game. it’s an incredibly authentic and beautiful representation of the city.

N: What do you want to see from a potential sequel to this game?

GD: Stronger lead characters, a story that motivates me to keep going, and fewer bullet sponge enemies.

N: Can you give us any hints about your next original song?

GD: I have three in the works at the moment, but it’s very likely that the next one will be Dark Souls 3 as I’m kind of obsessed with that game right now!

N: Since we always close out with a song from your back catalogue, this time we’re going with your Halo 5 inspired “Friends to Foes.”

If you want to hear and see more from Dunne, check out his regularly updated Miracle of Sound YouTube channel, which features video game and movie inspired songs as well as a new series of videos that go behind-the-scenes of his creative process. You can also visit Dunne’s Bandcamp page; which has six albums of his Miracle of Sound music, a Heavy Metal album, instrumental albums and other recordings.

The Division fans, what did you think of “The Lucky Ones?” Let the leaves fall, and share your thoughts in the comments below!

—

Image Credit: Ubisoft