kai rosenkranz journey home

Gothic series composer runs Kickstarter to “journey home”

German composer Kai Rosenkranz won the hearts of many gamers with his rich orchestral soundtracks for the first three Gothic titles and  Risen  on behalf of Piranha Bytes. However, he has spent the last five years working away from composition and is desperate to return to composing again. As a result, he has launched a  Kickstarter  campaign to fund the production of a new original album,  Journey Home , containing bonus  Risen  and  Gothic  medleys.

Rosenkranz explains his reasons for creating an album: “I’m a passionate musician, and now I’m excited to be on Kickstarter to make a new album! I’ve started making music when I was a kid, and I got a job in the games industry at the age of 17. I wrote music for the “Gothic” series and “Risen” by German RPG studio Piranha Bytes. I took a break from game music to create development tools for the games industry. But music as a way of creative expression plays an important part in my life, and now, after 5 years, I really want to make music again.”

He promises that “ Journey Home  will be a very personal and heartfelt album. It’s not the soundtrack to a videogame, just me making music with some friends and guest musicians.  Home  and  returning home  are subjects that means quite a lot to me, so the album tracks will deal with different aspects of what home means to you and me.”

The album will feature at least eight original tracks. He is initially writing and performing these tracks on a grand piano, then incorporating these recordings into small ensemble and orchestral arrangements. Four of his piano performances can be heard below. In addition, he will revisit the worlds of the  Gothic  series and  Risen  with medleys featuring iconic themes from the series.

Those who back the project are eligible for various rewards, including digital and physical versions of the album. “With your help, my heart’s desire could actually become true, and I’ll be so happy to write new music and share it with you.” Fans can pledge to help make the project happen  here .

Posted on August 24, 2014 by Chris Greening. Last modified on August 24, 2014.

Tags: Crowdfunding , Gothic , Kai Rosenkranz , Orchestral , Original Album , Risen

About the Author

Chris Greening I've contributed to websites related to game audio since 2002. In this time, I've reviewed over a thousand albums and interviewed hundreds of musicians across the world. As the founder and webmaster of VGMO -Video Game Music Online-, I hope to create a cutting-edge, journalistic resource for all those soundtrack enthusiasts out there. In the process, I would love to further cultivate my passion for music, writing, and generally building things. Please enjoy the site and don't hesitate to say hello!

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The Long Journey Home

Originally posted by M.A.C.O.Schrödinger : So what you're saying is, you're not going to buy the game because of some dude who fell through on a kickstarter for his music? That makes no sense at all. Did you know you can literally turn the music off in games and play your own on youtube? Seems more like you're just looking for reasons to get people to not buy the game for other reasons, as the reason you stated makes no sense at all. A game is more than just the music, or the composer. What's the real reason?

Originally posted by SkywalkerTEAM pirate : I don't have to convince others not to buy this game,this already sold poorly.Probably Kai thought he could pull a hit and run with a kickstarter,well,the internet is not just like that,he will be remembered for a long time now.And i'm not alone in this.

Originally posted by CushyCrux : Art is stil Art and I can say as a great composer (and kai is great), he creates culture and will never be a rich man. His Music makes this Game better, fills it with immersion. And people like you don't know what creativity is. Nor you can feel the metainformation in Music. Period. Don't buy it to troll your self and leave us alone.

Originally posted by SkywalkerTEAM pirate : [...] Before signing new contracts,he should have finished his first job.

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Kai Rosenkranz

Marie havemann, luigi-maria rapisarda.

Kai started working in the games industry in 1998 as game composer for Piranha Bytes. He stayed with the company for 12 years, writing the music for the RPGs Gothic 1-3 and Risen 1 . He also created the sound effects and visual effects, as well as some development tools. In 2009 he co-founded Nevigo , a tools and middleware company and creator of articy:draft . Today he works as freelance game composer and currently writes musik for The Long Journey Home (Daedalic Studio West) and Aquanox Deep Descent (THQ Nordic) , as well as Pizza Connection 3 and another unannounced title.

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For us composing a game soundtrack means diving into a new and exciting world. We will try to fill this world with life and emotions so that players can connect to it and fully immerse themselves into the game. To achieve this goal we spent hours on finding the right tone, picking the right instruments and sounds and creating a unique style of music to help shaping your game's individual character. Since every game has its own mechanics we are creating a unique adaptive music system for every new project by using audio middleware or preparing the music to work directly in your game engine. Lets hit it together!

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Starting as a guitarist, violinist and piano player, over to working as an audio engineer with bands for years and studying music composition and sound design , she came a long way to finally find where she belonged when working for games. Contributing to a variety of games, her focus lies on pointing out what makes a game unique and daring to design the music and sounds in a way, that turns it into an unforgettable experience. With love to details and a broad knowledge of audio and integration technology, she can help you to get the best out of your project! Her portfolio ranges from high-fantasy MMORPG Albion Online , where she is responsible for the Audio Design since the launch of the game and the following updates, over hard and heavy Carmageddon: Crashers to quirky Apps like MyRedPanda - including two exciting, unreleased titles coming soon.

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Only Sound was founded in 2014 and dedicated itself to music and sound design especially for the game industry. Felix and Paul met each other during their academic studies in Audio-Design at the Hochschule der populären Künste Berlin. There they discovered their mutual passion for media scoring. Through the course of common projects they developed a bond of deep friendship and a fertile collaboration, which led into the foundation of Only Sound . Some projects: Pizza Connection 3 (Gentlymad Studios/Assemble Entertainment) , Stranded Deep (Beamteam Games) , In Between (Gentlymad) , Construction Simulator 2 (Weltenbauer/Astragon) , Far-Out (Espapism Artworks) , ViSP (Visper Games)

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I'm a passionate clarinet player and love games, especially adventures. In my studies in Augsburg I discovered composing digital orchestral music with the computer. After some practice I searched projects to gain experiences. On behalf of Twice Effect and Headup Games I composed the orchestral soundtrack for the adventure game The Second Guest . It was my debut on making music for games. My next project was the famous and popular App Bridge Constructor where I produced the tile theme. I decided to get more experienced in music production and sounddesign. In Trossingen I began to study music design at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Tanz . In July 2015 I made my bachelor of music . I'm currently working on the great adventure The Mystery of Oak Island in cooperation with Visionaire Studio . I love what I do because it's not only making music for media. I love diving into the different worlds and feelings of the characters and plots and get the best atmosphere through music and sounddesign.

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I started as a trained guitarist as recording engineer, producer and songwriter in the medieval folk scene in germany. In 2013 I released my first orchestral music album for Trailer productions called Imaginations . After the success of Imaginations I started producing soundtracks for fantasy and sci-fi RPG games, with my album Earthdawn winning the RPC Award in 2017. I also scored a lot of movies, like the scientific-popular animated film Grey Whales of the Russian Far East for the National Russian Aquarium Vladivostok as well as the full length feature film Space 1889 - The Secret of Phobos and Run , where I also did the Sound Design and Sound Mixing . For Videogames I produced the music for the successful german indie title Sandra and Woo and also worked on the german strategy legend The Guild 3 as musician for medieval string instruments as well as on Victor Vran - Fractured Worlds .

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Dynamedion was founded in 2001 by Tilman Sillescu and Pierre Langer . With a steadily increasing number of contracts and growing customer base it has since become a leader in soundtrack composition and sound design on the European computer game market. In 2005 Dynamedion produced highly successful, first benchmark live orchestra recordings for a German game soundtrack, setting the standard for large-scale projects in the industry. With numerous further orchestral productions for the videogame industry, Dynamedion has earned itself a reputation for unsurpassed quality and integrity in this area. Over recent years, Dynamedion has worked on over 600 projects in the videogame, TV and film industry and been showered with numerous prizes and music awards

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About the EGC

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The European Game Composers came together for the first time in April 2017. The idea behind this uncommon project was to give audio freelancers in the videogame industry a voice that helps beginners getting their foot into the door and to create a community that brings the soundpeople closer together. But first of all it was meant to be a ressource for developers and simplify the search for the right guys for their project. We are happy that we now have a big and growing community of accomplished composers and sound designers who are active in the videogame industry.

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© Copyright 2017 Daedalic Entertainment Studio West GmbH and Daedalic Entertainment GmbH. The Long Journey Home is a trademark of Daedalic Entertainment Studio West GmbH. Daedalic and the Daedalic logo are trademarks of Daedalic Entertainment GmbH. All rights reserved.

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• Russia, Ukraine and Belarus

Moscow B2 interview - some q's

By BigRedCat October 22, 2019 in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus

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4 posts in this topic

Recommended posts, bigredcat   36.

Hey guys, after almost a 2 year wait I finally got a B2 interview scheduled for my mother in law in Moscow. I just wanted to ask if she needs to bring a copy of my wife and I's marriage certificate or if they even ask about that at all. She wants to come to the US to visit her daughter obviously so do they require any sort of documentation above and beyond marriage cert? She has a job in Moscow and owns property so I would think the interview should be a simple process however the interview is in a few days so just want to make sure I advise her on what to expect. 

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Share on other sites, millefleur   5,037.

No required docs. Marriage certificate is not necessary at all. You can bring things like job related docs, property ownership, etc but most likely they will not ask to even look at it. They will ask about purpose of visit, how long the planned trip is, when does she plan to return, maybe they'll ask if she has travelled abroad to any other countries, possibly they may ask what she plans to do in the US and if she has family there, they might ask details about the family member in the US.

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17-Jan-2017: Case number received

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04-Sep-2019: Interview was scheduled - letter to arrive in mail

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22-Oct-2019: Card was mailed to me  📨

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*I don't understand this status because we DID have an interview!

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8 hours ago, BigRedCat said: Hey guys, after almost a 2 year wait I finally got a B2 interview scheduled for my mother in law in Moscow. I just wanted to ask if she needs to bring a copy of my wife and I's marriage certificate or if they even ask about that at all. She wants to come to the US to visit her daughter obviously so do they require any sort of documentation above and beyond marriage cert? She has a job in Moscow and owns property so I would think the interview should be a simple process however the interview is in a few days so just want to make sure I advise her on what to expect.     

Your marriage has nothing to do with your MIL visitor visa process. This is a big mistake many immigrants make, they tie a relative to the US to their visitor visa. Your marriage certificate is useless and won't help your MIL.  The CO's biggest concern is why your MIL must return to her home country, NOT why she wants to come to the US. Have her focus on her job and property back home instead. 

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Journey from Moscow to Constantinople in the years 1817, 1818 (The Eastern Europe collection) Unknown Binding – January 1, 1971

• Print length 272 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Arno Press
• Publication date January 1, 1971
• ISBN-10 0405027591
• ISBN-13 978-0405027598
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• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Arno Press (January 1, 1971)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Unknown Binding ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0405027591
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0405027598

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Victor Mukhin

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Title : Active carbons as nanoporous materials for solving of environmental problems

However, up to now, the main carriers of catalytic additives have been mineral sorbents: silica gels, alumogels. This is obviously due to the fact that they consist of pure homogeneous components SiO2 and Al2O3, respectively. It is generally known that impurities, especially the ash elements, are catalytic poisons that reduce the effectiveness of the catalyst. Therefore, carbon sorbents with 5-15% by weight of ash elements in their composition are not used in the above mentioned technologies. However, in such an important field as a gas-mask technique, carbon sorbents (active carbons) are carriers of catalytic additives, providing effective protection of a person against any types of potent poisonous substances (PPS). In ESPE “JSC "Neorganika" there has been developed the technology of unique ashless spherical carbon carrier-catalysts by the method of liquid forming of furfural copolymers with subsequent gas-vapor activation, brand PAC. Active carbons PAC have 100% qualitative characteristics of the three main properties of carbon sorbents: strength - 100%, the proportion of sorbing pores in the pore space – 100%, purity - 100% (ash content is close to zero). A particularly outstanding feature of active PAC carbons is their uniquely high mechanical compressive strength of 740 ± 40 MPa, which is 3-7 times larger than that of  such materials as granite, quartzite, electric coal, and is comparable to the value for cast iron - 400-1000 MPa. This allows the PAC to operate under severe conditions in moving and fluidized beds.  Obviously, it is time to actively develop catalysts based on PAC sorbents for oil refining, petrochemicals, gas processing and various technologies of organic synthesis.

Victor M. Mukhin was born in 1946 in the town of Orsk, Russia. In 1970 he graduated the Technological Institute in Leningrad. Victor M. Mukhin was directed to work to the scientific-industrial organization "Neorganika" (Elektrostal, Moscow region) where he is working during 47 years, at present as the head of the laboratory of carbon sorbents.     Victor M. Mukhin defended a Ph. D. thesis and a doctoral thesis at the Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia (in 1979 and 1997 accordingly). Professor of Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia. Scientific interests: production, investigation and application of active carbons, technological and ecological carbon-adsorptive processes, environmental protection, production of ecologically clean food.   

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Journey on the Trans-Siberian: Moscow to Yekaterinburg

This is the second part of a series about my trip across Russia on the Trans-Siberian Railway in the summer of 2018. I’ll cover the overnight ride from St Petersburg to Moscow, the 16 hours I spent in the Russian capital, and the two-day ride from Moscow to Yekaterinburg.

After a few days in St Petersburg I boarded the overnight train to Moscow. The sleeper train “Red Arrow” departs at 11:55pm. I read (but didn’t confirm) the departure time was set in Soviet times to leave before midnight so travelers could get reimbursed for two working days.

There were three people already in the cabin when I walked in: In one of the top bunks was a girl who looked 20-something, and on the two bottom bunks, two Brazilian men who looked like soccer fans. (It was World Cup summer.)

We exchanged muted hello’s and filled out our breakfast order forms. Without wasting time I followed the process of settling into an overnight cabin:

• Examine and unpack the supplied bedding.
• Make the bed.
• If foreigners are in the cabin, motion to them to follow your lead.
• Exit the cabin to give others room to make their bed and, if they wish, to change into sleeping attire.
• Return when appropriate, and begin smalltalk to spark a deep and cross-cultural conversation that’ll grow richer and bring you closer together with every mile of track until the morning golden hour.

Except the Brazilian men didn’t speak English, and the girl, probably on-guard, remained silent. I went to sleep.

It wasn’t the rocking that stirred me awake every hour, but the impressive guttural symphony coming from the man below me. The snores came in different tones and rhythms, transforming mid-breath with no particular pattern, which made them difficult to ignore. (A few days later, Tatiana, another cabin-mate, refuted my story by telling me sound doesn’t travel upwards. “Then he cheated physics,” I said.) I forced my earplugs deeper and felt relief that this is only a seven-hour trip.

By morning the Brazilians still didn’t speak English but the girl was more inviting. She’s a mother of two—which surprised me—and was headed to Moscow for a meditation seminar. I made whatever smalltalk I could fit between bites of fried cheese fritters until we arrived in Moscow.

It was early morning, and my first objective was to find a quiet part of the city where I can rest until some nearby coffeeshop opens. I took the metro to the nearest patch of green on Google Maps—a park called “Clean Ponds.”

The only available bench was next to a group of Russian men still drinking from the night before. One of the men was slumped over, another was drying in the sun after taking a dip in the pond, another was throwing fists at the wet one, and the rest were fighting to stay upright—only because it’s easier to keep drinking when upright. I decided against napping, and instead enjoyed the scene unfolding to my left.

A woman approached and sat next to me, holding her small dog, and complained about the park’s occupants. Following a light conversation, she lit a cigarette, told me about her (deceased) husband’s medical invention, and proposed I introduce the product to the US market in return for a cut of the profits. She did this while parrying advances from one of the men. (“I have a job and own an apartment in a good location, behind the McDonald’s,” he said.) She gave me her phone number before leaving, probably dreaming of business ventures in America that will not happen.

When the woman left, the party group noticed me. “Where the f— did you come from?!” one of them said. I was prepared to give (and take) a few hits and run, but managed to ease the tension with some jokes and handshakes.

I gave up on rest and went in search of coffee and breakfast.

Irina and Red Square

Irina is a lawyer living in Moscow who’s trying to improve her English. We met on a language-learning website, and arranged to meet in person to walk through the Red Square and practice English/Russian.

The Red Square was staged for the World Cup and crowded with tourists. It felt like the Russian version of Times Square, which I found intolerable. I snapped some shots and hurried us to lunch.

We found a Georgian restaurant just off the main boulevard and spent the next hour chatting about Russia’s legal system, language exams, graduate school, and how long could it possibly take to cook chicken.

In 2007 I was supposed to visit St Petersburg aboard my college’s training ship. My cousin warned me I should brush up on my Russian: “We have smart relatives there, don’t embarrass yourself.” I searched for Russians to chat with online and found Polina.

We spoke every other day in the months leading up to my voyage that summer. I started to like her. We made unrealistic plans for her to travel from Moscow to St Petersburg to meet me for the few days I’d be there. It never happened. Just days before my ship’s scheduled arrival, the captain diverted us to Estonia after failing to get the proper docking permits or visas for Russia. Polina and I exchanged only a few emails over the next decade.

This time, the plan worked.

We met and crisscrossed the Moskva river over bridges as we spoke of life in Russia, her newborn son, traveling, her dreams of returning to freelancing, the things we still do and those we don’t… I don’t remember where we walked or what we passed.

Is this what Captain Smith made me miss? I imagined myself at 19, and Polina getting permission from her mom to take the overnight train to St Petersburg, and my needing to return to the ship by midnight, and maybe ending up like my shipmate and the Croatian girl he fell in love with on the first day in port in Dubrovnik…

The thought made me happy but also underscored the passage of time. We were far from 19, and we both found love on native soil, and she became a mom, and I had to catch the train to Yekaterinburg before midnight.

After saying goodbye to Polina, it was time for the next segment of the Trans-Siberian Railway: A one-and-a-half-day ride to Yekaterinburg. I stocked up on ramen noodles and tea, and made my way to the train.

Riding the Trans-Siberian Railway is interesting for two reasons: The train itself, and the people on it. Life aboard the train doesn’t differ much from one segment to another, so I will write a separate article of observations and survival tips learned throughout the entire trip.

The people, however, did change with each segment. On this segment from Moscow to Yekaterinburg, as urban sprawl gave way to dense forests and wooden villages, I got to know a family from the Far North.

Tatiana, Nastia, and Sasha

My roommates for the 27-hour trip from Moscow to Yekaterinburg were Tatiana and her two children, Nastia and Sasha.

Within minutes of departure I took off my shoes to get comfortable and waited for the hallway activity to calm down before preparing for bed. Tatiana, somehow sensing my inexperience with long-distance train travel, pointed at the blue disposable slippers that came with the provided bedding and gently suggested I put them on. I thought they were silly and not for someone who’s used to rough traveling, so I responded that I’m alright in my socks. She tried to convince me a bit longer before giving up.

Moments later, I went to the bathroom—there’s one at each end of every car—and learned they’re just like airplane bathrooms: small and wet, and you don’t know from what . I returned to the cabin, changed my socks, and donned the blue disposable slippers. Tatiana looked on with approval.

They were traveling from their small military town near the Russia-Finland border (where her husband is stationed) to Novosibirsk — over 3,000 miles away — to visit her parents, as they do every summer. Airfare would cost them three months’ worth of income (by my own calculation), so they took the train, like many Russian families traveling to or from Siberia.

Our conversations spanned life in Russia, life in the US, Nastia’s college ambitions (she’s undecided between medicine and chemistry), traveling (because of the husband’s position in the military, the family is not allowed to travel outside of Russia), drawing, Russian literature, and more… We talked without end for two days while sharing food and drinking tea by the liter.

Tatiana teaches literature and Russian at their local school. She told me about life inside the arctic circle and showed me photos of polar lights, fields of flowers, her shirtless husband stepping out of a bania (a Russian sauna) and jumping into the snow, and other everyday scenes. She worried about what will happen after her husband’s military contract ends next year. She’ll miss Nastia when she stays behind in Novosibirsk for one final year of school and then university.

Tatiana also worried about my safety. She advised me to tell people I’m a local: “Your Russian is good enough,” she said, “that people will believe you and assume that your slight accent and slower pace is due to—” and she raised her fingers to her temple and did a twisting gesture. I nodded, thought for a moment, and decided that was a compliment.

Nastia is a straight-A student interested in chemistry and medicine. She’s not sure which of the two she’ll study in university, but she has another year to decide. She’ll stay with her grandparents in a small village outside of the city for another year until it’s time to attend Novosibirsk University. Although she studied english in school for several years, she never felt comfortable enough to speak it. (The faculty at their local school is made up of military spouses with little or no teaching experience.)

Nastia earns money on the side by painting custom designs on her clients’ nails. Her designs—from cartoon characters to landscapes to sunsets, all painted on half-inch-wide keratin canvases—are remarkable and belong in high-end nail salons of New York. I offered her some advice based on my consulting experience (she should charge more for more the elaborate designs). Her entrepreneurial spirit made me happy for her, maybe because it reminded me of my teenage years when I drew cartoons for money.

Sasha is just beginning to learn English, and this was his first encounter with a native speaker. He was nowhere near conversational English, so he engaged the only way he could: shouting out Russian words from his language workbook to see if I could respond with the right translation. “How do you say, um, ‘lion?’” he asked, and looked at me with a wide smile and alert eyes, waiting to hear a word that matched his notes. “Give Greg a break,” Tatiana said, more than once, after many animals were correctly translated, but I gave Sasha an approving smile to signal it’s alright. “Crocodile!?” he continued…

The next day, as the train approached Yekaterinburg in the early morning, I nudged Tatiana and Nastia awake to say “goodbye,” as they requested the night before, when we exchanged longer goodbyes and I told them how wonderful it was to meet and spend time with them. “Goodbye, Greg,” they replied, and both gave me a smile that I didn’t expect from anyone whose sleep was interrupted, who’s been on the road for weeks, who wouldn’t see her daughter (or mother) for a year, whose future was so uncertain… And still they smiled in the way that only good people do.

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