The Story of Game Music Composition

Independent music site Pitchfork posted a feature today that details the many different aspects of videogame composition and how it differs from composing music for a Hollywood picture. They speak with renowned game composers such as Jesper Kyd (the Hitman series), Peter McConnell (Psychonauts) and Russell Shaw (Black & White, Fable) who shed insight on how the entire process takes place.

Shaw acknowledges a major influence from ambient and electronica music. "One of my favorite genres of music at the moment is ambient techno," says Shaw. "We went through a whole year of just listening to people like Autechre and Boards of Canada, and Squarepusher. All these people, they're just experimenting with noises really, but getting something musical out of it at the same time. That really had quite a big influence on me, especially at the time when I was doing Black & White. It can evoke all sorts of memories, and nostalgia...and in a lot of ways that normal, standard, composed music can't actually do."