“There have been games where I feel like the game experience itself is great”, Hideki Kamiya says, as the conversation turns to the music in his latest game, Scalebound. “But because of the lack of something in the music, I couldn’t fully appreciate what this game is trying to do.”

For Kamiya, music is one of the most evocative parts of any game experience, both as a player and creator. “I feel that music has helped me in so many ways, and supported the creation of my games as a whole.”

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It’s an attitude reflected in his work. Kamiya’s soundtracks are always big, ambitious, and often wonderfully bizarre. “It’s about bringing something unique and original...not what you would normally expect”, he says of his approach. Indeed, very few would have expected that looping J-pop remix of Sinatra’s Fly Me To The Moon in 2009’s action game Bayonetta, or a theme tune - complete with fist-pumping cheeseball lyrics - born from an ‘80s kids cartoon in The Wonderful 101. Both weird fits theoretically; in actuality, perfect.Scalebound is no different. Its unique musical hook comes about two minutes into its latest demo, when protagonist Drew lands in the fantasy world of Draconis, slings on a pair of headphones, and starts battling a giant mantis alongside his dragon companion to the industrial beats of The Prodigy’s latest single Wild Frontier. “In a very typical fantasy game setting where you have a sword and soldiers and dragons this is not something you would expect to see”, says Kamiya.Drew will only do this in battle, Kamiya explains, to encourage a state of focus. “Drew doesn’t just wear his headphones just because he likes listening to music. It’s something I wanted to use as a tool where the a character can immerse himself into his own world.This is him getting into the zone. And to add to that, the player can also get into his zone by listening to what he’s listening to.”Those who balk at electronic dance music needn’t worry: with the clout of publisher Microsoft behind it, Platinum Games is in the process of securing a ton of licensed music to add to Drew’s ‘playlist’. “The process we’re going through now is one of the most fun processes we’re going through in this game,” says Scalebound’s Creative Producer Jean Pierre Kellams, “where we basically listen to tons of music.”“We’ve listened to everything from The Prodigy to classic ‘70s rock. And we’re working with the music coordinators at Microsoft who did the soundtrack to Forza Horizon to find new tracks, to find undiscovered bands, to find bands everyone loves, to find what would be on Drew’s phone powering those headphones.”Although Drew’s playlist is fixed - which means players won’t be able to switch in their own music - Platinum is is keen to hear our suggestions on what else we’d like to hear once Scalebound is in our hands. “This is Drew’s playlist”, says Kellams. “it’s what Drew would listen to. What we want to do is use the music as a way to realize the character. But...once this is out there and people understand why Drew has headphones, and people understand more about this character, we’re pretty available on Twitter , so let us know what tracks you want to hear! Let us know what you want to listen to in battle, we’d love to hear that feedback, so we can make sure this system speaks to a lot of people.”Outside of battle, Scalebound will have a more traditional score. This one promises to be particularly grandiose thanks to the involvement of Christopher Lennertz, a composer who has scored a range of big properties like Marvel’s Agent Carter and Mass Effect 3. “Chris has worked on a lot of things,” says Kellams. “He brings a very large Hollywood sound, and we want to have that big sound because this world is so big. So having him drive that process and bring that know how is great, and this is the first time we’re recording with a full orchestra. We’re going to make this world feel really big with the score”.Lennertz is joining Platinum stalwarts Hitomi Kurokawa (The Wonderful 101) and Naoto Tanaka (Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, Anarchy Reigns, Mad World) to work on Scalebound’s original soundtrack. Kurokawa, whose unassuming demeanor hides a very bold talent (“she’s this super petite, soft spoken woman but the music she creates is incredibly powerful” says Kamiya), sees Scalebound as a terrific challenge.“This is only the second time I’ve worked with Kamiya-san,” says Kurokawa, “and it’s overwhelming to hear that he fell in love with my music on The Wonderful 101. Working on Scalebound has been a real challenge, in a good way. The scale and scope of the game is not just big, but working with a full orchestra and Christopher and Kamiya - I know it’s not going to be easy but I’m taking on the challenge and believe it’s going to take me to the next level.”Kamiya is proud of his team at Platinum, and it's no more obvious than when he talks about the music department. "There is a huge value in how music and sound relates to one's appreciation of a certain game element or moment or scene or how you experience a game as a whole", he says."[My team] has always taken my taste and wishes and desires and given me back more than what I could have ever expected or imagined. I have this really fortunate situation with my team; they produce the greatness you’ve heard in my previous games. Going back to what I said earlier about how music has supported and helped me create these games, it wouldn’t be an understatement to say that more than half of what makes those games what they are, the credit should go to the music and sound quality".

Lucy O'Brien is Entertainment Editor at IGN’s AU office. Follow her ramblings on Twitter.