How video game music is finally getting the appreciation it deserves Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and Harry Potter. Not to mention The Beatles. As composer Gareth Coker prepared to […]

Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and Harry Potter. Not to mention The Beatles.

As composer Gareth Coker prepared to record his latest score in the hallowed surroundings of Abbey Road with 93 musicians from the Philharmonia Orchestra, he found himself ruminating on a venue “packed with history – where all the titans have recorded”.

An ambitious new project had brought Coker to take his own place in the studio.

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But it was not a new big-budget movie that he was recording for. It was a video game.

The challenge of composing for a video game

A graduate of London’s Royal Academy of Music, Coker started composing for games while studying at the University of Southern California.

“It really gives you a chance to flex your creative muscles”

Now an established figure in the industry, his latest task was to provide the music for open-world multiplayer experience ARK: Survival Evolved.

Something he describes as “a daunting challenge”.

The resulting 70-minute score, however, is epic and thrilling. Hans Zimmer would be proud.

“Everything [in the game] is constantly new and exciting,” explains Coker, “and that’s the main feeling I was trying to evoke. Discovery, followed by adventure, followed by danger.”

Coker previously won acclaim for helping to create the spellbinding atmosphere of 2015 adventure Ori and the Blind Forest; an experience which musters a real sense of awe, wonder, and mystery.

“When you have that kind of emotional range to work with in a score, it really gives you a chance to flex your creative and storytelling muscles,” he notes.

“I think developers have realised what a key part music can play in their games.”

‘Games and music grow together’

Ori is part of a growing trend for smaller, artistic titles that marry dazzling stylised visuals with gorgeous musical compositions.

ARK continues a modern tradition for ‘blockbuster’ games with bombastic soundtracks to match. Zimmer himself dipped his toe with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Clint Mansell contributed music to Mass Effect 3.

Coker says there are two main differences when scoring games, compared to TV and film.

“Games are non-linear and you have to cater musically for multiple outcomes and multiple play-styles. The other is more of a logistical difference.

“In my experience, games have composers on board for a lot longer than film or TV. And the amount of music required for a game is usually much larger than writing for a film.”

As a case-in-point, Coker spent four years scoring Ori and the Blind Forest, and two years on ARK.

But such extensive investment has real upsides.

“There is more time to work, and more time to experiment. This sort of ties in with the non-linear aspect as game scores benefit greatly from growing together with the game.”

The Last of Us: the right tool for the job

Coker insists that it is not just sweeping orchestral compositions that are worthy of note when it comes to games.

He points to exceptional electronic work elsewhere and, in a specific example, the haunting minimalist guitars that Oscar-winner Gustavo Santaolalla brought to the music of The Last of Us.

“The Last of Us is one of the most successful games of recent years, but its music production is not something one would describe as being grand. What it is, is the most appropriate score for that game.

“Fantastic scores are being produced in just about every style across the board.

“We have so many different kinds of games being made, with a lot of incredibly creative people working on them.”

Gaming music can stand on its own

Among fans, certain music has long since passed into legend. From the irresistible Super Mario theme to the enchanting work of Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu.

But video games are increasingly gaining attention for their music outside of the medium itself.

The atmospheric score to indie title Journey was nominated for a Grammy.

Classic FM has seen a surge in young listeners thanks to a video game music show called ‘High Score’, hosted by composer Jessica Curry. The show has proven to be a real hit, and is returning to the station next month.

“There are now orchestral concerts of game music touring the finest concert halls across the globe,” notes Curry, whose own celebrated work includes haunting scores for Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture and Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs.

“Several game soundtracks end up in the Top 10 on iTunes, not just in the soundtracks section, but in the ‘all albums’ section,” says Coker.

Interestingly, the composer would actually like to see more recognition for video game music by the gaming press itself.

“It doesn’t need to be compared to film and TV – it can stand on its own”

“Most reviews, for example, barely mention the music unless it really is a huge feature of the game, or it has a big name attached to it. This is unfortunate, because music plays an absolutely key part in immersion.”

Ultimately, Coker believes music is one key area where gaming is setting itself apart.

“The gaming industry is still growing… it’s very much its own thing, and therefore needs to build its own fantastic legacy.

“It doesn’t need to be compared to film and TV, and can thus stand on its own. With so many fantastic composers working at the moment, to me it’s a matter of time before this happens.”

The ARK: Survival Evolved soundtrack is available now on YouTube, and via digital and streaming outlets through Sumthing Else Music Works.