Why gaming music?

Image credit: Cropped cover art; The Greatest Video Game Music III - Choral Edition

REMINDER: Lost Station Circé, the second entry in the Cluster Cycle series, is launching in hardcover and ebook on July 30, 2024 (this coming Tuesday). Available through these links: Amazon UK / Amazon USA / Barnes & Noble / Bookshop.org / Kobo.

I have a type of music that helps me work. And that music usually comes from video games.

I'm not joking. Most of my favourite composers--Masashi Hamauzu, Yasunori Mitsuda, Hitoshi Sakimoto, Kumi Tanikoa, Alexander Brandon, Borislav Slavov, Shoji Meguro, MONACA, Saori Kobayashi, Christophe Héral--are either principally known for or have worked on video games. When I heard other writers talk about their music choices, it can end up sounding like I'm the oddball. They talk about their favourite bands and albums, film scores, etcetera. True, there are film scores which inspire me or have helped me with writing such as the original (un-Scotted) Alien score by Goldsmith or Shore's Extended Edition cut of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. But I look at my album choices on YouTube or Spotify, and I see video games dominating the line up, with a smattering of ambience and things like the above film scores and Aeon Flux.

I'm honest and open when I say I couldn't understand what was going on at first. Why not classical? Film? Television scores? Some of my best music comes from the modern era of video game music, especially scores that don't pretend to be something else. The more orchestral stuff that doesn't have some element of 'this was designed for an interactive environment' doesn't connect with me. It's honestly taken me ages to understand what the heck is going on. But now, I think I've got it.

I believe it's because while classical music resonates and film music is powerful, it also has a very specific context for me. It's a thing of the past, something I didn't grow up with. I can listen happily to Alien, but not when writing something other than that particular kind of sci-fi. So, for other writers who might be struggling with finding something that doesn't intrude, I think I can include some recommendations.

* Christopher Heral's score for Beyond Good & Evil, recently released on streaming platforms. Regardless of the man who created Beyond Good & Evil (by all accounts he's the worst boss ever), I admire the world created for that game. And the music is something incredible, with new tracks added for the recent remaster and included in the official album. I'm pretty sure I'll write something killer to that one day.

* Peter Connelly and Martin Iveson's score for Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness is well-regarded for a reason. It's a great mix of grand pieces performed by the London Symphony Orchestra, and synth pieces. Tomb Raider as a whole makes great background writing for adventure, and this stands tall. I even put together a playlist which combines all the original tracks (with rough story alignment). There's also the Tomb Raider Suite created by original composer Nathan McCree.

* The Myst soundtracks, principally the first two games (Robyn Miller) and the semi-spin-off Uru (Tim Larkin) are beautiful and haunting atmospheric pieces. It feels like the right kind of thing to write to when I want some atmosphere of mystery and deduction without it being as in your face as something like Layton or throw-a-dart-and-you'll-hit-a-Holmes-reference.

* For those who want some Japanese flavour, there's the soundtrack for Oreshika: Tainted Bloodlines, composed by Konosuke Kihara. It's a great, bouncing piece that still feels like it's somehow set in the semi-mystical realms of Heian-era Japan. Also, for similar vibes, the soundtrack for Okami is great if you don't mind lots of shorter tracks.

* Basically anything by Masashi Hamauzu is great for general writing, IMO, unless you're aiming for something specific. Just aim at one of his soundtracks, and you'll find something. Saga Frontier 2, Unlimited Saga, the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy, Sigma Harmonics, Legend of Legacy, The Alliance Alive, and others. He has an unforgettable sound.

* Austin Wintory's work on Journey and Abzû is great for writing something sweeping and mystical. Just, ten tons of wow. I fell in love with his work through these two soundtracks, and even if The Pathless didn't hit me just right, I'm really looking forward to what he can produce for Sword of the Sea.

* The Deus Ex series...doesn't really have bad music. The original is a classic if a little in-your-face for my taste, Invisible War is peak cyberpunk ambience, and the two prequel titled Human Revolution and Mankind Divided are just incredible. I wrote some of The Cluster Cycle to those scores, not gonna lie.

* As to sci-fi ambience in general, I created an actual playlist of the stuff for myself. It's over 18 hours, and mostly first-class stuff. I originally had lots of individual albums cluttering my space, but merging the tracks that I liked best into a single mass seemed the right call. Hopefully I won't trigger a musical singularity. In the

And...that's my random post rambling about an aspect of my writing life. And Lost Station Circé is launching on Tuesday, July 30. Help!