Music Respawn

Marty O'Donnell's Music For Dreamers In 'Golem'

WSHU | By Kate Remington

Published January 24, 2020 at 5:55 AM EST

Golem, created by Highwire Games and released in November, has been one of the most-anticipated VR games in recent years. The game puts the player in the world as the younger child of a family who live near a huge ruined city filled with treasures and populated by massive golems. With a special artifact, the children are able to inhabit a golem themselves and explore the city.

Nearly four years ago I talked with legendary composer Marty O'Donnell about his project to create a prequel album of music for Golem to set the scene and invite players into the world of the game, so it was wonderful to have a chance to catch up with Marty and chat about how he used all that musical material in the game.

In addition to being the game's composer, Marty is also Highwire's audio designer, which allowed him to create a world where the music and sound design complement each other so well that it's hard to tell at times where the natural sounds of the game leave off and the music begins.

If you don't have a PlayStation VR set-up, you can still enjoy Golem because Marty made a series of video playthroughs of the game, kind of like a guided tour:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ut3Q8na__Lw">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ut3Q8na__Lw

The thread that ties the music together is a lullaby that Marty originally wrote when his daughter was born, and it weaves through many moments in the game when the two children remember their mother, who has disappeared. Marty created an Easter egg to hear a special version of the lullaby, and invites players to recreate the movement of the controller to hear it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GDBLUUJWpU">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GDBLUUJWpU

Episode tracklist

All tracks by Martin O'Donnell

Echoes of the First Dreamer (The Musical Prequel to Golem): Kindled Echoes; Lament in the Endless City, Dreamer's Lullaby; Silent Tide