interview

Mortal Kombat was the first game series that Wilbert Roget remembers totally falling in love with. The characters and the story were so much more real than those of many other games at the time. As he told me, he was thrilled to have the opportunity to write the soundtrack for the newest iteration, Mortal Kombat 11. 

Neal Acree's music has provided the emotional underpinnings for cinematics for Blizzard's World of Warcraft and Overwatch for years. Recently he released One World, the first track from his full-length album, The Velvet Machine. Neal has also been expanding his soundtrack for Frostkeep Studios' Rend, a game inspired by Norse mythology. He tells me that both of these projects gave him a chance to spread his wings and try new things.

Andrew Prahlow's first thought when he heard the description of Outer Wilds as a "backpacking adventure in space," was that it would be the perfect opportunity to use a plunky old banjo a friend had given him. Andrew was invited to compose the soundtrack for the game by his friend at Mobius Digital Games, Alex Beachum, and they agreed that the rustic home area of Outer Wilds needed a "homely" ensemble of guitar, banjo and harmonica.

Listening to a live orchestra perform music from your favorite video game can bring back great memories. Or, with the performance on June 13 by the National Video Game Orchestra of Wales, give you a sneak peak into music for a game that isn't even released yet!

With its setting in Oregon's High Desert and mountains, and its complex main characters searching to be reunited, Days Gone, by SIE Bend Studios isn't a typical post-apocalyptic game. Composer Nathan Whitehead told me that both the setting and love story, even bringing a shred of humanity to the infected Freakers, all gave him plenty of ideas for his soundtrack.