Music is the glue that holds video games together.
Imagine the first stage of Super Mario Bros. without its famous music. How much does The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time change without the soundtrack? Beautiful art design and engaging gameplay are important, but both elements fail without the correct music.
Gaming and music are irrefutably entwined. The greatest games of all time lose their personality without their soundtracks to act as an emotional tether. Music also serves as a gameplay element, signaling players to changes in the game world or signs of danger and safety.
A great gaming soundtrack lingers in the mind as a reminder of memorable moments and frantic button presses, eliciting nostalgia for the past. In the case of French developer DONTNOD and its 2015 award-winning adventure game Life Is Strange, nostalgia is a comfort as well as a harsh reality that follows main character Max Caulfield like a shadow.
In an email interview with The Blade, art director and Life Is Strange co-game director Michel Koch highlighted the importance of music and lighting in setting the tone and mood of the game. “One of the main underlying themes of the game is nostalgia, and we tried to have every aspect oozing with it,” he said.
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“A small town in the Pacific Northwest, lost between the ocean and the forest, was something we wanted to create from the beginning. The Pacific Northwest has this ‘magical realism’ feeling to it.”
The soundtrack reflects the fictitious town of Arcadia Bay, with an easy acoustic twang that mirrors and complements the sunlight-filled windows and long shadows of a sleepy town stuck in a place and time. The game’s focus is the strain on Max and best friend Chloe’s faded relationship. Though scarred by their lapsed connection, both characters share nostalgia for the music and moments of their youth while trying to mend the rift between them.
The licensed music in the game’s soundtrack serves well as a hipster, acoustic accompaniment to Arcadia Bay, but also provides a narrative connection for Max and Chloe. When words aren’t enough for either character, the soundtrack takes over and conveys their emotion. It doesn’t hurt that the all-too-cool soundtrack perfectly fits the elitist snobbery of Blackwell Academy, the high school art school where a majority of the game takes place. In many ways, the use of a licensed sountrack is similar to the 2004 film Garden State, using independent music to set a tone for the mental state of the main characters.
According to co-game director Raoul Barbet, the songs from known artists weren’t picked at random. Each song in Life Is Strange serves a purpose to the narrative, as well as the emotions of the characters. Yet, finding the right song is no simple task.
Koch mentions that selecting the soundtrack was a lengthy process, with a list of over 200 songs boiled down to 14 selections. Audio lead Sébastien Gaillard emphasized that it was important the team not just pick its own personal favorites, but that each song have a greater meaning in the plot. Koch and Barbet said that one of their goals for song selection was to expose fans to some of their favorite artists [Bright Eyes, Foals] while also making an emotional connection. The development team chose tracks such as Santa Monica Dream by Angus and Julia Stone early in production, getting some of their personal selections out of the way.
A game soundtrack is inevitably not just about the chosen music, but how it serves the player. “I am more attached to how the music is used and brought to the players in games rather than a particular type of composition. Often in gaming, music is used as filler, which brings no emotions to the players,” said Gaillard.
The best game music compositions are more than just a thing to fill the negative space of a scene, but a piece of the puzzle that enhances the story and gameplay.
Koch and DONTNOD hope that, through Life Is Strange, they convey how important music and sound is to storytelling.
“It was important to never have music just for the sake of it. The music shouldn't be used as a ‘song jukebox’ with no real intention.”
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