Music for the tribal generation
The composers behind Horizon’s tunes sound off
Composers Joris de Man and duo The Flight have plenty of experience scoring games, but capturing Horizon Zero Dawn’s signature sound required as much experimentation as taking down a Thunderjaw. As de Man explains, “The idea was to use conventional instruments in an unconventional way. So we bowed guitars and dobros, tapped, plucked, and picked cellos with plectrums.”
The Flight – Joe Henson and Alexis Smith – had the trickier task of designing instruments that NPCs play, along with composing songs. Henson says, “[It] allowed us to be creative with how instruments constructed in the game world would sound. You can hear them on tracks like KunaBass Solo.”
Creating an air of subtlety was important, as de Man explains, it’s “not so in-your-face as some game music, hitting you over the head.”
Scoring Horizon was different than other games Henson has worked on: “We got to write more ambient, spacious music than we have done before, pieces that could almost drift in and out without you noticing too much.” It all came together to create a soundtrack as original as the world you explore.
Head over to p26 for staff writer Ben’s opinion on soundtracks in games.