Roarbots: If you weren’t a musician, what would you be doing? Also, project workflow on a larger scale was very interesting to see. The main thing I learned from working there was how to organize larger productions, labeling systems, saving systems, and the format of how the bigger teams work together. I was a simple intern, but it was very valuable to have an inside look at the day-to-day of a top composer’s studio. Most of what I did was attending to the daily odds and ends needed to help keep the studio running and cutting up samples. Prahlow: I was an intern at his studio for around a year while attending USC. What did that entail? What were the biggest things you learned from that experience and from Powell? Roarbots: I understand that you worked as an intern in John Powell’s studio. The banjo captured that backwoods quality we all loved about the Hearthian backstory. Prahlow: I originally thought that it would be cool to use banjo instead of guitar, because guitar felt very standard for campfire tunes. Alex was prototyping a lot of concepts as I was working on composing the main themes. It started as a series of conversations about where we could take the music, connecting it to Alex’s new ideas. Prahlow: The game was completely conceptual when I was brought on board. ![]() Roarbots: How much of the game was complete when you were brought on board to score it? ![]() I really think he stuck to his vision, and the game has a lot of personality and uniqueness because of that. Prahlow: Honestly, the simple idea of camping in space and roasting marshmallows had me hooked from the very first meeting with Alex for this project. Roarbots: What about this project appealed to you? My first game ever was Super Mario Land for Game Boy, and I still play games to this day whenever I have a break between projects. Prahlow: I grew up playing a lot of video games, so transitioning back and forth between film/television and games comes pretty naturally for me. Sometimes, combining pieces of cues can be really beneficial and help create cohesion to the score so there is a thru-point within the game’s music, and I love writing ambient music, which there is a ton of in most video games. One of the most exciting parts about writing the music for games is crafting creative ideas that can be used for extended periods of time. Roarbots: Is scoring a video game much different from scoring a film or show? What about working in that format would surprise people unfamiliar with the process?Īndrew Prahlow: Scoring a video game can be quite different since the music is non-linear a lot of the time. We caught up with Andrew Prahlow to talk about Outer Wilds, composing for video games versus films, interning under John Powell, and the catchiest banjo riff in the galaxy! It’s a sonic dreamscape that will positively lift your quarantine days. If you’re unfamiliar, check out the trailer below or listen to the full soundtrack, streaming on Amazon Music, Spotify, and most other platforms. ![]() Indeed, Prahlow’s score also received numerous Video Game Music of the Year accolades. Storytelling and gameplay aside, Outer Wilds is equally about its compelling and immersive music, composed by Andrew Prahlow. Outer Wilds, from Mobius Digital and Annapurna Interactive, debuted on PS4, Xbox One, and PC last year and almost immediately soared to the top of many game of the year lists. Just as films rely heavily on their scores (try to imagine Star Wars without John Williams), so too do games bank on the quality of their music. ![]() One of the most significant ways games can invade our sensitive emotional spaces is via music. Games can be gorgeous, immersive, emotional journeys – often in deeper and more meaningful ways than a film or novel can be. Even if you’re not a gamer, I think it’s fairly obvious that video games have come a LONG way since those of us who grew up with the medium spent our childhood afternoons smashing buttons and watching pixels collide. It kind of boggles my delicate little brain that “Are video games art?” is still a thing people feel compelled to argue in 2020.
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