Unexpected composers and games

summation

• Composers play an important role in video games by enhancing powerful moments.

• These composers have diverse portfolios and are working on unexpected games.

• Each composer mentioned has a unique style and works beyond popular titles.

Although it's not the first thing that comes to mind when many people think of video games, composers are the blood that runs through video games' veins. Without music, the game's strongest moments can't be highlighted.

Music does a lot of the heavy lifting in the game and works in concert with everything else to complete a scene. These composers have done incredible work on some of our most beloved games, but they've also shown incredible range in other works as well. So, here are some games that you would never believe were made by the same people.

10

Michael Vandmacher

Bloodborne and Madagascar

Bloodborne was the work of several composers, not just one. Each left their mark on different moments, from Yuka Kitamura's Lady Maria theme to Nobuyoshi Suzuki's Ludwig theme. Michael Wandmacher was the hand behind many subjects like Micolash, but his other works are just as scary.

Despite never working on the original film, Wandmacher found his way into composing the soundtrack for the Madagascar game. The same goes for the sequel. Since both center around the beast, it's a far cry from where he came from.

9

Ramin Zawadi

System Shock 2 and Theofield Chronicles

Ramin Djawadi isn't as famous for his video game work as he is for his film and TV work, but that's not extreme by any means. Some of his earliest gaming work was co-writing System Shock 2 with Josh Randall and Eric Brosius.

Since then, he's scored a lot of video games between his work on movies and shows, but one of his best surviving works has to be Square Enix's Diofield Chronicle. Low-budget, under-marketed, and almost completely forgotten, the game remains one of Djawadi's more recent works in non-blockbuster gaming.

8

Yoko Shimomura

Kingdom Hearts and Street Fighter 2

Yoko Shimomura is one of gaming's most iconic composers, much of which can be traced back to her work on the Kingdom Hearts series. Her variety within the game ranges from Dearly Beloved to Nachtflügel, but the piano is always at the forefront.

Of course, she didn't start out with Kingdom Hearts or Square Enix. Instead, Shimomura's early years in music began at Capcom, with Street Fighter 2 being one of the first works on which she served as a primary composer.

7

Sakuraba Motoi

Dark Souls and Mario Golf

For many games, composers tend to be closely tied to the series they work on. From Shimomura to Kingdom Hearts, Woody Jackson to Red Dead Redemption. Although they tend to be associated with the most popular works, there are fragments throughout.

Not so for Motoi Sakuraba. He has always been involved in numerous games as a freelancer. So each work he does is strikingly distinct from the previous one. For example, he is the composer of the original Dark Souls trilogy and the entire Mario Golf series. And that is the smallest taste of his discography.

6

Jesper Kid

Assassin's Creed and Hitman

Ubisoft has a huge variety of games in its portfolio, and an equally diverse range of music for each of them. But the game that gets the most applause for its music is the Assassin's CReed series. Before Assassin's Creed 3, it was primarily the work of Jesper Kyd, best known for his 'Ezio's Family' theme.

But before that, Kyd was one of the main composers for the Hitman series. It's a very different style of music in every way. Hailing from Denmark, IO Interactive seemed like a natural fit for someone looking to make a name for themselves in video game music.

5

Akira Yamaoka

Silent Hill and Lollipop Chainsaw

For those unfamiliar with the series, Silent Hill is a dark, psychological, grim hellish place where nightmares come true. For fans of the series, much of that is true, but you'll also know that it's all backed by Akira Yamaoka's alt-rock rhythms in a way that many people who don't know better will find inappropriate.

Considering the musical styles already featured in horror games, it makes sense for him to switch gears, and becoming the sound director for Lollipop Chainsaw is a pretty dramatic change.

4

Daniel Richt

Dishonored and Silent Hill: Rainfall

The Dishonored series is a triumph of art form, combining style, gameplay, and music all in one beautiful combination. The sound is both unsettling and whimsical, evoking anxiety while simultaneously plunging you into the depths of the void.

Where would that style fit perfectly? Of course, why are you panicking! For the first time since the series began, Daniel Licht has replaced Akira Yamaoka as the primary composer for Silent Hill: Downpour, bringing many of Dishonored's dissonant tones to a much smaller town setting.

3

Keiichi Okabe

Nier and Tekken

In many ways, Keiichi Okabe and Yoko Taro seem to be inseparable. Every game Yoko Taro makes seems to follow Okabe's lead in composition. This also applies to many of his mobile games, such as Nier, Drakengard, and SinoAlice.

Believe it or not, Okabe has quite a career outside of Yoko Taro's games. He was one of the main composers of the Tekken series, starting with some additional tracks in Tekken 2 and becoming the main composer of the series until Tekken 8.

2

Borislav Slavov

Baldur's Gate 3 and Rise: Sons of Rome

Sometimes video game composers fall through the cracks in the grand scheme of things. We focused on voice acting, visuals, and gameplay mechanics. They're all equally worthy of praise, but we rarely remember the names behind the music unless they're already famous. Therefore, in that respect, we should also give some praise to Borislav Slavov.

His work on Baldur's Gate 3 will become iconic to many following the game's phenomenal success, but you've probably already heard his music before. Previously closely associated with Crytek, he was also the composer for Crysis 2, Crysis 3, and another of Crytek's games, Ryse: Son of Rome.

1

Gary Shaiman

Bioshock and Force Forken

Games that are adaptations of other works, with rare exceptions, tend to be lesser than the works that inspired them. Bioshock's adaptation of Atlas Shrugged goes far beyond its own source material, with Gary Schyman crafting the score to really capture the isolated and oppressive atmosphere of Rapture.

Gary Schyman is a prolific composer, and while Bioshock may be the highlight of his gaming work, it won't be his last work. This includes Forspoken, a game with some of the biggest names in the media, and Schyman is also a co-composer for Bear McCreary.