Q & A with video game soundtrack composer and Scala Radio presenter Luci Holland

Luci Holland presents Scala Radio's weekly video game soundtrack show The Console, from 5pm on Saturdays.

We spoke to the composer about her work, how she works, and her inspiration.

What draws you to composing in this genre?

A good question. And so well, it definitely started for me at a young age, that interest in games music, as it was always a big part of our family life. My dad was super into computers, so we were often around games, consoles, and new bits of equipment that he'd be playing around with. And often, we'd be playing games together as a family. So at first it always really stood out to me as a social family thing that we would do. And it was at that time that I would also notice the sounds coming from these weird little games. I don't think I understood the concept of a games composer at that age, but I was interested in where these sounds were coming from, and that interest continued on over the years. I'd find myself setting in front of a game and not moving around or doing anything, so I could focus on the music more.

Then I started to learn more about classical music when I was about eight or nine. I picked up the oboe, which is my main instrument, so started to get a bit more context to how music is written and how it works. And I think that's what launched the interest more seriously. And that just continued on! Over my adult years, I went on to study music and started to become more aware of the process of composing music for these games and films that I was interested in. And I think by that point, I could start to make more sense of it.

I think that the main draw for me, something that I've probably discovered more over my career now from working with more creators from lots of fields, and different studios and filmmakers, is that there's just so much creative potential. I find that's the main inspiration for me and main driver for me. And within that, I also love the idea of interactive sound and how a player can change and interact with a world that fits their experience.

I think the potential in scoring music for that world, creating these beautiful timbral moments, and the picking it apart and breaking down the process in order to do that is what I find fascinating. At the start of the project I might have a kind of rough idea of what the music's gonna sound like. But once you've put it into these worlds and tested it, played with it, the interaction just feeds this new creative excitement and the ideas really come to life, and leads to a new wider perspective on the composing approach. For me, it’s a different experience when working on films, which have their own creative process, just as exciting but in a different way.

What was the first game you remember really responding to musically as a child?

I think the first game I heard that I was really drawn to might have been Broken Sword (The Shadow of the Templars). The score was written by a composer called Barrington Pheloung, who's also known for writing the Inspector Morse theme. But he also scored some of the games of the Broken Sword series. I think what stood out to me was that he has a really beautifully sparse approach with the game’s soundtrack. So the cues he uses in the soundtrack are small, and they're very light. I have no idea if that could have been down to a budget or computer memory thing, as in if it was dictated from the start that they couldn't create or have a lot of music. But restrictions or not, I just loved the way the music wove in and out, not constantly playing but just so gently and sensitively arriving, always in the perfect moment. It's a really fun story by the way, it’s sort of a light-hearted adventure based on the story of the Knights Templar, about a lawyer who suddenly finds himself on a global scavenger hunt to save the world. And so the game is set in real places around the world, and is quite light in some moments and surprisingly dark and touching in others. I think the music does a great job of bridging those real and fictional worlds, and the nuances of the story.

So being a game soundtrack composer demands precision then? Precision about what to place and when?

That’s true, it took me a while to realise the extent of that as well! Self-control and awareness, I think, are definitely useful creative traits too, whenever you’re trying to create an atmosphere. Sometimes scaling back with intention is more effective when you need to make space for something, like action. There's a wider technical consideration as well with how games are put together. So that's an element that affects the music, too. When it comes to the musical composition, you’re also picturing how musical changes are going to slot into each other, how different musical tracks may line up, how the music needs to be constructed structurally, what needs to be reactive. There are a lot of other interesting factors to consider – what sound effects are playing, or could be, at that moment, for example. Alongside all of that is always just the question of “Will this be boring or repetitive or annoying if it goes on for while?” It’s almost like the element of time has been taken away or stretched out – for example, that linear element that you might find with a concert piece or a film score is different now. Because with a game, how each player interacts with it might be very different, and so the music needs to be ready to meet that – which takes an element of precision in its creation.

And then there are the variables in terms of what choices someone makes in the game, what actions they trigger from the console. You have to factor that in as a composer.

Absolutely. And it's all of that whilst keeping the whole atmosphere in mind as well - the whole kind of style and aesthetic of it all. I think if you've if you've managed to capture the soul of what the player is feeling, then that music is perfect for the game – an experience where you're constantly translating and communicating what they're feeling. It’s a lot of fun to score for, and you’re always hoping that you're landing it in the right place.

So where does the capturing that thing? That soul? Where does that originate? comes that originate from? A brief or a narrative that you're providing a script? Or is it from the visuals? Or does it change? It seems like a really complicated process.

You may be right, in some ways. It can be a complicated process to get your head around but really at the heart of it it’s a collaboration, and the tools that exist these days to make it all more accessible and seamless are really amazing. But I think also it really just depends on the time you have with the production. And this kind of gets into the whole collaborative process.

Discover which of 2020's video game releases feature Luci Holland's favourite soundtracks.

A lot of games may have different journeys in their making. Some game studios might have a music and sound team in the studio already, what’s called ‘in-house’. The audio team will be working on that game from the offset and most likely in the loop with the creative conversations, so they'll be involved earlier on in building the aesthetic, the visuals, the feeling, at least through sound. This is often the case with more established studios. Some studios may outsource for their music and hire-in a composer. Sometimes a studio may not have an in-house composer or a sound team, which is seen more often with indie games and solo developers. All of these setups change the way that a composer may ultimately end up working on the game, and it means that sometimes the composer might be coming in later on in the development process. And sometimes in those situations, to get back to your question, the musical vision can be harder to identify, if you’re catching up during the process.

So ultimately at it’s heart, in whatever situation it’s really about playing the game, experiencing what's there, and trying stuff out. Talking with the developers and questioning what it should feel like. That's been my process and how I've seen things go. And because of the way that a game is developed, it's rarely in a 100% working state from the offset - there might be bits missing, you know, it's all kind of being pieced together and figured out as they're going. Hopefully, the more you play it, the more that you can bounce music ideas back and forth, test out sounds, feelings, atmosphere. During that process the aesthetic reveals itself and the music becomes more known as you're going along, and hopefully can feed back into the development too.

When you pursued your studies further at university, did you experience any resistance about your interest in composing for games, or even that you were a woman who wanted to write music for games?

I'm glad you asked that.

It's something I think about a lot, especially as a woman in music, where you are aware of certain barriers or attitudes sometimes. Honestly at some point I’m sure I’ve experienced some form of resistance just with music in general, even if it came from a curious or well-meaning place. I’ve had conversations with people from all sorts of backgrounds and interests who appreciate arts and culture, but maybe don’t fully understand how music could work as a career – understandably, as it’s a many layered and confusing world at times. For me at university, with games music particularly, it was an interesting one as I was doing a general music undergraduate degree, but with a focus on composition, and I was lucky to have really supportive professors who were open to all forms of music. Conversely I can remember times where I felt that the artform and potential of games music wasn’t as understood or dismissed as meaningless in some ways, but I think that has changed in the mainstream in a big way, even over just the last ten years. And I think for women, in games and music, the same goes in a lot of ways, though I still think there is more to be done to include and make space for more voices and diversity in creative circles and productions.

When I returned to do my Master's in composition for screen, it was quite a different experience for me, because at that point I think I not only had more intention behind my career in music and what I wanted to explore, but the University had a department geared specifically towards music for media. And actually during that time, we were able to cross collaborate with students from other departments. So the first game I ever really properly worked on was during that degree with a bunch of my student peers from various other disciplines. I had the chance to write my first games score for that, music which has stayed active for me with other projects. So it’s kind of lasted and lived a life, which is special for me.

Given the precision a video game composer has to bring to their work, how do you go about settling on ideas? What are the characteristics in a creative idea which make you think it will yield development?

You may not be able to tell but I love a tangent and so sometimes find it quite difficult to make up my mind! Generally with music though, I go with my gut first. If I’ve landed on something that just feels right – a melody, a chord progression, a texture, an instrumental sound, something that communicates the subject somehow… Then I feel like the idea has legs. That’s when I’ll explore it more, break it down into its components to understand it, and see how far I can take the idea – or not. If it’s a collection of things I’ve had that I just can’t make my mind up on, I see if there’s a way that they relate, either conceptually or musically, or both. It’s usually then in the midst of the detail that I’ll get stuck on deciding whether that instrument should play that specific quaver or not…

Listen to Luci Holland present Scala Radio's weekly hour-long video game soundtrack show The Console, from 5pm every Saturday.

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