An interview with flOw composer Austin Wintory

Have you heard of flOw? Seen it in action, maybe? With innovative gameplay, “go with the flow” attitude, and of course, great music, this title has fans eagerly waiting for it to hit the PS3. JayIsGames.com recently had the chance to sit down and talk with Austin Wintory, the genius behind flOw‘s music. Read on for some snippets of the interview.

On the creative process behind flOw‘s music:

We sought something atmospheric and electronic, but not in the stark, soundscape sort of way. Something warm and organic, as if a symphony of instruments never before played on Earth. That sounds horribly pretentious, but that was sort of our guide. What resulted was a combination of literally hundreds of small audio files being triggered by the player interactions, and a steady background track.

On videogame music:

I think game music is still finding its footing as an original medium. It took film composers a good forty years to begin writing for film in a way that made it apparent it was film music, and not a ballet or opera score. It needed to be cultivated as its own art form. Game music, I think, is still searching for that. But if ever there was a medium for music to really be unique, itÂ’s game music, if only for the element of interactivity.

On composing game music as opposed to film or other media:

Films, TV and whatnot all pose their own problems. The approach is just different. For example, in films you may have to find a way to synchronize with a dozen on-screen events over the course of a single piece of music, but in a game you have to make a sixty-second loop which doesnÂ’t get annoying after a few dozen listenings.

For the full interview, click on the “read” link below. flOw, from Jenova Chen and thatgamecompany, is set to be released by the end of next month.

Have you heard of flOw? Seen it in action, maybe? With innovative gameplay, “go with the flow” attitude, and of course, great music, this title has fans eagerly waiting for it to hit the PS3. JayIsGames.com recently had the chance to sit down and talk with Austin Wintory, the genius behind flOw‘s music. Read on for some snippets of the interview.

On the creative process behind flOw‘s music:

We sought something atmospheric and electronic, but not in the stark, soundscape sort of way. Something warm and organic, as if a symphony of instruments never before played on Earth. That sounds horribly pretentious, but that was sort of our guide. What resulted was a combination of literally hundreds of small audio files being triggered by the player interactions, and a steady background track.

On videogame music:

I think game music is still finding its footing as an original medium. It took film composers a good forty years to begin writing for film in a way that made it apparent it was film music, and not a ballet or opera score. It needed to be cultivated as its own art form. Game music, I think, is still searching for that. But if ever there was a medium for music to really be unique, itÂ’s game music, if only for the element of interactivity.

On composing game music as opposed to film or other media:

Films, TV and whatnot all pose their own problems. The approach is just different. For example, in films you may have to find a way to synchronize with a dozen on-screen events over the course of a single piece of music, but in a game you have to make a sixty-second loop which doesnÂ’t get annoying after a few dozen listenings.

For the full interview, click on the “read” link below. flOw, from Jenova Chen and thatgamecompany, is set to be released by the end of next month.