When you look in hindsight, what would you like to change in your music for the first edition of Risk of Rain?Īt the time the game was published I felt there were aspects of the music I could have done better: a better mix, a few different choices in the music… But having listened to it so many times since then, these flaws are now part of the album’s character. I could only hope that people would respond positively to it. As for the music, I tried to write the music that I thought would fit the game’s setting and tried as hard as I could to make it good. The roguelike/roguelite genre was on the rise and they delivered a game that combined beautiful pixel art, deep lore, great gameplay and an addictive play loop. I think that with Risk of Rain, Hopoo Games tapped into the zeitgeist. Well, I’d like to think the main reason behind the success is that both game and music were good. What is the recipe for success in both cases? The first edition of the game Risk of Rain gained tremendous fan base, including the fans of the soundtrack. The thing is, music and sound are part of the game, rather crucial ones, and as such they should be discussed and critiqued-not so that soundtracks get more sales but because through critical evaluation we promote improvement. Maybe they simply turn the music off and listen to their favorite podcast. Maybe reviewers don’t feel comfortable speaking about music because they lack the expertise and/or vocabulary. You will get zero results 9 out of 10 times. That’s not an exaggeration, you can try your favorite game publication and ctrl+f “music”, “sound” or “soundtrack” on any random review. But they almost never include a single sentence about music and sound. Reviews spend pages on gameplay, game mechanics, graphics, story and they should because they are important. Unfortunately game reviewers treat music and sound as something that exists out of some sort of immaculate conception. I wish it was true, because then they would at least have an excuse. I’ve jokingly tweeted once that 95% of game reviewers are born without ears. Why in the video games reviews music is mentioned so rarely? My compositions are, more often than not, structured like a film. I have written for small ensembles, orchestral, electronic, heavy metal and the common thing is that with each piece I try to tell a story. My compositions are, more often than not, structured like a film: Act I, in which you meet the characters and get some exposition Act II, where something goes wrong, Act III, the big action set-piece Epilogue, where we get to reminisce over past events.
Verse, chorus, verse, bridge, chorus that’s a song. The majority of people use the word song for every music piece but song is a form. It’s not a musical term per se, but I feel the most recognizable aspect of my compositions is form. If I had to choose one word I’d say narrative.
#Risk of rain 1 final level music full
I would probably not be able to keep doing it, at least not full time, if it wasn’t for Risk of Rain. Much more importantly though, it allowed me to make a living from writing music by broadening my fan base to the point where album sales and streaming provided a decent income. It was quite literally a game changer! One aspect of it was that it gave me some (very slight) recognition in the industry which made it easier to find more work. How the success Risk of Rain influenced on your music career? Chris Christodoulou during the discussion with me described how he was inspired by bands Dream Theater and Daft Punk, moreover he told me about some secrets related with the producing music to video games.
After the premiere (first run) of “Risk of Rain” his music for this game gain great (tremendous) popularity on the Bandcamp platform, and the vinyl edition won a huge fan base.
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