The Grammy-nominated composer on becoming the busiest musician in games
Five years later, the emails, Facebook messages and Instagram posts are still arriving on a daily basis; Austin Wintory happily acknowledges that his work on Thatgamecompany’s Journey was a career turning point. “I feel extraordinarily grateful,” he tells us. “I’ve had composer friends and colleagues who’ve had very successful careers but have never had an experience like that, where something became so personal to people that it’s something they’re excited about years later, that they’ve built into the fabric of their lives.”
Wintory was 24 when he signed up to score Journey, and 27 when it came out. After the fact, it dawned on him that he’d spent more than ten per cent of his life so far working on the game, and he suggests he got “freakishly lucky” with the way circumstances led his own musical journey to closely mirror the game’s own narrative. “You are probably going to change as a person considerably in that span,” he says. “Hopefully, you’re a deeper thinker or a more mature person; hopefully there’s positive growth. I certainly aspire to that.”
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
CHANTS OF SENNAAR
How Babel helped a world of stealth become a world of words
MEGHNA JAYANTH
Around the industry in eight games: one writer's journey through indie to triple-A and back again.
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist
Sam Fisher's final outing is also his most enigmatic
Post Script
How low should a boss go?
TWO POINT STUDIOS
How a new studio rose from the ashes of Lionhead success not simulated
RAIDERS OF THE ARCHIVE
Wolfenstein-style shootouts are just a small part of the picture in MachineGames' maximalist Indy game
SPLITGATE 2
If it ain't broke, don't fix Split
KINGDOM COME: DELIVERANCE II
A bigger, better - and funnier Bohemian rhapsody
Narrative Engine
Write it like you stole it
The Outer Limits
Journeys fo the farthest reaches of interactive entertainment