Interview with Akira Yamaoka (The Telegraph)Date published: 2015.11.03 When the ‘best horror video game’ lists accumulate in October, there’s a number of series’ which practically require a mention. There’s Resident Evil with its genre-defining mansion corridors and the fourth entry’s axe-wielding Spanish villagers, the isolating, sci-fi thrills of Dead Space and, perhaps most beloved of all, the eerie, haunting creeps of Silent Hill. But like horror movies, it isn’t necessarily the sight of blood-spitting monsters or the creepy locations which evoke the nightmare chills. It’s the power of unnerving, heart-pounding sound design. In the Silent Hill series, these duties are notoriously synonymous with Japanese video game composer Akira Yamaoka. The man who composed soundtracks across 8 games in the series, compiled a score for the film interpretation in 2006, and who’s set to perform tracks live across the UK just in time for Halloween. “I never imagined it would become like this,” says Yamaoka, aged 47. “I’m still amazed.” Unlike other horror games, the music for Silent Hill isn’t full of unexpected bangs and shrieks designed for cheap-scares. They’re low key, ominous and often melancholic pieces which, when tied to the isolating atmosphere of the game, prove deeply unsettling. “Typical horror sound design was something with high strings and sudden bangs. But for Silent Hill, I wanted to pursue a different approach from an alternative viewpoint,” says Yamaoka. “I had an idea that horror and sad sounds were a good match and thus ended up with this style. It’s a style very specific to Silent Hill.” As a composer who’s created for both film and video games, he’s also very familiar with the extra challenges raised by the latter. “Game sound design is very different in that every player has a unique experience due to the different time lines. A film could be two hours, and the audience will all share the same experience, but gameplay can vary, so creating diversity and variety in the sound is what makes it really different from film. “As a games composer, I join the game project from the very beginning, and as the game concept formalises, with characters coming to life, and concept designs being developed, so does the sound. Creating the sound is a big part of games design, so if you only knew how to make music, I think it would be difficult to become a game sound designer.” The recent cancellation of the next instalment, the much-anticipated Silent Hills; a collaboration between film director Guillermo Del Toro and infamous games designer Hideo Kojima, didn’t however come as a surprise to Yamaoka, who had shown interest in composing the music despite leaving Konami in 2009. “These things happen all the time in game production,” he says. But it’s still a bitter pill for many fans of the series, who were teased with its potential by an early surprise demo called P.T.(playable teaser) last year. A critically-loved experience which became a ‘Let’s Play’ sensation overnight, thanks to its mysterious looping corridor premise, an almost life-like appearance and of course, some savage scares. For the coming tour however, Yamaoka looks like he’s aiming to please Silent Hill fans of old, throwing some of his own personal favourites into the mix. “I will be playing Silent Hill songs for sure! The Theme of Laura is a favourite, I think because everyone around me said they loved it, I became to love it as well. “Also it will be the first time I will be playing in-game sounds on the keyboard on stage, with my band that consists of a vo(voice-over), guitar, bass and drums. I’ll be trying some new stuff for this tour too. I’m ready to rock.” Past setlists on tour have seen him play signature pieces from Hideo Kojima’s Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, but does he pay attention or listen to other game soundtracks? “No, not really, it doesn’t really interest me. It feels like a lot of them follow the same style.” And when it comes to style, Yamaoka certainly leads. |