Akira Yamaoka is a name that needs no introduction. I will give one anyway, just in case you've forgotten. Akira Yamaoka has been working in the gaming industry for about a decade, starting with titles on the Super Nintendo, and making his big splash in the gaming world as composer and producer of Konami's popular Silent Hill series. It was recently announced that Silent Hill 5 will be handed over to a US development house, so it is an interesting time for Yamaoka-san. We were able to interview him during his visit to the E For All Expo in Los Angeles where he told us about his approach to composition, his unique style, and even asked him a few questions from his fans.

What do you think of the current state of music in video games? Is it getting better in terms of more originality and risk-taking or is it becoming stagnant with the same musical ideas? Is there anything in particular that you would like to see implemented in gaming audio in the future?

It seems like thanks to the advances in hardware technology, composers can actually compose songs that sound like real music. However, this also creates a challenge when it comes to expressing originality in music.

Is there anything you would like to see in gaming audio in the future as we move forward with gaming technology?

I don't have any specific ideas for what gaming audio should be in the future as the technology that is available now lets us create high quality music. I think it's more about getting some respect from musicians around the world. It seems to me like there are DJs and performing artists on one hand, and video game music composers in their own separate group, and video game composers should definitely get more respect for their hard work.

As the producer and composer for Silent Hill do you feel any pressure to push the boundaries of music since you are making the creative decisions without another director telling you what to do with the music?

While composing music for Silent Hill, I don't feel that kind of pressure, but rather, I face a challenge in terms of making something new. Working on a franchise that has been around for nearly a decade and has many fans, I have to create something new while still incorporating some concept of the previous games in the series. It obviously gets harder with each title, but I would like to keep the music fresh while still retaining some semblance of Silent Hill.

It's been nearly a decade since you've started composing music for games. Describe the changes in gaming and audio technology that you've seen and how they've affected your job as a composer.

Yeah, other than brand new technology like Dolby 5.1, the biggest change has been the increase in memory, of course.

How has that changed your approach to composition?

Well, the greater amount of memory that is available, the easier it is to truly implement interactive audio. For example, if I have very little memory to work with, as was the case with earlier titles I worked on, I had to stop one piece of music before starting the next, which would break up the flow of the game. With the advances in technology, I can overlap and layer music and sounds to enhance the gaming experience. Interactive audio in Silent Hill in particular really helps us create a scary experience. It's much better than loading... loading... loading...

Given your background in product design and interior design, how did you come to write music for games? How do you apply the arts of product/interior design to the art of music?

Based on my background, I use a different approach to music composition. It's like creating a painting or a drawing; I use multiple colors to paint a single picture. I combine colors to make music as opposed to thinking of the individual notes and melodies. It's more about feelings and atmosphere.

Akira Yamaoka performs "Theme of Laura" from Silent Hill 2 at PLAY! in Chicago.

Well, all of the music in the Silent Hill film is actually from the Silent Hill games. Since it is a movie, I had to have all the music in multi-track format. To do that, I needed some help getting the sound I wanted for the film. For instance, if I wanted to use a track from the original Silent Hill game, I needed to convert it and upgrade it to sound appropriate for a film.

So it was more of a technical collaboration as opposed to a musical collaboration?

That's correct.

Are you impressed by any Western composers working in video games? Are there specific scores or composers that have caught your attention?

I actually enjoyed the score for Halo.

Are there any game composers in Japan that you admire, or any other artists not specifically involved with games?

Nobuo Uematsu is actually a good friend of mine. I can see his personality in his music, and I really enjoy that.

Next we have some fan questions. We asked fans to submit questions for you, and we have a few of them here. Take us through your creative process. What are some methods you use when composing? Do you compose in a specific environment, or listen to other music for inspiration, etc.? [Question from Dark Nation]

I don't do any specific thing to compose music. I actually avoid listening to other music before writing because I don't want to be influenced by their ideas. Similarly, I don't play games before creating a game because I want to make something entirely new.

Was it difficult maintaining the atmosphere of the previous Silent Hill scores when the series started featuring pieces with lyrics? [Question from Randomwab]

We specifically sought out singers who were familiar with the Silent Hill series to ensure they knew what the franchise was about. In that way, we were able to get a consistent sound that I was happy with.

Do you have any plans for another solo album in the vein of iFUTURELIST? [Question by Josh_1]

iFUTURELIST was actually more about the fun factor, and I really feel it expresses my personality. On the other hand, there is this fierce aspect that comes from my work on the Silent Hill franchise. There are different aspects of my personality in this release.

Can you describe your experience with working on many different genres in the Beatmania series, Silent Hill, and on iFUTURELIST? How did you insert your own musical voice into each project?

So many people who have followed my music for Silent Hill have really associated me with the franchise, and think of the Silent Hill music as "my style." However, I would say that I have a lot of musical ideas, and each style is truly my style; they are all Akira Yamaoka.

You didn't expect your music to catch on when you composed the first Silent Hill. Since then, you've gone on to perform live in front of an audience at the PLAY! concerts in Chicago and Stockholm, and have discovered that there are a lot of fans of your music. Has this affected the way you've composed subsequent Silent Hill scores?

Yes. I've had the experience of playing music in front of an audience, and I do have my fans in mind whenever I compose music now. Instead of using the same style every time, I stop and think to myself, "How about this style for those particular fans?" I'm always trying to impress them.

Silent Hill Composer Akira Yamaoka and M4G's Jayson Napolitano at the E For All Expo.

It's not really about closing the gap. It's more about making people understand that composing video game music is completely different from mainstream music like rock or pop. Game music composers have to use their imagination to tell a story through the music. Video games themselves are the only form of entertainment that is truly interactive. Video game music composers have to have that imagination. If many people are going to play the game, I have to create a consistent voice through the score that everyone will understand. The music world just needs to be made aware of this..