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Games

The Soundtracks That Build a World

Listening to 'Dishonored' and hearing how its music helps form the foundation for its themes.
Dishonored screenshot courtesy of Bethesda

I've been thinking a lot about the music of the Dishonored series this past week, ever since hearing that its composer, Daniel Licht, had passed away from cancer. It was awful news and a terrible tragedy for Licht's family and friends, as well as the loss of a great talent.

It also made me reflect on the pivotal role Licht's score played in Dishonored, one of my absolute favorite series. Most of the time I talk about that series, I talk about level design, the artwork, the storytelling, or perhaps the intricate chains of causality and consequence that govern each level. But when I actually think about that game, one of the first things that I recall is the eerie chimes and creaky tempo of a hammered dulcimer, and long fading scrapes of strings and cymbals. There are some images from that game that I can't divorce from Licht's sparse and menacing score.

There aren't many soundtracks I connect with on this level, where they become a part of the world and its character without every trying to dominate the soundscape. The sound of Dunwall isn't a few variation on a catchy theme. It's just the unsettling starting and stopping of a handful of instruments, a world forever on the brink of a funeral dirge or the dead silence of the tomb, but never quite committing to either. It's harsh, grating metal and plucked strings in foreground, and then faint chimes and echoes in the background, hinting at the otherworldly that is always pressing in on Dishonored's reality.

I love the Dishonored games in part because they blend so many art forms together so beautifully, but they benefit so much from the first impressions created by Licht's soundtrack. Before you've played any of the store or uncovered any of the lore, that music has laid the world's foundations in your imagination.

What are some game soundtracks that fulfill the same role for you? What game scores play a pivotal role in creating their setting?

Let us know in today's open thread!