Building a Supergiant Soundtrack

A look at how Darren Korb created the critically acclaimed soundtracks for the games Bastion and Transistor, by Supergiant Games.

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This is the first episode of Game Score Fanfare, a new show that celebrates music in video games. I want to explore and share the unique ways that games use music to instil emotion into pixels and code, tell stories through sound, and create unforgettable moments. I'll be shining a light on the games and people who have taken the medium of video game music seriously and pushed its limits to create one of the most diverse genres of music that we have.

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Supergiant Games is my favourite indie game dev company out there at the moment. Their first game Bastion was compelling and evocative, and its spiritual successor Transistor tied all its best bits together to create something much greater than the sum of its parts. The music in particular is incredible. The composer Darren Korb created music that completely defines the tone of the games, and strays from the traditional sounds of what is considered "game music." He does this by creating entire new genres to write in, such as "Acoustic Frontier Trip-Hop" and "Old World Electronic Post Rock."

In this video I look at the the process and philosophy behind Darren Korb's music, the ways that Bastion and Transistor were built around his music, and how he uses channel layering and stems creates music that can suit any mood the game requires.

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Music used in this video (in order of appearance.) All tracks are composed by Darren Korb, unless otherwise stated.
Gold Leaf (Hummed) (feat. Ashley Barrett) – Transistor
From Wharf to Wilds – Bastion
You Can Be The Star – Control Group
Slinger’s Song – Bastion
Teardrop – Massive Attack (Massive Attack)
Water Wall – Transistor
Sandbox – Transistor
Pale Watchers – Bastion
In Case of Trouble – Bastion
Build That Wall (feat. Ashley Barrett) – Bastion
Mother, I’m Here – Bastion
Setting Sail, Coming Home (feat. Ashley Barrett) – Bastion
In Circles (feat. Ashley Barrett) – Transistor
Heightmap – Transistor
Heightmap (Hummed) (feat. Ashley Barrett) – Transistor
Forbidden Knowledge – Pyre

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You can buy Darren Korb's soundtracks for Bastion and Transistor (and hopefully Pyre soon!) on the Supergiant Games bandcamp page. And you totally should:

https://supergiantgames.bandcamp.com/

A lot of information and visuals (including the interview bit) came from Darren Korb's GDC talk "Build That Wall: Creating the Audio for Bastion"
   • Build That Wall: Creating the Audio for Ba...  

Pyre footage came from this video:
"Pyre - E3 2006 Trailer"    • Pyre - E3 2016 Trailer  

I want to express gratitude to Mark Brown of Game Maker's Toolkit, not only for his inspiration but also for his encouragement and support with this video. Thanks, Mark.