Air-Edel’s BAFTA-nominated composer Martin Stig Andersen is speaking at Game Developers Conference – GDC on the Music Design is Composition: Interactive Music in ‘Back 4 Blood’ panel on 24th March.

“Which comes first: composition or music design? Or are the two really separable?

Using Turtle Rock Studios’ co-op zombie shooter Back 4 Blood as a case study, Composer and Game Audio Specialist Martin Stig Andersen discusses the relationship between music design and composition in the creative process, and delves into the pros and cons of putting one of the two in a leading role in the context of a fast-paced, dynamic first person shooter.

The discussion is supported by a deep dive into the game’s modular music system, where hundreds of tiny music assets are stitched together, layered and modulated on the fly, driven by gameplay information relevant for the player’s survival. Martin goes on to reflect on the practical, workflow related but also mindset obstacles he faces in his pursuit to disregard the divide between composition and music design.”