Sakamoto describes his inspirations for echochrome's music
by Andrew Yoon 
{ Jun 12th 2008 at 4:00PM }
How does one craft the music for a game like echochrome? It must have been a challenge to create the ambiance necessary for such an abstract puzzle game, but Hideki Sakamoto was up to the challenge. Speaking with Siliconera, the musician noted the need for simplicity to match the game's visual style. echochrome is a game that needs no language, and Sakamoto wanted to convey that through a sound that's universally appealing. "Considering that the visual aspect of the game is strikingly simple, I had it in mind not to let the music overpower the overall design. I wanted to avoid distracting the player by using unusual sound effects or unfamiliar instruments. Classical music seemed to me the best choice because it is universal."One of the challenges of crafting the musical landscape for echochrome was creating a sound that doesn't necessarily move the player in a particular way. "In Echochrome, the important thing was for the player to have such feelings, just for their own sake. There was no sense of striving to manipulate the player's emotions, and that was something of a realization for me as a musician."
Please read the entire interview at Siliconera for more. It really is quite fascinating. Samples of the soundtrack can be heard here. The soundtrack is available for import at Play-Asia.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
strike @ Jun 12th 2008 4:10PM
So, overall, he tried to keep everything balance and composed? No rock music or jazz or dance or rap or pop or reggae or hip hop or..................
Neuromancer @ Jun 12th 2008 5:05PM
When did he ever say he wanted the music to be balanced? He just said he wanted it to be universal.
Why the hell would rap or hip hop be remotely appropriate to this game?
Maybe they can make a special "street" version of Echochrome, that would be more your speed.
strike @ Jun 12th 2008 5:20PM
I didnt want to give that kind of impression, sorry :P Also, rap is my least favourie of the list.
As for the balanced part, I thought that was kind of the theme. By balanced, I meant calm. Sorry for the misunderstanding :D
Neuromancer @ Jun 12th 2008 7:03PM
Ah I see, well sorry if I seemed like a jerk in my response, you're all right in my book!
Dr Haisook @ Jun 12th 2008 7:31PM
The soundtrack of Echochrome is one of the best I've ever heard. It made the product as a whole appear like a fine piece of art.
Phil @ Jun 12th 2008 11:53PM
Agreed, this game is true art, much like Rez and... Um...
Gimmie a minute...
*continues thinking*
Damn it, must recall... A game that's like art...
OKAMI! That's the one.
So yeah, Echochrome is the first game in a long time definitely worth being called art.
Now if only an actual art museum would recognize it as such.
Neuromancer @ Jun 13th 2008 11:04AM
You can download the samples (I know they're short but hey) by typing in this URL:
http://www.team-e.co.jp/audio/kdsd-00209/~.mp3
Where ~ is a number from 1 to 13.
dan @ Jul 28th 2008 12:31PM
I think the soundtrack is just PLAIN HORRIBLE.
I get the sense that this game tries to sound "universal" by trying to imitate "classical music" by using classical instruments like the strings, since classical music's appreciated by most societies universally.
This attempt: FAIL.
Rather than calming or anything like that, the music is just ANNOYING with the crazy as aaaaa vocals and violins screaming... has an eerie aura to it; definately not relaxing or soothing, and something I like to turn off.
I'm not saying that the music composition is bad; Some people may enjoy this kind of music. But in my mind these people are being deprived of what I consider real beautiful classical music.