Everyone who played A short walk know that the soundtrack is a huge part of the experience. Without it, your two-hour journey would be much more of a walk and much less of a experienceAnd as it turns out, that soundtrack likely never would have happened if it weren’t for composer Mark Sparling. The Binding of Isaac at the university.
Speaking to Polygon over email as part of our week-long look at the games and music crossover, Polygon FM, Sparling — who also composed the soundtrack for Cursed to waveamong other things — spoke about his inspiration by Isaachis process in working on A short walkand how important it is to draw on the history of games when composing for games.
Polygon: Was there a game soundtrack or song that inspired you to start making game music? Can you paint the scene of what that felt like for you, and why the music was so effective?
Mark Sparling: The soundtrack of the original Binding of Isaac by Danny Baranowsky was an important one for me.
I was in college for music at the time, so I played very few games. I don’t know why I Isaac — maybe it was a recommendation from a friend — but I remember being blown away by it. I just thought it was so cool that a small team could make such an amazing game. I couldn’t wait to get to the next area so I could hear the music that goes with it. It’s one of those soundtracks where once you hear it, you can’t imagine that there was any other music behind the game. It blends orchestral instruments so well with all those squishy, glitchy, synthesized sounds. I probably put over 50 hours into that game and I never got tired of that soundtrack. I haven’t played the game in years, but every time I put the soundtrack back on, it takes me back to that world. I had never really thought about composing for games before that point, but after playing that game, I knew I had to give it a try.
Can you break down one of your own songs and its influences? Was it inspired by game soundtracks, other music, or something else?
The instrumentation in (A short walk‘s “Somewhere in the Woods”) is a kind of mix between Sufjan Stevens and Animal Crossing: New LeafI wanted to layer the guitars (and other instruments) in a way that Sufjan does on many of his songs. Carrie and LowellThe cute, minimal percussion is heavily inspired by New leaf.
The main theme of A short walk (“Beach Buds”) is very Ghibli-inspired, and while the string section in that song isn’t necessarily inspired by Joe Hisaishi, I did want to have strings in there to have some sort of orchestral element. There’s also a musical layer that comes in as you approach the beach in the game that’s very Afro-Cuban jazz-inspired.
What are the main instruments used to create the soundtrack for A short walkHow did you choose those instruments?
As for live instruments I recorded guitar, mandolin and banjo. I also used sampled piano (and) drums. I felt this was a great folk music-esque place to start for a game set in a national park. As I said above, I’ve always loved the instruments that Animal Crossing: New Leaf used so I wanted to take some inspiration from my bass and percussion choices. Those instruments remind me of the old generic midi sounds I had on my first digital piano. I also had strings in there because I felt they complemented the flying aspects of the game. I also had some simple synth patches in there because they felt good with the combination of instruments.
Is there anything else we should know about your approach to composing video game music?
I think the history of video game music is really rich, and whenever I get the chance to write for a game I try my best to honor that history and take inspiration from it.