Celeste's soundtrack is one of the most phenomenal I've heard in quite some time. One of those soundtracks that sticks with you long, looooooooong after the game experience ends. The amazing music comes from composer Lena Raine, and she sat down with the Dtoid gang to talk about the work that went into creating the soundtrack.
I think it's extremely important to consider a game soundtrack and a game album two wildly different things. They should be treated separately, but also cared for simultaneously. It's actually a very important part of my process, especially with dynamic music, to create a listenable "album version" of each series of tracks I write for a game. I did this with every area I wrote for in Celeste, as well as my upcoming soundtrack for ESC. It's not just for my benefit, or the soundtrack's, but it also helps the team to hear my intention for a piece of music and how it evolves through play.
When you just write for a series of cues within a game, you risk losing the thread. It can be extremely easy to drop thematic content, write something that is too similar to a cue you just wrote, or is wildly out of place. By checking in and hearing music not just in the nonlinear context of a game, but in a linear and organized fashion, you can verify that what you've written for the game can be considered a complete and well-paced statement.
When compared to structurally complex music, a game level that has an interesting narrative flow will also require a soundtrack with a flow to match. But then it's not just looping wallpaper. It's movements within a larger whole. It's developing thematic material across movements. It goes back to what I mentioned earlier about venue defining the music. If I let myself use the mechanics, structure, and narrative of a level to help define the score, then the music is more interesting.
As for the second question: My general attitude is, why would anyone not challenge themselves? I can think of a number of reasons why you wouldn't (time, money, direction...), but I got into music because I wanted to write things no one else was writing. So I challenge myself because I feel I need to, and to prompt others to join in.
from GoNintendo
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