From Final Fantasy X to Assassin’s Creed: Gaming scores that stay with us

By R Prashanth Vidyasagar

In any game, the first thing you notice might be the visuals or the story. But stay long enough, and it’s usually the music that keeps you rooted. Hours slip by while a score shapes the mood, building tension in a battle or making exploration feel almost meditative. Music adds another layer to the world, pulling you in like a moth to fire. Think of the haunting piano that greets you in Final Fantasy X’s track, To Zanarkand, or the strings that swell when you climb a tower in Assassin’s Creed. These moments live far beyond the screen because of the music. Bangalore Times dives behind the scenes with the composers shaping these worlds.

‘Loops need to stay engaging without becoming repetitive’
Bengaluru-based Srikant Krishna represents India’s growing game-music scene with his award-winning score for The Palace on the Hills. “At Berklee, I studied video-game scoring—how loops need to stay engaging without becoming repetitive, since a player might be in the same moment for ten minutes or an hour,” he says, adding that his process shifts with the platform. “On mobile, the music has to be very peppy and mid-frequency heavy, because most people play on phone speakers. For PC or console, players often use good headphones or speakers, so you can write slow-burning tracks that build over time and use the full spectrum of sound,” he says.

‘Characters lead the melody’
For Nobuo Uematsu, whose Final Fantasy themes have become cultural touchstones, the starting point is always the people on screen. “I first think about the scenario and the characters, their look, and how they speak. I interpret those elements in my own way before writing.” He carries every piece with affection. “I feel attached to all of my compositions, but if I had to choose one, it would be To Zanarkand.”

‘Music transcends when it finds the truth’
Jesper Kyd, BAFTA-winning composer of Assassin’s Creed and Hitman, says the goal is never to hit a scene too literally. “I try to avoid being too on the nose; it feels artificial. What I’m looking for is the truth in the scene. When you hit that truth, the music transcends.” That search starts with broad strokes. “If it’s open-ended and exploratory, you have space to create an entire sound world. When you build the world first, you can later compress it into those shorter key moments.” He prizes the stretches of a game as much as the action. “Assassin’s Creed allows players to stop and breathe. The music has to create that magical atmosphere that makes you want to stay there.”

‘Game music works differently than film scores’
Composing a game score is a delicate balance between storytelling and immersion. Jesper explains, “It usually begins with conversations with the team. We talk about what the moment should feel like and where the priority is. Is it dialogue, sound effects, or is it a musical moment we can really lean into? … Unlike film, games rarely use temp music, so the process becomes more about world building.”