Horror Music for Video Games

Let’s talk creepy! Today we are composing music for horror video games! If you’re looking to add some goosebumps to your project, you’re in the right place. In this article, we’ll be discussing the key elements of horror music and how to use them to create an unsettling and terrifying atmosphere. 

We’ll cover topics such as harmony, melody, rhythm, tempo, and orchestration, and provide examples of how these elements have been used in successful horror scores. So grab your composer’s pen and get ready to write some spine-tingling music!

But before we continue, if you like reading about video game soundtracks, composition, and want to know more about it, here at Flutu Music we have several articles that can help you create amazing compositions and effects, one of our recent texts was about Make your education game more interactive and immersive with sound effects! But if you are looking for something more specific, take a look at SO, WHAT GENRE SHOULD BE FEATURED IN MY GAME? ORIGINAL MUSIC FOR VIDEO GAMES – PART 1 and PART 2 too! 

There are several key points you should have in mind when composing for A horror game, here are my way of seeing it:

Harmony

Horror music often uses extremely dissonant harmonies, with chords that incorporate minor seconds and tritones to create tension. The chords may also utilize dense voicings in the lower register and incorporate techniques from twentieth-century concert music, such as clusters.

For example: In “Outlast,” the music uses dissonant harmonies and slow, creeping tempos to build tension and create a feeling of dread. Take a listen

https://youtu.be/r2r36ZqtidE 

Melody

Horror music may not always feature a prominent melody, instead focusing on dissonant harmonies and ominous orchestral textures. If melody is used, it may utilize dissonant intervals, fully chromatic scales, octatonic scales, and fragmented phrases. Aleatoric performance techniques may also be employed.

Listen to “The Last of Us Part II” and check how Santaolalla uses melodic fragments and aleatoric techniques to create a sense of unease

Rhythm and Tempo

Horror music may lack a clear beat and have tempos ranging from 50 to 68 BPM, using slow rhythmic subdivisions such as eighth notes and quarter notes. Aleatoric performance techniques may also be utilized to create an unpredictable, unsettling effect.

Orchestration

Dissonant clusters sound particularly jarring when played by brass instruments. Using strings and woodwinds for dissonant chords can soften the dissonance. Dense clusters in the lower register create a dark, ominous sound. When orchestrating horror music, it is important to match the “dark” harmonies with “dark” instrumentation. The size of the instrumentation can also affect the intensity of the horror, with smaller instrumentation used for distant danger and larger instrumentation for imminent danger. Here are some examples of this application of orchestration:

Resident Evil 2 employs clusters and dissonant chords to add to the horror. 

“Alien: Isolation” uses a small instrumentation and slow, rhythmic subdivisions to create a feeling of isolation and danger, and 

“Amnesia: The Dark Descent” uses dense clusters and low register harmonies to create a dark, foreboding atmosphere. These are just a few examples of how these elements can be effectively utilized in horror video game scores.

If you’re in need of inspiration, there are countless examples of successful horror scores in video games. Make sure you start with a good reference track to build up a mysterious atmosphere for your game.

Here are some famous movie and game composers on the horror genre:

Akira Yamaoka – composed the music for the “Silent Hill” series

Bear McCreary – composed the music for “The Walking Dead,” 

Garry Schyman – composed the music for “BioShock,” “Dante’s Inferno,” and “Prey”

You can also grab some inspiration of movie composers such as:

Bernard Herrmann – famous for his work on films such as “Psycho,” “Vertigo,” and “The Day the Earth Stood Still”

Jerry Goldsmith – composed the music for “The Omen,” “Planet of the Apes,” and “Total Recall”

Marco Beltrami – composed the music for “The Hurt Locker,” “Scream,” and “A Quiet Place”

James Newton Howard – composed the music for “The Sixth Sense,” “The Hunger Games,” and “The Dark Knight”

In conclusion, composing music for horror video games is a thrilling journey into the darker side of creativity. If you’re ready to learn more about video game soundtracks and composition, explore our other articles on original music composition, implementation, SFX design, and external development. If you’re eager to share your projects with us, visit our Tell Us More page. For additional resources, feel free to download our free resources, browse our main blog page, or discover Flutu’s services. Happy composing, and remember to lock the door!