Dear Reader:

You are viewing a story from GN Version 5.0. Time may not have been kind to formatting, integrity of links, images, information, etc.

Untitled Goose Game's composer discusses the challenge of adapting Debussy's work to the game

The sounds of Debussy
by rawmeatcowboy
24 September 2019
GN Version 5.0

Did you know that the music in Untitled Goose Game comes from Debussy? Of course, there's much more to the soundtrack than just slapping Debussy's work into the game and calling it a day. In an interview with Verge, composer Dan Golding goes over the painstaking process of making the music work as it does in-game.

- Golding began by recording two versions of Debussy's“Prelude”
- one played normally, and one played with a much lower, softer energy
- the tracks were then split up into different sections at the same parts
- the song was into about 60 sections at first, but this was eventually brought up to 400 sections
- the songs avoid sounding chopped up through the use of reverb
- the sections were then matched up to the game, which operates in three states: Silent, “low energy,” and "chased"
- the game chooses which version to play depending on what’s happening
- the amount of different versions you can hear is roughly 52k
- Untitled Goose Game was able to make use of six of Debussy’s Preludes due to falling into public domain

If you're hoping that a soundtrack for Untitled Goose Game releases, you're in luck. Golding is considering the idea, and is already coming up with ideas of how he'd tackle it. One plan is to release a curated set of tracks incorporating the slower, low-energy performances with the more normal sections. The soundtrack might also include tunes from the gardener’s radio, which are six original compositions spanning different genres.

[Link]