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Assassin's Creed - OCRAssassin鈥檚 Creed

The industry of composing video game music has exploded in the last 30 years. Composers are responsible for creating the mood and atmosphere in the images seen on the screen. Interactive elements of the sound design for a computer game make a huge impact on the immersive quality of the game, which contributes to the popularity and enjoyment.

Part of MusicFilm music

Assassin鈥檚 Creed

The plot

Jesper Kyd is a well-established Danish composer in the video and TV industries. He was tasked with composing the music for the Assassin鈥檚 Creed series which is an action-adventure video game, released in 2007.

The premise of the game is that the Assassins are fighting for peace in each of the different worlds. The player controls the Assassin in historical events and ancient worlds, as well as in the modern day. Therefore, the music Kyd composed had different purposes, and combined past and present. This can be heard in parts of the soundtrack where medieval-style music is merged with with modern sounds.

Image gallerySkip image gallerySlide 1 of 3, A landscape image of Masyaf, on the hill, in Syria., Assassin's Creed game locations The hillfort Masyaf in Syria

Game music textures

The music of Assassin鈥檚 Creed relies heavily on repetition with various layers being added depending on the player鈥檚 choices.

Important considerations for Kyd when composing the soundtrack were:

  • fitting the music to the world of the game
  • setting music for a specific scene, such as a battle
  • creating atmospheric effects
  • implying what might be about to happen
  • guiding a player within the game
  • matching sound effects to what the player views on the screen