WHY INTERACTIVE SCARES DEMAND INTERACTIVE COMPOSERS


By Unlock Audio CEO, Elliot Callighan T


hree piano notes are more than enough for most people to recognize John Carpenter’s theme from Halloween. Whose skin doesn’t


crawl at the whispered “ki ki ki ma ma ma” of Henry Manfredini’s ominous Friday the 13th vocal motif? And anyone who says they never flinched at the stabbing strings of Psycho’s shower murder is not to be trusted. Music’s power to terrify extends beyond these


splashy movie moments to video games as well. It helps to sustain atmospheres of fear, heighten feelings of uncanny suspense, or punctuate horrifying events. But the musical needs of video games do not stop at cinematic cut scenes. An experienced composer for film has no trouble


scoring linear scenes. But only game composers carry the interactive know-how to address the needs of developers and gamers with customised, dynamic music that elevates and enhances gameplay. Here are some of the unique strengths that underscore the benefit of tapping tried and true game composers for more terrifying horror games.


52 | MCV/DEVELOP July/August 2026 Jason Graves “Music is so much more important in games than


in movies because of player agency,” emphasizes Jason Graves, composer for seminal horror games


HAUNTING PLAYERS AT THEIR OWN PACE With movies, audiences watch from the passenger seat, allowing creators to have total control over how their story is presented. Video games relinquish much of that control to players whose personal objectives and paces of play lend infinite variety to how a game’s story unfurls.


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