BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE
Biddy Connor’s entry into gaming was back in the days of Tetris (and a few rounds of Snake on her old Nokia brick mobile phone). So when she was approached to write the soundtrack for new Australian video game Paperbark, the composer embraced the opportunity to explore this storytelling platform in a little more depth.
“I am always open to situations that are challenging, and that expose me to new creative people,” Biddy says.
The violist is pretty familiar with collaborative projects, having composed and arranged for film and television projects to high acclaim in the past; not to mention her roles as creative director and performer with the Letter String Quartet. But Paperbark would send Biddy on an entirely new journey.
“There is a story to be told, and the music is there to help with the story,” Biddy says.
The Paperbark game follows the daily life of a wombat in the bush, foraging for native flora and fauna. Working closely with creative director Terry Burdak and sound designer Michael Theiler, Biddy composed music that complemented the “unmistakable sound” of the Australian bush and its wildlife.
Terry and Michael had captured sounds of dirt, grass, water, and insects while camping in the bush – all of which informed Biddy’s musical storytelling.
“For me, the very first thing to do is to listen to your other creative partners,” Biddy says of her process. “It’s about finding that balance of being passionate about bringing a project to life – without being too attached to your individual part or ego.”
Interestingly, Biddy had scored much of the game before it was even completed. She drew her inspiration from reference documents and sound maps that “showed the different parts of the bush that the wombat could travel through, and what music and sound would be needed there”.
Biddy composed four different pieces of music for the game; one of which was used as its main theme, and another to depict a bushfire. The performer also incorporated her skill on instruments such as viola and mandolin during the creation of the project.
“I was lucky that I played instruments that were suitable – so I really recorded as I was composing the music.”
It’s a soundworld that came together to great success: at the time of writing, Paperbark rates 8/10 on popular gaming distribution platform Steam. It won the 2017 Intel Level Up Best Game – Open Genre award, 2018 Digital Ehon Awards Grand Prize, and 2018 Australian Game Developer Awards.
While it may seem as though Biddy’s musical achievement in video game has opened the door to her next big gaming project, the composer says it’s not always a smooth ride in such a highly competitive field.
“At the end of every job – whether it’s a game, or music for theatre or film – there is no guarantee that you will get another job straight away,” she explains.
“There are many people who are able to record and produce music of a high quality.
“On the other hand, I do think it is important to have a community, and work often comes through those connections.”
At the end of the day, it comes back to collaboration and enjoying the process of working together.
“Finding creative people – whether they are musicians or not – who you have real connection with is invaluable.”
Supported by the Victoria State Government and Film Victoria Australia, Paperbark was released by Melbourne’s Paper House studio in 2018.
Images supplied. Featured: A still from the Paperbark game developed by Paper House.
This story was first published in CutCommon’s print issue #2, 2019. It is made exclusively available online for the first time in Level and Gain.
