Deep Dive: How the atmospheric conditions of space inspired the music of Deliver Us Mars

gamedeveloper.com:

Game Developer Deep Dives are an ongoing series with the goal of shedding light on specific design, art, or technical features within a video game in order to show how seemingly simple, fundamental design decisions aren’t really that simple at all.

Earlier installments cover topics such as the scientific modeling behind the irrigation and water systems of Timberborn, how the 2D art of Songs of Glimmerwick benefited from a 3D art pipeline, and how the synergy between art and audio disciplines and a solid base of real-world data formed a surprisingly faithful televised broadcast experience in F1 Manager 2022.  

In this edition, Sander van Zanten, composer on the game Deliver Us Mars, talks about the audio pillars that defined their goals for the game's score, and how the conditions on the planet's surface itself influenced their direction. 

Hi all! My name is Sander van Zanten and it has been my distinct honor to compose the music to Deliver Us Mars. Music and video games have been a persistent part of my life since I was little, but my first voyage into the games industry started back in 2013. When I realized the words in my mind were turning into music, and after a feverish period of practicing music and getting acquainted with development tools, I thought I was ready! I found kindred spirits at KeokeN Interactive, where we’ve been collaborating together for about seven years now. It’s been a wild journey with soaring peaks and difficult lows.

At KeokeN, narrative is the foundation of our games, with the aim being to tell meaningful and thought-provoking stories. Complex philosophies and abstract ideas are difficult to relate to, and we’ve found that they are best communicated through the lens of a personal story. When we