Gareth Coker, Composer Extraordinaire, Talks the Ark Franchise, the Difference Between Games and Animated Series, and Prince of Persia (EXCLUSIVE)

The strength of the Ark franchise is evident, with the original game getting multiple expansions, and support for years, as well as a highly anticipated sequel starring Fast X star Vin Diesel, and of course the recently released Ark: The Animated Series. 

It isn’t too much to say that a large part of the success comes down to the atmosphere created by the OST of Gareth Coker, an ever-presence throughout all the projects of the franchise, and now in the midst of curating Ark 2’s soundtrack, to boot.

We were lucky enough to discuss this and so much more about himself and his career in the gaming industry over the years, from Prince of Persia to his ‘dream project’, and more!

[This was a written interview, so some answers have been edited for clarity and length.]

Gareth Coker’s an Ark Composing Genius, and So Much More Besides

For those unaware, would you be so kind as to explain who you are and what you do?

I’m Gareth Coker, a British composer of soundtracks working primarily in video games, but branching out also into television and working on my first major film score this year.

What’s the most challenging aspect of composing for a video game compared to other mediums?

The size and scope of games, not to mention the lack of linear material, make scoring one an incredibly complex endeavor. There’s also just simply more music that needs to be written. Also, games can often change right up to shipping whereas generally speaking TV and film edits come online a lot sooner, and while they also change, it does get to the point when things feel a bit more locked in and solid. Games are fluid, especially in the age of ‘living’ games where they are supported long after the initial release.

And as a follow-up here, how does creating an OST for a game differ in the minutiae to a film or TV show?

The biggest factor here is that you have to remember the person playing is an active participant in the experience, whereas, in a film or TV, the person watching is passive. That changes the dynamic of how you write, because the brain pathways that are opened due to being an active participant are just different, as the player is truly connected to the game.

Music can therefore feel different at certain moments because it will be interpreted on a deeper and more connected level. So, I have to put myself in the player’s shoes as often as possible to understand what it is they will truly feel as they hold the controller.

That’s not really the minutiae but I think it’s the most important aspect of the process. I also wanted to try and give a different answer to the standard “game music is non-linear, film/TV music is linear” answer! The above paragraph is linked to that in a way because you always are in the point of view of the player and the non-linearity is definitely a big part of that.

The dream project I mentioned. It’s a science fiction game and they’ve given me total creative freedom on quite a big scale.

Who are your idols and biggest inspirations, and who or what started you on this path?

Alan Silvestri’s score for Forrest Gump made me ‘aware’ of the power of soundtrack music. Also Clint Bajakian, Michael Land, and Peter McConnell’s work on a lot of the LucasArts games from the ‘90s, and the iMUSE music system made me aware of game music’s interactive potential. Although I try to avoid listening to too many soundtracks, my favorite soundtrack composers are James Horner and Johann Johannsson.

What makes a great score in your opinion?

Instantly recognizable and not interchangeable (not able to be placed in anything else because it’s too closely identified with its original film/show/game). Instantly recognizable can mean melody but it can also be an aesthetic. Ideally, it’s a combination of the two.

Other than your own work, what would be your favorite video game score/soundtrack?

I can’t pick a favorite but here’s a selection that regularly comes up: Hellblade Senua’s Sacrifice, Bioshock (all of them really), Deus Ex, Final Fantasy 7 (the original tracks from the ‘90s, not the new versions).

How was your approach different when scoring Ark: The Animated Series compared to the extensive work on the game franchise itself?

With ARK we had a lot of combat music written for the game but not a huge amount of character work. Because the player is the main character in the game, I’m scoring what the player experiences. Whereas in the animated series, we are taking the point of view of a lot of characters that appear in the game but not extensively, and also not from their point of view, so this was a great opportunity to develop character themes for the show.

The depth and contrast of the viewer experience on the animated series allowed me to explore a lot of emotional facets of the ARK ‘music-verse’ that hadn’t been touched in the game. I feel like the score enabled me to combine the best of ARK’s game score but also the softer, emotional elements of my other most well-known scores from the Ori series, and combine that into one grandiose musical experience.

The most pressure I’ve felt is on Ori and the Will of the Wisps where it was generally expected that I should somehow exceed Ori and the Blind Forest.

You’ve been on board with the franchise since the start. Did you lobby for the opportunity to score the show, or was it more of a ‘Gareth understands the universe, it’s his’ sort of thing?

Your quote here is pretty much exactly how it went down! There’s nobody else on the planet who has my level of experience with this universe, and as a result, I was the only choice for the producers. I wish more shows that are adapted from games would trust the composer of the original game to do the show. We are more than capable and I don’t know why it isn’t more common.

Regarding Ark specifically, and all the facets of the franchise, do you have a particular favorite moment or storyline? And if so, why?

The whole Genesis 2 expansion which is focused on the primary antagonist Rockwell is incredibly well executed and really allowed me to develop Rockwell’s theme at length. A fun fact is that we recorded the score for Genesis 2 at the same time as recording the pilot episode for the animated series.

Rockwell features in the first episode and as I was working on Genesis 2 at the same time it was super fun to experience crossover from the game to the show and hear how everything tied together. I knew once I put Rockwell’s theme into the show that our fans were going to be very happy with how we respected the game’s original score but also took it to a new place.

How is the score for Ark 2 coming along? And how does that differ from your previous work with Ark?

It’s a little too early to say too much about it, but I will say that it is probably going to be the most visceral, primal, and raw-sounding version of the ARK musical universe that we’ve had so far.

Your time in the video game industry is vast, and recently you scored Ubisoft’s Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. That could not be more different from Ark if you tried in style, tone, and genre. How does that impact your process and ultimately affect the end product?

It honestly doesn’t affect my process. My job is to find what fits the game the best and the only way I know to do that is to get as familiar with the game as possible. That doesn’t just mean looking at briefs and documents, it means understanding the gameplay, how the character moves, how ‘fast’ the gameplay feels (every game has a distinct tempo/speed), what the art looks like, and how fluid the animation is.

All these questions need to have answers for me to do the best job I can possibly do. Let’s just take the art for example, which in Prince of Persia The Lost Crown is highly stylized. If it was photorealistic, I would have probably taken a different approach but as it is stylized and exaggerated, it affects my musical choices.

Every game requires a different approach, but the method to discover what that approach should be is always the same for me.

I can’t pick a favorite but here’s a selection that regularly comes up: Hellblade Senua’s Sacrifice, Bioshock (all of them really), Deus Ex, Final Fantasy 7 (the original tracks from the ‘90s, not the new versions).

Being the first Prince of Persia game in years, did you feel any pressure on your end?

After having run the gauntlet of dealing with pressure when scoring Halo Infinite, I already had experience providing music to a storied franchise, so I didn’t feel it here. I just felt honored to do it because it was such a great and unique setting to work in and I’m a fan of the series.

The most pressure I’ve felt is on Ori and the Will of the Wisps where it was generally expected that I should somehow exceed Ori and the Blind Forest. Once I got out of my head trying to somehow ‘outdo’ myself, the pressure got removed.

I actually view the Ori scores as one big work and not two separate things, Will of the Wisps simply being a continuation of Blind Forest and developing all the ideas there. There was a poll online somewhere asking which score was preferred and I remember it was a pretty even split. That was satisfying to see!

As a two-part question, what would your dream project be to work on, be it a franchise, stand-alone, etc, regardless of medium?

I’ve played every Assassin’s Creed game in the series, yes, even the 2D ones! I’m super familiar with the franchise and I think my breadth of work across all my projects over the years proves I could be a chameleon and work on one of these titles. I’ve worked on three games for Ubisoft so far but no Assassin’s Creed yet!

With all that being said, I am currently working on my dream project! Yes, that’s a giant tease.

And is there anything out there that you’d be staking a claim to that hasn’t yet been adapted for a game or TV/film screen? Knowing your work, I’d love to see your interpretation on a ‘100 Bullets’ OST, but that’s me answering for you.

If it has an interesting story, I’m usually interested! I can’t think of anything that springs to mind right now, but I’m very lucky to be working at a time when so many great ideas produce so many great things to be able to work on. As a result, I consider almost anything that is put in front of me!

Alan Silvestri’s score for Forrest Gump made me ‘aware’ of the power of soundtrack music.

Being so heavily involved with the development of video games in the sense of being responsible for a large part of the finished experience, do you find it difficult to switch off and enjoy other games, or do you end up breaking down the audio aspects of other titles?

I’m very fortunate in that I’ve been able to switch off the analytical side when I’m playing other games. The only time I can’t do that is when I’m playing my own games. For example, it took me 2 years to play Ori and the Will of the Wisps!

That said, if I play something or watch a film and enjoy the audio, I will then go through it again and do a breakdown/analysis to understand why some things worked. But I’ll never do that on a first viewing.

Lastly, what does the future hold for you? Any upcoming projects?

Yes, the dream project I mentioned above. It’s a science fiction game and they’ve given me total creative freedom on quite a big scale. It’s the genre I’ve always wanted to work in and be one of the voices that establish a new IP, and I might never get a better chance so I’m going all out for this one. I can’t say more, but trust me, when the time comes, I will be shouting loudly about it!

Don’t suppose you’re working on the Prince of Persia roguelite in secret right now?

I am not, but I am working on the announced story expansion to Prince of Persia The Lost Crown that is coming out later this year!

Thank you for taking the time to answer all these questions, and for those of us yet to see your work in the UK, I can safely say I’m looking forward to Ark: The Animated Series!

Thank you for having me, please enjoy Part 1 and look out for Part 2 later this year!