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Heroish's composer talks making music for films vs games

Sunblink Entertainment composer Phill Boucher shared his journey from TV and film music to video games and the difference in composing for the mediums.

TJ Denzer

October 5, 2022 5:20 PM

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Heroish is a castle defense game on mobile utilizing a number of hero classes in campaigns and PVP multiplayer, and it has some pretty decent music to match. That comes courtesy of composer Phill Boucher. Boucher has been around music in various entertainment mediums for quite some time, moving between TV and film over to video games like Heroish. Why games? Well, we got a chance to talk to him about that journey, not to mention the difference between working on music for games versus TV and film.

Boucher has rubbed elbows with legends in the industry. He modestly claims he’s been around folks like Hans Zimmer (most recently Dune & Top Gun: Maverick) and more. However, it was the pandemic that pushed him to try his hand in video games. Where TV and film suffered a little bit, games were still strong. It wasn’t as though he was particularly looking for it, but he developed friendships with people in the game industry that led to him being recommended when Sunblink Entertainment was looking for a composer.

As far how his talents worked in the transition between music, Boucher shared the difference in processes. For Boucher, the closest it came to feeling like TV and film was in cutscenes where he could create something for a specific scene, just as he did for shows like Duck Tales. However, it gets quite a bit different when it comes to ongoing gameplay or particular sound effects for an event like leveling up or achieving victory. That’s where loops and stingers come in, which require quite a different approach if you’re going to keep the player’s attention without being annoying.

Heroish is available now on the App Store. Want more videos like this Heroish interview? Be sure to check out our YouTube channels at Shacknews and GamerHubTV. That’s where you’ll find interviews, reviews, gameplay, unboxings and more on the latest video games, technology, and toys.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.