Independent developer Henchman & Goon have revealed that Austin Wintory, the Grammy-nominated composer of Journey, Banner Saga and Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, has composed the score for their co-op exploration game, Pode, coming to Nintendo Switch this Spring.
“I love working with games that have a beautiful, universal story to tell. Pode definitely aspires to that with the sort of poetic language we’ve seen emerging in games more and more lately, not to mention that the art is absolutely stunning!” said Austin Wintory. “Henchman & Goon together with their wonderful leader Yngvill Hopen have really encouraged me to explore something personal and unique for the score, an opportunity I always relish.”
Focusing on the core Pode themes of friendship and cooperation, Wintory delves into the dynamic between the two game characters, Bulder and Glo, to capture and express the unified voice of the duet. Over an hour long, the score dynamically changes throughout the game, fiddling with the player’s emotions and enhancing the intrinsic beauty of the puzzle solving experience. Inspired by the Norwegian art style of the game, Wintory utilized the sounds of a Hardanger fiddle and other string instruments, tapping into the cultural heritage to create the mystical ambience of the magical mountain and developing a strong link between the art and the sound in Pode.
“It was an honour to work with Austin Wintory, such a humble yet passionate artist, who managed to create a fantastic score in harmony with the essence of Pode,” said Game Director and CEO, Yngvill Hopen. “Austin quickly connected with the game on such a level that he soon became a part of our team, which felt very organic. He left a part of himself in the soundtrack, which we appreciate greatly and hope players will too.”
Pode is a co-op puzzle exploration game about two unlikely travel companions going on an exploratory adventure within a mysterious and magical mountain. Through their unique individual talents, they reveal a magical world within the mountain by working together to solve the puzzles. Pode is visually inspired by Norwegian art and culture resulting in a stunning exploration game.
Pode won the development award for the Best Casual Game and was selected as a nominee for the People’s Choice Awards as well as for the Best Quality of Art in GameConnection 2018. For more information, visit: www.podegame.com
Follow Pode on social media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/podegame/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/podegame
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/henchmangoon
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/henchmangoon/
About Henchman & Goon:
Henchman & Goon is an independent game studio in beautiful Bergen, Norway. We’ve known and worked with each other for years and we’re proud to have a studio that encompasses our unified vision for making great games. Our mission is to create games that we want to play ourselves and that leave a lasting positive impression. Henchman & Goon consists of a dedicated team of professionals that work brilliantly together in a unified passion for creating excellence in game development. For more information, visit: http://henchmangoon.com/
About Austin Wintory
Grammy-nominated and two-time British Academy Award-winning composer Austin Wintory’s diverse career has straddled the worlds of games, films and concert music. In 2012, Austin’s soundtrack for the hit PlayStation 3 game Journey became the first-ever Grammy-nominated videogame score, also winning two British Academy Awards, a DICE Award, a Spike TV VGA, and IGN’s “Overall Music of the Year,” along with five Game Audio Network Guild awards, and a host of others. Excerpts from the score have been performed all over the world since its release by such ensembles as the National Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Colorado Symphony, Melbourne Symphony, and Pacific Symphony. For more information, visit: https://www.austinwintory.com
