Recreating an Iconic Soundscape
Music for the Indiana Jones video game, The Great Circle, blends the beloved elements of John Williams’ legendary scores with fresh, interactive orchestration. Pete Ward, the audio director at MachineGames, led a team that included composer Gordy Haab and a dedicated sound recording crew to craft a soundscape that honors the film legacy while delivering an immersive gameplay experience. Ward’s journey—from Sweden’s caves to London’s Abbey Road Studios—highlights the careful balance between nostalgia and interactivity that defines the project.
Capturing the Film Sound in a Game Context
Ward and Haab set out to recapture the adventurous spirit of the Raiders of the Lost Ark era, translating cinematic concert hall textures into game-ready scenes. The goal was not to imitate but to reinterpret the iconic motifs so players could feel the swelling emotion of the score as they explore, puzzle, and engage in combat. The team faced a significant challenge: orchestrating a score that could fluidly transition between cinematic cutscenes and interactive gameplay sequences without breaking immersion.
The Team Behind the Tone
Johnny Öhgren provided the crackling, consistent percussion that anchors many of the action cues, while Gordy Haab leveraged his experience with big-franchise games—particularly in Star Wars—to structure the score for linear narratives and player-driven moments. Ward notes that this collaborative balance was essential to achieving a score that stands up to the franchise’s cinematic legacy while still feeling fresh in an interactive format.
Heritage Recording, Modern Reimagining
The score was recorded on stages with historic pedigree: Abbey Road Studios in London and the Vienna Synchron sound stage, pairing the acoustics of classic film scoring with modern game sound design. The team also introduced new musical material for Gina Lombardi, the game’s new companion, performed by Alessandra Mastronardi. The objective was clear: create motifs for Gina that sit comfortably next to John Williams-inspired themes, using leitmotifs to give players emotional touchpoints as the story unfolds.
Voices, Breaths, and a Sense of Reality
Voice performance played a crucial role in anchoring Indy’s world to film realism. Actor Troy Baker, who voices Indiana Jones, worked with the game’s voice director Tom Keegan to mirror Harrison Ford’s vocal textures—accent, breathing, and even physical-breath cues. The result is a performance that translates Harrison Ford’s on-screen presence into a living, breathing in-game hero, with authentic grunts and breaths that heighten the sense of danger and discovery.
From Raiders to Real-time Reactions
The opening sequence mirrors Raiders of the Lost Ark, with players allowed to navigate the Peruvian temple at their own pace. The team re-recorded and extended the original score to accommodate fluid exploration, while keeping the cinematic cues intact. The aim was to let players experience the iconic rhythm and tension of the film in a way that responds to their actions—opening ambients that swell as relics are uncovered or traps are triggered.
Audience and Legacy
Although The Great Circle is a new entry, the development team treated fans with reverence. Ward emphasizes that they identified core cinematic signatures early on and built the interactive experience around those motifs. The work isn’t simply about copying a movie score; it’s about constructing a living score that supports exploration, rewards discovery, and preserves the sense of epic adventure that defined the Indiana Jones franchise for decades.
Why This Matters for Gaming Music
This project demonstrates how a classic film score can inform contemporary game music without losing its soul. By weaving in new themes for Gina Lombardi, leveraging established orchestral colors, and ensuring interactivity never dilutes emotion, The Great Circle sets a high bar for future collaborations between cinema composers and game developers. It’s a reminder that iconic scores can evolve and still feel immediately familiar when aligned with the right interactive framework.
