Three new tracks for the Nether update
When I think of Minecraft, its music comes to mind just as readily as its blocky world and characters. The game wouldn’t be what it is without C418‘s soothing soundtrack backing you up while you carve through caverns or peacefully stroll into the sunset. So many elements and features and things were added over countless updates, and Minecraft is a better, longer-lasting experience for it, but to this day, those original tunes evoke the “feeling” of Minecraft for me – that sense of calm exploration.
The same can be said for Celeste, a mechanically spot-on platformer made even more brilliant by its emotionally resonant soundtrack. The composer of Celeste, Lena Raine, worked wonders. What’s next? Minecraft of all games. Raine is composing three tracks for the upcoming Nether update.
“I wanted each piece to feel like a progression of emotions, or a journey from place to place within this other world,” she said in a Minecraft blog post. “There’s a degree of beauty to the Nether, but it is also terrifying in both its details and scale.”
Players will be able to hear “Rubedo” in the Nether Wastes, “Chrysopoeia” in the Crimson Forest, and “So Below” in the Soul Sand Valley and Basalt Delta (a new biome for Snapshot 20w15a). The latter area will surround adventurers with “flakes of flowing white ash” – quite the sight to compose for.
“One of the primary instruments in Minecraft is the piano, and so one of my challenges to myself was to see how far I could push the sound of the piano until it resembled other things entirely.”
Odds are I’ll hear these songs outside of the game, but I’m looking forward to it. On that front, Raine said “I’m not sure what the plans are for any sort of release outside of Minecraft itself (it’s outside my control), but please let the powers-that-be know if you want to see a release! I certainly do.”
@kuraine [Twitter]
