Clio Montrey

Original Interview

What is your journey as a gamer? What are your first and most important games?

The first game I remember playing is Robyn and Rand Miller’s The Manhole (1988), an exploration game for PC that lays the foundation for their later games Myst(1993) and Riven (1997). All three of these games became important to me because of their world building and narrative depth.

A bit later, I was captivated by  The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening. The beautiful music then inspired me to try other Zelda games.. I was mostly fascinated by these particular soundtracks, playing the melodies on the piano by ear. 

You started in the world of opera and classical music — how did your path lead you into the games industry?

I would say that my fascination with game soundtracks from childhood helped me start this journey. I had had an interest in creating game music for a long time, as well. But my real, practical pivot into games happened in 2020, when I began to take an interest in creating my own visual novels. This led me to attending various game meetups in Vienna. Eventually I joined Microbird and we made Dungeons of Hinterberg!

What was the moment where you felt, yes, games can be just as expressive and powerful as music or stage performance?

I really felt this when playing through our game Dungeons of Hinterberg (2024). Every element, every aspect of work from the previous years, had coalesced into an emotionally arresting whole. I felt this huge surge of love for the game and love for the genre. While this is our own game and I’m obviously close to it, the process of being a part of its creation helped me fully emotionally process the impact games can have on audiences. 

How do you see your background in music influencing your work in games today? Do you feel you bring a different perspective because of it?

As a game producer, I need to keep many streams of thought coherent. Nothing could have prepared me better for this than music, especially my previous experience organizing and running musical ensembles, arts management, as well as the process of composing and performance. 

The two worlds have a lot more in common than what is apparent at first sight: a dynamism, enthusiastic and passionate creators, and a swirl of energy that needs organizing in order to emerge as a beautiful pattern. 

Music is widely accepted as “high culture” — but games often still have to justify their artistic value. Why do you think that gap still exists?

This varies among audiences, but I see it as existing due to the persistence of the myth of “high art” and “popular art.” As games are so accessible, many have a tendency to classify them as “popular” and to deny their artistic value. This of course completely disregards the wonderful artistic games that have been made over the years.

It may also be due to the fact that music has been entrenched in our civilisations since prehistory, and people see games as new. However, games are hardly a new phenomenon – take Backgammon as an example, which dates back thousands of years! Therefore, something else is also at play.

It may be that music, especially classical music, allows for the flaunting of a particular social status, whereas games democratize. This is also changing of late – some games are simply too expensive for many players to purchase in the current economy. Conversely, music, especially classical music, has made massive strides to do more outreach and become much more accessible.

Do you think games will eventually reach the same cultural recognition as music or film – or is it already happening in smaller ways? What is necessary?

I do believe many games already have reached this cultural recognition. The Last of Us and the Fallout series are popular examples. These have huge cultural cachet and recognition already, and are accessible to a wide audience beyond games, at least in part due to their adaptation for TV. 

In pop culture, games such as the Mario series and Pokémon also enjoy this kind of recognition. In the e-sports world, we see League of Legends, Valorant, and Fortnite as examples of iconic pop culture elements. And of course, we also have Minecraft, which has inspired several generations of creativity by now. 

There may also be the factor that whatever is considered more societally relevant may be treated with more value. Games are extremely relevant and can function as cultural cornerstones. They are innovative and educational. However, it may simply take time for them to become entrenched as part of “high culture.”

What role do projects like Dungeons of Hinterberg play in changing that narrative – by bringing local culture, art, and music into a playful format?

Our game brings a unique mix of cultural examination and discussion together with lighthearted fun and a fantasy storyline! These projects make discussions about important themes more accessible to a wider audience. 

Such projects are undeniably a part of cultural heritage, which may force those who view games less seriously to reconsider their perspective. 

What can games express differently than music – and vice versa?

I’ll take games as a whole here, as games contain music too, and just examine both modes as a means of expression. 

Honestly, I think they have more parallels than one could believe. Music itself expresses the depths of human emotion but can also show a narrative. Games can likewise achieve these goals. Through all different genres and forms, music can run the gamut from fun entertainment (just like games) to serious works of art (just like games). 

Although many people consider music purely performance and not at all participatory, as a musician I can tell you that there are indeed many participatory formats in music – from communal jams and choral singing in community groups, to sing-alongs and innovative participatory formats. However, games by definition require the participation of the player. This means that passivity in games is simply not allowed, while it is permitted and encouraged in many musical situations.

This is a core difference in the definition of both art forms, but both can inform each other. Cutscenes are a wonderful example of passive media consumption within games. And with streaming platforms such as Twitch, we achieve the same audience effect that a musical concert does. This means that games can also be seen as a performance!

You’re living at the intersection of music and games. What do you think both worlds can learn from each other?

So much! The exchange is already happening, in large part due to the increasingly complex soundtracks found in games today, many of them orchestral! These have spawned concerts and tours. Even the earliest games had a characteristic chiptune sound that is celebrated and replicated today.

Musical practice demonstrates artistry, dedication, exactness, and modes of work that efficiently deal with collaboration in groups from duos to massive orchestras, productions, and stadium concerts. This can help bring fresh perspectives on organization into game production. 

Games bring flexibility and playfulness to the table, as well as the requirement for participation, which can inform innovation in the staging of new musical productions. 

Are there composers or musicians in the game world you admire – or game soundtracks that inspire you creatively?

Yes, very much! I adore Bear McCreary’s soundtrack for God of War Ragnarök, and I likewise love Takeshi Furukawa’s work on Planet of Lana. And when we talk of musical minimalism, Matthew Thomason’s music for Europa is beyond beautiful. Guillaume Ferran likewise created a floating and ethereal sound for Jusant. 

Every soundtrack for every game serves a particular function and has a different role in world building for that particular game world. I enjoy the wide range of musical world building available nowadays, with so many different genres and styles represented on game soundtracks.

Depending on what I want to listen to, I pick a soundtrack and play it on repeat, and try to figure out how the sonorities fit into and enhance that game’s world.

What inspires you creatively – in music, in games, or outside both worlds?

Mostly I get inspired by seeing or hearing wonderful art or music! Going to the opera and hearing the wonderful voices, participating in choral music, singing a new aria or role… all of these things push me to be more intentional in my creativity. I also love to write and assemble my own SciFi worlds. World building is crucial to my creative process. 

Seeing any creative expression that has a profundity of some sort provokes me to think about it and see if this is a format that I could somehow adapt into my own creativity. These inspirational threads take the forms of everything from cosplay competitions to paintings, animations, films, and of course, the music and games I find inspiring.

Other elements that inspire me include the shape, feel, and timbre of musical instruments, the various synth sounds one can achieve on software, and innovative usage of midi and game controllers. 

If you would recommend a game to someone who would like to get into this space.. what would to recommend?

Europa (2024)! It’s a short and sweet sci-fi adventure with a meaningful storyline and accessible gameplay. It also illuminates the indie ethos of the small studios of our contemporary praxis. 

General game, music, book recommendation? 

My favourite book is Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie. It’s followed by two other books to form a trilogy and is a masterpiece of world building and elegiac storytelling.

I would also recommend the beautiful Renaissance-to-Baroque music of Claudio Monteverdi. One can hear the wind, birds, and love inside these complex and gorgeous melodies.