Steve Schnur: Scoring games with live musicians ‘critically important’

Scoring games with live musicians is critically important for making an emotional connection with players, says EA Music Group exec Steve Schnur.

Speaking at Game Music Connect, Schnur said whlie there are sometimes financial limitations on games limiting options for composers, there is no substitute to live orchestration.

He said that "real passion" from musicians was key to emotional engagement in games, and claimed that players would notice the difference between music recorded by live musicians and digital samples.

Schnur cited a survey by GameSoundCon that revealed that just 46 per cent of game music for big budget titles are predominantly performed by live musicians.

"Synthesisers and digital samples have their place," he said. "But that place must be one of absolute necessity and moderation."

He added: "I don’t see how anything other than a live orchestra can enhance that emotional experience."