A major critically-acclaimed aspect of the 2012 video game Journey by developers thatgamecompany is the score composed by Austin Wintory. Four years after the game’s release, Wintory is teaming up with Fifth House Ensemble from Chicago to present a live, interactive performance of the music from Journey.
Helping Wintory prep for the concert is arranger Patrick O’Malley. The two of them have created an original version of the score Wintory originally created for Journey that’s pared down to bite-sized chunks that Fifth House Ensemble will then be able to swap between on the fly as another person plays the game. Yes, that’s right; the “interactive” part of this comes from the fact that there will be people actually playing through Journey as it is scored live.
“Wait a minute,” you might be thinking, “if there’s someone actually playing the game as they’re doing the music, wouldn’t that mean there’d be twice the sound? The music from the game itself and the music that the group’s playing?” Well, when you’re right, you’re right. However, according to the Kickstarter campaign currently raising funds for the venture, Sony’s actually providing a version of the game that doesn’t include the score. So, all the sound effects and stuff will be present, but no score causing weird, echoey distortions.
The proposed tour begins at the Music and Gaming Festival (MAGFest) in National Harbor, Md. on Feb. 20. There are currently three more planned dates with two in Illinois and one in Florida, but — given that the $5,000 goal has already been funded as of writing — it’s likely that it will expand to several more dates before the campaign is over.
