Gareth Coker is a British composer. He has composed work for video games including Ori and the Blind Forest, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, ARK: Survival Evolved, and Halo Infinite.
Gareth Coker | |
---|---|
Born | United Kingdom |
Genres |
|
Occupation(s) | Composer |
Years active | 2009–present |
Labels | Materia Collective |
Website | gareth-coker |
Coker learned the piano at a very early age. In school, he joined the orchestra and a jazz band and later studied at the Royal Academy of Music pursuing a major in musical composition. He traveled and lived abroad in Japan for three years where he taught English[1] and studied various ethnic instruments.[2] He later moved to Los Angeles, where he juggled between composing for video games and the University of Southern California's film scoring program.[3][4] Coker cites Alan Silvestri's score for Forrest Gump and Star Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter as inspirations to becoming a composer.[5]
In 2011, Coker composed the accompanying music to the game's prototype after studio director Thomas Mahler had stumbled upon his work. Speaking about the game's musical approach, Coker was given free rein by the studio to experiment with the music and scored the game mostly based on the visuals.[6] He worked with the idea of using instruments that would represent the area. For example, using wood-based percussion instruments for the Ginso Tree area or winds in the ruins. He also worked closely with the game's programmers to balance the pacing and timing of the music. Coker recorded the score at Ocean Way Nashville Recording Studios with the Nashville Studio Orchestra.[7]
The musical score was praised by critics and fans,[8][9] garnering nominations for several industry awards including a BAFTA Game Award for Best Music. Kirk Hamilton of Kotaku appreciated the score's orchestral approach, comparing it to the works of Joe Hisaishi on the Studio Ghibli films.[10] Yahoo's Ben Silverman called it "a wonderful score" and recalled how it was akin to the score of Howl’s Moving Castle.[11]
Work | Year | Award | Note | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ori and the Blind Forest | 2015 | D.I.C.E. Award for Outstanding Music Composition | Won | [12] |
Golden Joystick Award for Best Audio | Won | [13] | ||
BAFTA Game Award for Best Music | Nominated | [14] | ||
HMMA Award for Best Original Score - Video Game | Nominated | [15] | ||
2016 | SXSW Gaming Award for Excellence in Score | Won | [16] | |
Ori and the Will of the Wisps | 2020 | The Game Award for Best Score and Music | Nominated | [17] |
2021 | The IFMCA Award for Best Original Score for a Video Game or Interactive Media | Nominated | [18] | |
SXSW Gaming Award for Excellence in Score | Won | [19] | ||
BAFTA Game Award for Best Music | Nominated | |||
Video games | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Title | Developer | Notes | |
2011 | inMomentum | Digital Arrow | ||
2012 | Primal Carnage | Lukewarm Media | ||
2015 | Ori and the Blind Forest | Moon Studios | ||
The Mean Greens - Plastic Warfare | Code Headquarters | |||
2016 | The Unspoken | Insomniac Games | ||
Minecraft | Mojang | Expansion Packs: Chinese Mythology, Egyptian Mythology, Greek Mythology, Norse Mythology, Battle & Tumble, Pirates of the Caribbean | ||
2017 | Ark: Survival Evolved | Studio Wildcard | ||
2019 | Darksiders Genesis | Airship Syndicate | ||
2020 | Ori and the Will of the Wisps | Moon Studios | ||
Dota 2 | Valve | The International 10 music pack | ||
Immortals Fenyx Rising | Ubisoft Quebec | |||
2021 | Ruined King: A League of Legends Story | Airship Syndicate | ||
Halo Infinite[20] | 343 Industries | Composed with Curtis Schweitzer and Joel Corelitz | ||
2022 | Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope | Ubisoft Paris Ubisoft Milan |
Alongside Grant Kirkhope and Yoko Shimomura | |
Arknights | HyperGryph | Dorothy’s Vision event OST[21] | ||
2023 | Ark II[22] | Studio Wildcard | ||
Films and TV | |||
---|---|---|---|
Year | Title | Notes | |
2009 | Nameless | ||
2010 | Unwound | ||
Ellen | |||
You Kill Me | |||
What to Bring to America | |||
The Incident | |||
Laugh and Die | |||
Homeland | |||
George's 40th Birthday | |||
2011 | Buried Alive | ||
Dysteria | |||
Upon Release | |||
Cab 57 | |||
Waking Up | |||
The Silence Inside Us | |||
I Am Rupert Caldwell | |||
Good Intentions | |||
August's Claim | |||
2012 | Call to Arms | ||
All Up to You | |||
Haven's Point | |||
Dog-Eared | |||
2013 | Veritasium | 1 episode | |
Rise | |||
Diary of a Teenage Nobody | 1 episode | ||
The Plagarist's Game | |||
Billy in Motion | |||
Verax | |||
United Grand Lodge of Queensland Grand Installation | |||
Dark Power | |||
Where the Sky Is Born | |||
2014 | Thrilling Contradictions | ||
Rush | |||
2015 | Recoil | ||
The Sweet Taste of Redemption | |||
Let Go | |||
2016 | Emma's Chance | ||
Mandroid | |||
2017 | The Labyrinth | ||
Resistance is Life | |||
Moving Art | 1 episode | ||
2018 | Level Up Norge | 3 episodes | |
Buoyancy | |||
The Price | |||
2019 | Full Moon | ||
The Teleios Act | |||
2022 | Ark: The Animated Series |
{{cite web}}
: Cite uses generic title (help)General | |
---|---|
National libraries | |
Other |
|