Herdling – The Making of a Game Soundtrack

Herdling – The Making of a Game Soundtrack

Engaging game music doesn't just accompany the experience — it shapes it. But getting there means navigating creative, technical, and human challenges that are unique to the medium.

Using the score for the Okomotive game Herdling as a case study, this workshop gets into the details. We'll explore how the soundtrack was built from the ground up and how the collaboration between composer and developers took shape. We'll cover how FMOD was used to make the music truly interactive and what it takes to prepare music for integration into a game engine. And we'll look at what it takes to translate a creative vision across disciplines — including how to find a common language.

With demonstrations by Joel Schoch and moderation by Cyril Boehler — both experienced composers in interactive media.

Joel Schoch composed and concepted the interactive music for all Okomotive Games including „FAR: Lone Sails“ and „Herdling“, won the Game Audio Award 2020 in Oulu (FAR: Lone Sails), and was nominated at the "Indie Game Awards 2026", the "D.I.C.E. Awards 2026 "and several others for the music of “Herdling”". He studied film and media music at the Zurich University of the Arts.

Cyril Boehler's work spans soundtracks for interactive and immersive media — including the BAFTA-winning „Late Shift“ and VR experiences for Birdly — as well as feature films, documentaries, and television. He studied film scoring at Berklee College of Music and is a frequent guest lecturer in media music at universities and conferences.