Composer and journalist Alyx Jones has been obsessed with the audio of video games since she was a child. First were the 8-bit games on a GameBoy Colour that she played as a six-year-old; then came a huge jump in immersion through graphics and sound to the PlayStation 2. As Alyx grew older, so did her interest in indie music alongside a burgeoning love of niche games, leading her to a deep appreciation for certain video game soundtracks.

Chief among them is Journey, a cult video game released in 2012 on the PlayStation 3, best known for its emotive soundtrack. Lacking any real dialogue or words, the masterful orchestral soundtrack of composer Austin Wintory was created in tandem with the development of the game, and as such is responsible for driving the storyline forward, as well as creating highly affecting moments of storytelling within. Pushing the envelope for video game scores of the era, Journey’s ground-breaking soundtrack has had a lasting influence on Alyx’s life and career.

From helping cope throughout her mother’s battle with cancer, to depending on its power to push through a period of homelessness, music has been a cornerstone of Alyx’s journey – “our lives aren’t a flat line. They go up and down and it kind of pulls you into that…we all have music as such a key part of our lives that it’s easy to connect to”.

Watch the video to hear in her own words how the video game and its one-of-a-kind music has allowed her to dig down deep into her emotions during times of personal crisis and healing.

 For more articles on sounds and video games, read:

• For Composers, Video Game Music Is About Living In The Moment
• Best Video Game Soundtracks of All Time

What moment of sound changed your life? In our Sounds That Made Me series, we drop in on journalists, researchers, and sound connoisseurs to ask them this very question. What we hear sheds light on the depth of music’s personal and cultural impact…

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