MASA: Can you tell us a little about your classical training and how it has shaped your work?

RICHARD: I was fortunate to grow up in a musical family, so music was all around which was a wonderful experience. I started learning the piano aged 5, then after brief periods of learning both the violin and the cello, I settled on the trombone from aged 7. I also took up percussion and drum kit from the age of 15. During my school years I was fortunate to be awarded a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music where I attended the junior department for Saturday morning music school from the age of 12. This would involve first and second study instrumental lessons (trombone and piano in my case) as well as theory, harmony and aural training. I would also play in the symphony orchestra and then in the afternoons I would play with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra. At the age of 16 I was awarded a place at Wells Cathedral School, one of the four specialist music schools in the UK, and renowned for having an excellent brass and percussion department. It was here that I continued studying academic music as well as trombone, piano and percussion, and it was during this time that I was getting heavily involved in composition and studio technology. After completing my ‘A’ levels I studied at University for a B.A. (Hons) Music degree, where I took a triple major in composition, performance and music technology.

I think my classical training has definitely helped shape my work, because as an orchestral trombonist, the classical repertoire involves some of the great symphonies and works by composers such as Stravinsky, Mahler, Shostakovich, Hindemith, Holst, Rimsky-Korsakov and Ravel amongst many others, so this experience of both playing in orchestras and absorbing what is happening in the rest of the orchestra has given me a unique insight and understanding of orchestration and composing for the orchestra. Having studied and performed works by many of these 20th century composers has influenced my composition style. To this day I remain passionate about music education and have been fortunate to receive two Honorary Doctorates, so I enjoy helping young composers when my schedule allows.

MASA: What originally drew you to composing for games and how did you get your first break into the industry? 

RICHARD: I’ve been an avid gamer since I was very young, starting off with a ZX Spectrum home computer, then moving on to Atari ST’s, and later to consoles. During my formative years I was both playing games and composing and producing my own music using these computers, and I learnt to program them using the BASIC programming language. So, throughout my education I was both studying music, playing in various ensembles such as orchestras, big bands, wind bands and percussion ensembles, and at the same time I was composing my own music and songs as well as DJ’ing. At the beginning of studying for my music degree at University, a time when students used to receive a small maintenance grant for accommodation, I used the money to purchase a Roland drum machine and a SEGA Megadrive, so without even realising it at the time, I think my career path had already chosen itself! It was during my final year of my music degree, when I was working part time in a music and video store, that I saw a job advertisement for SEGA Europe who were setting up a new development studio in London and were seeking an in-house Composer. I applied for the job immediately and sent in several demo tracks and after two rounds of interviews, I was selected for the role out of approximately 300 applicants. I then finished my final exams at University a few weeks later, moved straight to London the day after and started my career at SEGA the very next day. I’ve always been fascinated by the way music impacts and enhances the gaming experience, especially for games with a strong narrative element, so it was a very natural progression for me to become a Composer, specialising in games.

MASA: Looking back, is there a project that marked a turning point in your career?

RICHARD: In 2001 I scored the action-adventure title Headhunter, and this was most definitely a turning point in my career for many reasons. This was my first breakthrough orchestral score, and indeed it was the first orchestral video game score in history to be recorded at the legendary Abbey Road Studios. This ambitious project garnered much attention, from the engineers and staff at Abbey Road, to the musicians themselves, as well as the wider games and music press alike. At this point in time, game soundtracks were frequently frowned upon by the film and TV industries, as well as the classical music community, so hopefully, in some small way, this project helped redress the balance and made people sit up and take note of what is possible in games. The soundtrack to Headhunter has since been performed at concerts throughout the world, and it celebrates its 25th anniversary later this year.

MASA: Your work on Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy was hugely acclaimed. What was your creative approach to capturing the scale and energy of that universe?

RICHARD: The creative approach to my score to Marvel’s Guardians Of The Galaxy began by creating the main theme. It was important to me to find the right tone for the Guardians themselves, which incorporated a sense of togetherness and family (the Guardians being a ragtag band of misfits), the exploration element as they explore many worlds throughout the galaxy, and of course a sense of heroism with a large dose of ‘fun’. Once I had created the main theme, I looked at the other major protagonists and antagonists in the game, as well as the various locations, to determine any other thematic content that I would create. I then wanted to give the major themes that feature throughout the score their own sound, both in terms of instrumentation, tonality and sound palette. Some of the themes for the main antagonists use both traditional singing as well as chanting and various vocal whisper effects that were created for the choir, giving them a distinct sound of their own. I then mixed in synthesisers, both software and hardware based, to give a modern production edge. In general, I wanted to ensure that each world had its own musical and sonic signature, ensuring that the score retained a cohesive and thematic approach to supporting the characters and the narrative, with tight and seamless implementation.

MASA: When starting a new project, what helps you define the sonic world of a game? And how do you approach collaboration with developers, directors and sound teams?

RICHARD: In general, I like to start a new project by discussing both musical and sonic ideas with the audio or music director as well as the wider audio team. This would involve gathering as much material as is available at that point in development (concept artwork, scripts, gameplay footage, development build of the game etc etc), and then I am able to get ideas about the music direction and discuss the approach with the audio director. It is at this early phase that I would start to compose initial ideas, sometimes just conceptual sketches, in order to present them to the audio director so we can get the sound that we are looking to achieve for the project. I like to have a large sound palette to choose from so I would often make my own sounds or instruments at the beginning of a project to deliver something truly original. I find it inspirational to talk with the audio director at great length before composing a note of music, indeed there are so many ideas that can be discussed and expanded upon just from good discussions. I then work closely with the entire audio team throughout the project, as well as the leads from narrative, art, code and other key creatives, to ensure I deliver their creative vision for the game and ensure the score sounds like the game, giving it an identity of its own.

MASA: With advances in technology, how have tools and production techniques influenced your work?

RICHARD: We have seen huge leaps forward in middleware and toolsets over recent years, so this has made the music pipeline faster, smoother, and gives the composer the ability to compose a cue, implement it into the music engine, and integrate it into the game map all without needing help from any other personnel. This gives me the ability to have more time for experimentation and to try out musical ideas within the game itself, so my ideas can be presented fully implemented, along with my ideas about how the music system plays back the music and transitions to another cue.

Also, for me personally, I use a large Dante (audio over IP) network in my studio. This gives me the flexibility of using huge channel counts between my Logic and Pro Tools rigs as well as integrating my analogue outboard and vintage synth collection into my sessions. It really is such an elegant and powerful solution for using high track count sessions and integrating analogue equipment in the studio.

MASA: As a juror, what will you be listening for in this year’s entries? What do you feel distinguishes a memorable game score from one that simply supports the gameplay?

RICHARD: I look forward to listening to this year’s entries and will be listening out for compositional technique, quality of orchestration (if applicable), originality, use of themes and melodies, as well as the suitability of the score and the tightness of the implementation. In my opinion, a memorable game score should enhance the gameplay, not simply support it, and should be scored sympathetically and appropriately for supporting the narrative, as well as the characters and worlds, and have an overall cohesive musical arc.

MASA: Thank you, Richard, for giving us a glimpse into your brilliant career and your philosophy on how a great score truly enhances a game’s narrative. We are absolutely thrilled to have your seasoned ear and deep passion for musical storytelling on the judging panel for the 2026 Music+Sound Awards!