The Long Game

The Long Game is a wraparound ‘no nonsense’ guide to the technical, creative, and business skills needed to succeed in the game music industry.

Drawing on three decades of professional experience, Tom Salta covers the full terrain of a working composer’s life: how interactive and adaptive music actually works, how to build and implement scores for non-linear media, and how to navigate the business side — contracts, pitching, networking, and getting paid fairly. At the center of the book is a first-of-its-kind case study walking through the complete scoring of Deathloop, from initial brief to final delivery. Beyond these themes, the deeper subject of the book is the person doing the work — the mindset, resilience, and personal habits that separate composers who last from those who don’t.

The Long Game will be an invaluable resource to game audio professionals and musicians looking to branch out into the field of game music composition, as well as those studying courses such as Composition for Digital Games or Composition for New Media.

A range of accompanying materials, including examples, diagrams, and audio clips, are available at the author's website tomsalta.com/thelonggame.