Dutch composer Joris de Man may become the first Dutchman ever to win one of the UK's most prestigious music prizes, the Ivor Novello Awards. He has been nominated in the ‘Best Video Game Music’ category for his score for Killzone 2, one of the best-selling games of 2009.

Listen to a Newsline report on Joris de Man:

The Ivor Novellos – named after the famous Welsh composer who was popular in the early years of the 20th century and awarded by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors – have been won by various top British songwriters, such as Paul McCartney, Elton John, David Bowie, Kate Bush and film composer John Barry. Now, for the first time, music specifically composed for video games is also being honoured.

Accepted
Joris de Man, who was born in Utrecht but now lives near Brighton, on the south coast of England,  where he owns his own recording studio, feels his nomination is proof that game music and the whole video game industry is finally being fully accepted by the music world. “The perception of the games industry is maturing and that can only be a positive thing,” he told Radio Netherlands Worldwide. “It also shows our industry is taken seriously by our peers working in the music industry”.

This wider acceptance of the video game industry is not just for creative reasons. Commercially, the market for video games is far more profitable than the struggling music industry. The worldwide games industry is worth approximately 45 billion US dollars, with an annual growth of around ten percent. The music industry is worth a ‘mere’ 17 billion dollars and is shrinking by ten percent each year.

Subconscious level
Joris de Man admits music may not be a dominant factor in the success of a particular video game, but as with films, music plays an important role in how someone experiences a game, as he explains:

“It works on a subconscious level. Music is very important in setting a mood. It also adds a little bit of emotion to playing a game, something the game itself doesn't do. You want the player to really feel something when he's playing the game, and music is an important element that can create that emotion”.

Pace
“If you have a sequence where you have to make a quick escape, for instance, I'll have music build up slowly in tempo and volume. But when time is running out, the music starts picking up the pace, which is a signal to the player that something important is going to happen”

Killzone 2 – which was developed by Dutch company Guerilla Games – has been a massive global success. In the first two months following its release in February 2009, the game sold over one million copies. Still, Joris and his music remain relatively unknown, even though he has worked with the UK's top orchestras and recorded at London’s world famous Abbey Road studios.

Fate
It may be frustrating in a way, but Joris actually quietly accepts his fate as an anonymous creator of video game soundtracks. And you never know what could come out of his Ivor Novello nomination, as he himself notes: “You see that some composers are able to branch out to other markets”.

“One example is Michael Giacchino, who won this year's Oscar for his music in Up. He actually started his career as a composer for video games. With the Ivor Novello’s recognising my genre, I hope people will take more notice and learn to appreciate this music a bit more”.

But most of all, Joris just loves playing video games. “I'm a big fan. It's kind of how I started out in this industry. I think you need just that - a passion for it”.