Control Resonant Composer Petri Alanko Says Synesthesia Lets Him Hear Remedy's Concept Art

Alanko, who also composed music for the first Control game and other Remedy titles, said his process often starts with thought and the search for an interesting approach. He joked that it can begin a little like the old Simpsons meme of a character yelling at a cloud, but in his case it is more about staring at the clouds. The goal, he said, is to think and find an interesting angle.

He also described what he called Remedy's "transparency culture." According to Alanko, when the studio creates a new game concept, it has a habit of telling the whole company about it through a well-rehearsed presentation, and Control Resonant was no different. "That, by the way, separates Remedy from many others; the amount of detail and level of depth is unparalleled," he said. "Very unique. One would think they already have everything ready, albeit we're only taking the first steps."

When it comes to generating ideas, Alanko said he typically leans toward Remedy's concept art because the images tell a story and are usually "really, really beautiful." He revealed that he has synesthesia, a neurological phenomenon that causes sensory crossovers. In his case, it allows him to hear sounds when he looks at pictures. "Those pictures have a 'sound' in my head, and following those intuitional sources often bring me a few melodies, harmonies... a feeling, actually," he explained. He added that hearing music requires the background concept story, a presentation, and the pictures, and that he relies heavily on that combination.

Alanko also described himself as an outsider and an observer. "As a composer, I've always been an outsider and felt like I'm just watching everything from a distance, an observer, if you like," he said. "That feeling combined with the ability to 'hear' pictures - synesthesia, to be exact - are my go-to tools at the ground zero point."

Control Resonant is now available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Series S, and PC.