Long time no see, Travelers! Have you been enjoying yourselves lately?

 

When we announced the Final Closed Beta for Genshin Impact in May, we were happy to see both excitement for the new beta as well as fond memories of the previous one in the comments and private messages on social media.

 

Back in April, before the end of the Second Closed Beta, we posted a Lantern Rite gameplay video that became very popular among Travelers, especially the video's background music. This adoration from Travelers inspired us to plan a Developer Insight focused on the music of Genshin Impact.

 

Second Closed Beta - Lantern Rite artwork

 

As such, we've invited miHoYo Music Director Zoe Cai and Genshin Impact soundtrack Composer and Producer Yu-Peng Chen for this resounding issue of Developer Insight.

 

 

Greetings, Travelers! We are Zoe Cai and Yu-Peng Chen of the HOYO-MiX team, and we're happy to share with you the story of creating the music of Genshin Impact.

 

The starting point for the design of Genshin Impact's music has been, well, the game itself. Genshin Impact is home to the huge, free open world of Teyvat, which the game production team has already endowed with an aesthetic melody through art style, gameplay design, and other processes — our job is to find a musical language that matches this.

 

We wanted to immerse players in Teyvat and really feel the diversity of the world. Building off the main thread of orchestral music, we added elements of different music from around the world to depict the colorful variety of Teyvat's regions and people.

 

During the Second Closed Beta, the music production team paid close attention to players' feedback regarding the game's music. On different live streaming platforms, we saw players marvel at the music as they passed the Dawn Winery; we saw live streamers just keep the game on the login screen to play the background music on loop; and we even saw some enthusiastic players upload OST albums themselves.

 

I understand everyone's eagerness, but I must inform everyone that the music in the beta is not the final version. Don't worry, though, as we are planning to publish the OST before the game's release. I hope this may satisfy everyone's appetites for Genshin Impact's music...

 

 

1. Genshin Impact Main Theme - A Clear Direction Down a Bumpy Road

 

The creative direction of the main theme of Genshin Impact was decided very early on, so there weren't many times where we second-guessed ourselves or went back to the drawing board. When creating theme music unique to each city in Teyvat, we chose instruments and musical elements that most fit the distinctive styles of the locations.

 

After the main theme started to take shape, questions of particular details arose, such as which area's music should have a rapid tempo, which environments should have music that conveys a more leisurely feeling, and other unforeseen questions that required nuanced adjustments. Production was a continuous process of improvement.

 

Despite all this fine-tuning, however, the overall essence of the main theme has remained largely unchanged. The melodious, elegant tune borrows the voices of instruments to express the spirit of adventure: freedom, sincerity, and purity. These key elements embody how we have understood and recreated the world of Genshin Impact on the musical plane.

 

Although our direction was clear, we encountered many bumps on the road of production. Even the demo alone had over 10 versions.

 

Players might be curious: what was the process of creating this music from the very beginning?

 

Genshin Impact Main Theme piano demo - performed by Yu-Peng Chen, Producer

 

The main theme was actually just a demo performed on piano at first.

 

This early demo underwent countless changes and polishing to grow into the full-fledged theme music we hear now. Below we can see the development across different versions:

 

Main Theme Demo Versions / by Yu-Peng Chen

Login BGM (Daytime) Versions:

V0: A solo piano (right hand) performs the main theme melody. In this version I was testing to see: (1) how this melody sounds by itself without any accompanying harmony or instruments, and (2) its potential for developing variations later.

V1: After determining the main melody, I added the harmony (left hand). This piano-only version was the login BGM in the first closed beta, and it was quite popular.

V2: I tried adding some basic string arrangements to the piano-only V1. This version was previously used as the dusk login BGM. (The current dusk login BGM is a newer version.)

V3: Here I tried playing the main theme with an Irish whistle myself.

V4: This is where I began formal composition and production, exploring the possibilities of this theme and expanding its musical depth. I strived to give this composition the narrative-like quality of a grand orchestral movement filled with waves of emotion, bringing to life the vast world of Genshin Impact. I hope when players hear this tune, they will be eager to start the game. 

V5: This is the final version, the one performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra. I replaced the piano in the prelude with a harp, changed the violin solo to Irish whistle, and added accompanying female vocals.

 

 

Login BGM (Night) Versions:

V1: The Genshin Impact main theme with only a woman singing unaccompanied by any instruments. Here I wanted to convey a graceful, ancient voice from a faraway land.

V2: The female singing remains, but this version utilizes acapella harmonies. (I sang most of said accompanying harmonies myself.)

V3: Here I wondered how I could further develop the "ah" singing of the previous versions, so I came up with lyrics that invoke a feeling of religious chanting. They are just different sounds without any specific meaning.

V4: In the end, I decided to do away with the lyrics, as they didn't sound quite right and contained inconsistencies in detail. I tried instead changing "ah" to a more gentle "ooh" in mezzo-soprano. The deeper, steadier sound added a holy air to the gracefulness of previous versions, fitting perfectly with the night login screen visuals.

 

Main Theme Demo Versions / by Yu-Peng Chen

 

We always strove to perfect the login screen BGM, as this element serves as a player's first memory of a game, and is often the most unforgettable. Even years after a game from our childhood has been stored away on the shelves of history, when we are reminded of the game's login screen music we still find ourselves unconsciously humming a few lines. One could argue that music is a more pure language than even pictures and writing — it so easily invokes memories of experiences in the distant past, even feelings of those we no longer consciously remember. We hope that the main theme of Genshin Impact will do the same for you.

 

 

2. Designing the Music of Genshin Impact — Game and Music Working as One

 

Players often ask: which came first, the game or the music? We can at least answer this from the perspective of music.

 

When we were beginning to design the music of Genshin Impact, we were given a single image to refer to: a young Traveler sitting atop a high cliff, gazing out at Mondstadt in the distance. At that time, we only had a basic visual impression of the game, knowing nothing about the theme, story, or emotional elements, which are the starting points for composing music of any kind. We communicated with the development, IP, and visual teams to establish a clearer view of the world of Teyvat, then began working out the creative direction of the music.

 

Genshin Impact - CG image

 

The music that experienced some of the biggest changes was the ambient music. After many tests and adjustments, we finally achieved the desired ambience that best immersed the player in the open world and matched the feeling of the game.

 

When testing the game with other departments, we often discovered places where the music could be improved and recorded these so that we could immediately go back and fix them in the studio. Here we would like to specially thank the development team for their hard work, as each new version of music had to be tediously reconfigured entirely. We thank them for their patience with our countless requests to "play it back one more time."

 

During development, we also found that musical production helped with determining the game design. When designing the city of Liyue, though the art department had a lot of references and ideas, there was a lack of a decisive, stirring core idea to unify it all. We sent over a piece of music for Liyue to the designers, hoping that musical immersion in the sounds of Liyue itself would inspire them. Sure enough, this helped them finalize the design concepts of Liyue.

 

Music and inspiration for the design of Liyue

 

We have realized that the production of game music is a long, meticulous process chain, one in which the most onerous part is not the actual creation itself. Creativity cannot solve all the issues that may arise. Rather, we must employ the precise, shrewd attitude of an architect.

 

Game development is like constructing a tower, in which music is a special kind of wood. Our job as the music production team is not just to prepare this wood, but to put it in the optimal place in the tower.

 

After composition comes the recording stage, in which we spared no expense to bring our ideas to reality. We sought out the top musicians and most authentic musical expression. For the Mondstadt main theme, for example, we went all the way to England, where we traveled around to explore folk music and culture. We were also honored to have the London Philharmonic Orchestra record for us at AIR Studios, where they not only displayed their world-class talent, but also the musical character we at HOYO-MiX sought to imbue in Mondstadt. We will continue collaborating with top musicians and orchestras around the world as we strive to create music pulsing with culture and diversity.

 

We have been moved by the importance the entire Genshin Impact team has placed on the game's music, with their support and teamwork empowering us to continually improve the music. Players can rest assured that the musicians and developers are working hand in hand to provide the best possible experience of Genshin Impact.

 

 

3. Bringing the Music of Genshin Impact into the Actual Game

 

(1) Time Changes on the Login Screen

 

The first music everyone should experience when they start up the game is the login screen and its four times of day. 

 

Attentive players already discovered during the beta that the Genshin Impact login screen has four different representations of the time of day: day, dusk, night, and dawn. The music was adapted to match these visual changes.

 

The music of these four times of day share a segment of the melody, but we changed many of the details to better suit the different times of day. The day music is majestic and grand, while the dawn and dusk music both express a gentle elegance. And once night arrives, so does the mezzo-soprano singing, filling the air with mystery and profundity.

 

A segment of the main melody embellished with the harp separates the different times of day to further strengthen this sense of change. Yu-Peng Chen personally conducted the performance of the day music to heighten the emotional expression of the piece. We encourage players to take a moment on the login screen to sit back, relax, and appreciate this subtle, exquisite music.

 

The login screen's four times of day

 

(2) Boss Music: Tunes Led by Emotion

 

Of all the music, the piece for the fight with Stormterror Dvalin is one of the most memorable. Most boss fights are characterized by frenzied background music, but for this music we instead went for a theme led by emotion, one charged with the tone of Stormterror's story. Thus we created this boss battle music quite differently from the norm.

 

In fact, emotion serves as the overall compass for all of Genshin Impact's music. We hope that players don't just see the music as a supplement to the game, but rather as an integral part to the world, story, history, and battle. Really feel and resonate with the sounds to enjoy a deeper, more personal experience of the game. Stormterror's battle music, for example, is part fiery intensity and part gentle repose; once players understand this dragon's story, they will relate to the music's emotion and feeling of distant longing.

 

Stormterror Dvalin

 

There are easter eggs hidden in the boss music of Stormterror Dvalin and Andrius, Dominator of Wolves. One is that the chanting includes the vocal accompaniment of Yu-Peng Chen himself — sometimes, when the producer wants to help the music reach its emotional pinnacle, they will do it themselves.

 

All the methods we attempted had one goal in mind: to create music that can serve as a bond between the player and Genshin Impact, allowing everyone to enjoy the game even more.

 

 

4. Final Remarks on the Music of Genshin Impact

 

Even now, we are continuing to upgrade the music of Genshin Impact. For example, the current background music for Wolvendom is a Midi-Demo version, whereas the official release version will be sung by an actual chorus.

 

London Philharmonic Orchestra

 

Much budget and time have been invested in the music of Genshin Impact. When we invited the London Philharmonic Orchestra to record the game music for us, we were looking for the unique self-expression and emotional arc that only performers possess. Music software can achieve numerous technical effects, but the essence of truly soul-stirring music stems from the emotional input of the musicians themselves. We hope that Genshin Impact's music is not simply composed of notes, but rather also brims with feeling, culture, and art. When you start up Genshin Impact, we hope you hear the agglomeration of all these human emotions.

 

Lastly, I'd like to return to the Lantern Rite video. The surprising musical experience it provided viewers was really just a coincidence. In fact, the music wasn't created for the video itself; it was originally a tune used for the main environment of Liyue, so the instruments and melodic structure were all selected with a grander scale in mind.

 

The music production team actually never received any request to make background music specifically for the Lantern Rite video, nor did we have any idea about the divine deer, fireworks, and other visual elements. Even the video production team wasn't sure what style of music they were looking for. Despite this ambiguity at the start, we were able to find music that exquisitely matched the aesthetics and content.

 

Selecting the right music not only involves finding the right melody but also the right emotion, the latter of which is most stirring — the viewer's emotion rises as the divine deer leaps and the fireworks launch into the sky, with the music also carrying the emotion to a climactic height from where we can look down on all of Liyue. We marvel at the view below: a joyous, lively, firework-filled paradise. Here we also witness the magnanimity of Teyvat, which, by giving birth to such a city as Liyue, manifests the glory of a people and world in harmony.

 

Even though this video isn't exactly the final product of careful planning, it magically possesses the artistic sense we hoped to convey. Perhaps this kind of beautiful coincidence is where the intrigue of music production lies.

 

Lantern Rite animated video

 

 

Thanks to our two musical maestros for sharing! If Travelers are interested in learning more about the development of Genshin Impact, follow our official channels below to see future posts from our otakus!

 

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