Dead by Daylight composers reveal the biggest challenge in creating a killer score

To celebrate TerrorTober, the composers of Dead by Daylight, Michel F. April and Frederic Poirier, have shared some of their secrets to creating a creepy atmosphere in a game full of murder, mayhem, and monsters. 

Dead by Daylight is a horror multiplayer game where one player controls a Killer who stalks a group of Survivors and picks them off one by one. The game lets players feel the thrill of being stalked and slaughtered by dozens of monsters and Killers from horror franchises across gaming, TV, and film, such as Chucky, the Xenomorph, and Jason Voorhees. 

Since its release in 2016, the game has become wildly popular boasting over 100,000 players on PC alone, and, like the thousands who play Dead By Daylight each year, we’ve fallen under the game’s powerful spell. So when we got the opportunity to speak to the game’s composers, we leaped at the chance. 

Dexerto: How do you begin the process of making music for a game like Dead by Daylight, and what kind of challenges do you face?

Michel: Frederic asked me if I could do horror, and I said, of course. He said the only thing was the game has a heartbeat. So we had to get around that heartbeat and the terror radius when the music would go from semi-calm to crazy.”

Fred sent me a picture of the first character we had to make a track for the Trapper. That was the track we worked on. All the characters are different, but the theme is always there. Every time Fred tells me we’re going to be working on a new character I always ask what they’re about, what are their abilities, even if we don’t yet have an image of them.

Frederic: We were like, what kind of style are we doing? What kind of instruments are we using for the different tracks? DBD was not just one character; there are lots of different characters, each with their own style and background lore.

So, there was a lot of experimenting. I would talk to Michel, and we’d brainstorm this style and that style. Then he’d be like I have an idea. I’ll call you back tomorrow. Before we worked on the guitar and the base, it was the piano. And we had it; within two days, we had the main Dead by Daylight theme.

“We talk together, and we find what instruments and what beat we’re going to use, and from there, the creative process comes. Sometimes, the lore and background of the character play a part in the emotions. It helps that these aren’t boring characters.

Dexerto:  How do you both approach making tracks for each Killer, and what influences do you draw from when creating a new Dead by Daylight character theme?

Frederic: Sometimes, the country of origin can be a source of inspiration when making music for that character. But it’s sometimes hard to bring horror to that particular vibe or background. Like the killer from Brazil, what does Brazil horror sound like? It’s easier to get that vibe when something’s just traditionally horror.

Michel: We used a lot of percussion for that Brazilian one, so I needed to do the percussion in a way that was really hard-hitting. But it can be challenging to find that cultural texture and being careful to not fall into stereotypes. Once I find the right flavor for a character and it’s been approved by Fred, then I go into full production. I’ll then do more work on that character with the same kind of vibe.

They’re all fun, and my favorite is always the last one I did. Each time we have a new character, we have themes for the Killers, the Survivors, and the Terror Radius. So, everything has to be coherent. It’s very fun for me to make a package of all of these things working together.

Dexerto: As artists, how does your own appreciation of horror cinema and gaming influence your work on Dead by Daylight?

Frederic: I watch a lot of horror movies and Dead By Daylight was originally inspired by 70s and 80s slasher films. I remember when we were working on the Halloween DLC, I thought these films were not classics for no reason. Scream, The Grudge, The Shining, they’re classics because they succeeded in horror.

Or games like Resident Evil. These succeeded, so it’s about finding why. But you don’t want to copy something, so it was interesting to work on our own identity when finding inspiration. Did you ever watch a horror movie as a child and become traumatized by it? Those references forge your horror perception.

“Michel’s are different, mine are different, and the players are different, so it’s about finding what that is for the players. Working together, we were able to find our process and turn it into our Dead by Daylight.”

Looking for more spooky content? We’ve also got a list of the 102 best horror movies ever made, as well as a guide to the creepiest horror anime you need to watch this Halloween.