This War of Mine: Piotr Musiał
When This War of Mine first released in 2014 by the Polish video game developer and publisher 11 bit studios, it left players not just with haunting memories of war-torn survival, but with a deeply emotional soundtrack that underscored every difficult choice and quiet moment. Now, 10 years later, composer Piotr Musiał revisits that world—together with the new Forget Celebrations DLC and first time ever physical and digital release.
We sat down with Musiał to talk about the release, his creative process behind the soundtrack, challenges he faced during production, and how time has shaped the relevance and connection to the score.
In a world where conflict still displaces millions and headlines often fail to capture the human cost of war, This War of Mine remains as relevant as ever. Its message—that civilians are the true victims of conflict—resonates deeply through both gameplay and music. The vinyl release serves not just as a nostalgic artifact for fans, but as a reminder of the game’s core message: empathy, resilience, and the quiet tragedies that often go unheard.
We sincerely hope you enjoy this conversation.
After a decade, we’re very stoked that the soundtrack of This War of Mine is finally available for streaming and it is even out on vinyl! How do you feel about it?
In a way, it feels like a certain chapter of my life is now complete. That’s a very good feeling, and it’s great to be able to share it with people.
Take me back to the very beginning. How did you go about writing the soundtrack?
When I played an early prototype of the game, I already knew we had something special there.
We all did.
The game told the story in a new, unexpected way. You connected with the characters, cared for them, felt desperate to help, and grew frustrated when you couldn’t succeed. I was looking for a way to pour all of that into the music while keeping it open for players to experience on their own.
What kind of feeling or message did you want to convey and how did you incorporated it into your work?
This game serves as an anti-war statement, and I thought that focusing on the people, their stories, and emotions was a good way of supporting that message. War has more than one side, and none of these sides seems really beautiful. I wanted to give the player enough emotional space and not over-direct a certain way.
The music is more open to interpretation, making it work in various contexts in the game.
One more thing I wanted the music to do. I always thought the shelter where the characters spend their day should feel like home. So, the shelter music tends to be, in its still moody way, quite comforting.
This helps in making contrast with the suspense of the night, where you leave the safety of the shelter to scavenge for resources.
Where do you get inspirations from and how did you apply it in your creative process?
I felt the music for the game had to be something close, personal. Something unpolished and raw. I thought it would be a great idea if I tried recording an instrument I’ve never played before. An electric guitar with its noisy amp sound was my choice, and accompanied by atmospheric ambient soundscapes, seemed to convey the right feelings of solitude, hardship, and moral dilemmas. The fact that I had to go through the hardship of learning to play it (only the basics, unfortunately) made the music feel more personal, more authentic, too.
Just like the characters in the game, I would have to improvise using whatever skills I had to survive. In a way, I felt one of them. This process was really inspiring. I just felt free to try whatever. Can’t play a chord? Tune the strings instead, haha!
One of the good examples of such experiments is the theme from “No Good Choice” – something that came out of me tapping the strings – a technique I later learned was a real thing.
Were there some of the challenges you faced at the time and if so, how did you overcome it?
Finding and polishing the style can be tricky and time-consuming.
We’ve tried a couple of different things, like using region-based, Balkan instruments, but eventually went back to the guitar, because it speaks more universally to a wider audience.
Finding the right pacing of the music for a game that has very little action was another challenge. And in this case, I think the amount of open space within the musical forms made it work.
What did you learn from producing the music for This War of Mine that helped you in your later works?
I learned, the music doesn’t have to be super impressive in a technical, compositional way. Sometimes, less is more. And when you love working on something, all the heart you put into it, the players will feel it.
Looking back, is there something you would do differently now?
Most likely, yes! But deep inside, I know I shouldn’t. It feels complete. I’m going to let it age now. By the way, better not give that to a perfectionist, haha!
The topic of war is more relevant now than ever, how did the game and the soundtrack age to you since it first came out 10 years ago?
It’s been out there for a while, and unfortunately, it still bears a relevant message.
It’s a very important game.
I’ve had discussions with people who shared their amazing life stories, where This War of Mine made a huge impact on them. The game became an important part of their healing process from depression or trauma. Some of those stories were related to war. It's painful to hear and read. But it gives a glimpse of the importance of our work. It can help people. It can change them. I’m glad I have been part of it.
Is there something you would like to tell the listeners that are either long-time fans or people that are now discovering this soundtrack for the first time?
Simply, thanks for listening and your amazing support!
Thank you for the team over at 11bit studios for making this conversation possible!