| Winifred Phillips | |
| Genre: | Video game |
| Occupation: | Composer |
| Background: | non_performing_personnel |
| Website: | www.winifredphillips.com |
Winifred Phillips is an American music composer and author. Her music composition credits include God of War, , and the LittleBigPlanet series.
Phillips' love of music began in childhood, supported by her experiences in the public school system. She looked upon her teachers and looked forward to her music classes. In middle school, her band teacher found out that she was a quick learner and got into the habit of giving her a new instrument to learn whenever there was a gap in one of his ensembles. She got to play all sorts of music and all different kinds of instruments.[1]
Phillips had been an avid gamer in her childhood and played everything from shooters and side-scrollers to sprawling RPGs. However, it was only after working in radio that she realized she could compose music for games.[2]
From 1992 to 2003, Phillips was the composer, producer and actress in a series of radio dramas, first presented on National Public Radio Playhouse under the title Generations Radio Theater Presents,[3] and then later as Generations Radio Theater Presents: Radio Tales.[4] This anthology series adapted classic works of American and world literature, and was a recipient of funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.[5] The series was described by NPR as "featuring a top-to-bottom music score that is completely original and fully integrated to the text".[6] The programs aired regularly as the Radio Tales series on the Sirius XM Book Radio channel.[7]
In 2004, Phillips contributed music to her first video game project, God of War. She has composed music for more than 20 video games. Some relevant titles include the LittleBigPlanet video game franchise, SimAnimals[8] and .[9]
Phillips is the author of the book A Composer’s Guide to Game Music, which was published by the MIT Press in March 2014.[10] The book has won several awards including a National Indie Excellence Book Award,[11] and a Nonfiction Book Award from the Nonfiction Authors Association.[12]
The book was very well received by critics[13] [14] and in 2015, O'Reilly Japan published a Japanese language edition titled Game Sound Production Guide - Composer Techniques for Interactive Music.[15]
| Year | Title | Developer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | LittleBigPlanet 2 (some levels only) | Media Molecule | |
| 2012 | LittleBigPlanet PS Vita | Double Eleven, Tarsier Studios and XDev Studio Europe | |
| 2012 | LittleBigPlanet Karting | United Front Games and San Diego Studio | |
| 2014 | LittleBigPlanet 3 | Sumo Digital | |
| 2020 | Sumo Digital |
| Year | Title | Developer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | God of War | Santa Monica Studio | |
| 2005 | Charlie and the Chocolate Factory | High Voltage Software | |
| 2006 | The Da Vinci Code | The Collective | |
| 2007 | Shrek the Third | Amaze Entertainment | |
| 2007 | Shrek-N-Roll | ||
| 2007 | (only case 6) | Grundislav Games | |
| 2008 | Sidhe Interactive | ||
| 2009 | Spore Hero | Electronic Arts | |
| 2009 | SimAnimals | Electronic Arts | |
| 2009 | The Maw | Twisted Pixel Games | |
| 2009 | Borderlands | Gearbox Software | |
| 2010 | Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole | Krome Studios | |
| 2010 | Hasbro Family Game Night 3 | Electronic Arts | |
| 2012 | Ubisoft | ||
| 2013 | Fighter Within | Ubisoft | |
| 2014 | Clash of Kings | Elex Tech | |
| 2015 | Call of Champions | Spacetime Studios | |
| 2015 | Creative Assembly | ||
| 2016 | Rival Stars College Football | PikPok | |
| 2016 | |||
| 2017 | Little Lords of Twilight | BKOM Studios | |
| 2018 | They Suspect Nothing | Coatsink | |
| 2018 | Shattered State | Supermassive Games | |
| 2018 | The Haunted Graveyard | Holospark | |
| 2018 | Scraper: First Strike | Labrodex Inc | |
| 2019 | Hades' Star | Parallel Space Inc | |
| 2019 | Ballista | High Voltage Software | |
| 2019 | Sports Scramble | Armature Studio | |
| 2020 | Life Hutch VR | Chthonic Studios | |
| 2020 | Spyder | ||
| 2020 | Random Potion | ||
| 2021 | Lineage M | NCSoft | |
| 2022 | Jurassic World Primal Ops | Behaviour Interactive | |
| 2023 | (remake) | Digital Eclipse |
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Game Audio Network Guild Award | Audio of the Year | God of War | Won[16] | |
| 2005 | Game Audio Network Guild Award | Best Cinematic / Cut-Scene Audio | God of War | Won | |
| 2005 | Game Audio Network Guild Award | Best Interactive Score | God of War | Won | |
| 2005 | Game Audio Network Guild Award | Music of the Year | God of War | Won | |
| 2005 | G4-TV G-Phoria 2005 Awards | Best Original Soundtrack | God of War | Nominated[17] | |
| 2005 | Spike TV Video Game Awards | Best Original Score | God of War | Nominated[18] | |
| 2006 | AIAS Interactive Achievement Award | Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition | God of War | Won[19] | |
| 2006 | Game Audio Network Guild Award | Best Original Vocal Song - Choral | "Siren's Song" from God of War | Nominated | |
| 2008 | Hollywood Music in Media Award | Best Original Score - Video Game | Speed Racer | Nominated | |
| 2009 | International Film Music Critics Association Awards | Best Original Score for a Video Game or Interactive Media | Spore Hero | Nominated[20] | |
| 2009 | Hollywood Music in Media Award | Best Original Score - Video Game | Spore Hero | Nominated | |
| 2010 | Hollywood Music in Media Award | Best Original Song: Video Game | "With Hearts Sublime", from Legend of the Guardians | Won[21] | |
| 2011 | Game Developers Choice Award | Best Audio | LittleBigPlanet 2 | Nominated[22] | |
| 2011 | Hollywood Music in Media Award | Best Song - Video Game | "Victoria's Lab" from LittleBigPlanet 2 | Nominated | |
| 2011 | NAVGTR Award | Original Song | "Victoria's Lab" from LittleBigPlanet 2 | Nominated[23] | |
| 2012 | AIAS Interactive Achievement Award | Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition | LittleBigPlanet 2 | Nominated | |
| 2012 | Game Audio Network Guild Award | Best Use of Licensed Music | LittleBigPlanet Karting | Won[24] | |
| 2012 | Game Audio Network Guild Award | Best Original Vocal Song - Choral | "Main Theme" from Assassin's Creed Liberation | Won[25] | |
| 2012 | Game Audio Network Guild Award | Best Original Vocal Song - Pop | "Victoria's Lab" from LittleBigPlanet 2 | Nominated | |
| 2012 | Hollywood Music in Media Award | Best Song / Score - Mobile Video Game | Assassin's Creed Liberation | Won[26] | |
| 2013 | Global Music Award | Best Video Game Music | Assassin's Creed Liberation | Won | |
| 2014 | Hollywood Music in Media Award | Best Song - Video Game | "Ziggurat Theme" from LittleBigPlanet 3 | Won[27] | |
| 2014 | Global Music Award | Best Video Game Music | "Ziggurat Theme" from LittleBigPlanet 3 | Won | |
| 2015 | Global Music Award | Best Composition / Composer | "Dark Ages" from Total War Battles: Kingdom | Won | |
| 2021 | NAVGTR Award | Outstanding Original Light Mix Score, New IP | Spyder | Nominated | NAVGTR">"2020 Nominees | NAVGTR" navgtr.org. Accessed January 19, 2021. |
| 2021 | NAVGTR Award | Outstanding Song Collection | Sackboy: A Big Adventure | Nominated | NAVGTR"/> |
| 2021 | Global Music Award | Video Game Soundtrack | Spyder | Won[28] | |
| 2021 | Global Music Award | Video Game Soundtrack | "Waltz of the Bubbles" from Sackboy: A Big Adventure | Won | |
| 2021 | BAFTA Award | Best Music | Sackboy: A Big Adventure | Nominated[29] | |
| 2022 | Global Music Award | Game Music | Jurassic World Primal Ops | Won | Global Music Awards">"Global Music Awards - Music Competition" globalmusicawards.com. Accessed May 25, 2024. |
| 2023 | NYX Game Award | Mobile Game - Best Music | Jurassic World Primal Ops | Won | NYX Awards Jurassic World">"NYX Game Awards | Best Music Jurassic World Primal Ops" nyxgameawards.com. Accessed May 25, 2024. |
| 2023 | NYX Game Award | Best Original Game Soundtrack | Horse Club Adventures: Complete Collection | Won | NYX Awards Horse Club 1">"NYX Game Awards | Original Game Soundtrack Horse Club Adventures" nyxgameawards.com. Accessed May 25, 2024. |
| 2023 | NYX Game Award | Nintendo Switch Game - Best Music | Horse Club Adventures: Complete Collection | Won | NYX Awards Horse Club 2">"NYX Game Awards | Best Music Horse Club Adventures" nyxgameawards.com. Accessed May 25, 2024. |
| 2023 | Game Audio Network Guild Award | Music of the Year | Jurassic World Primal Ops | Nominated | GANG Awards">"Awards Archive | Game Audio Network Guild" audiogang.org. Accessed May 25, 2024. |
| 2023 | Society of Composers & Lyricists Award | Outstanding Original Score for Interactive Media | Jurassic World Primal Ops | Nominated | SCL Awards">"Society of Composers & Lyricists Announces Nominees for 4th Annual SCL Awards" awardsdaily.com. Accessed May 25, 2024. |
| 2024 | NYX Game Award | PC Game - Best Music | Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord | Won | NYX Awards Wizardry 1">"NYX Game Awards | Best Music Wizardry" nyxgameawards.com. Accessed May 25, 2024. |
| 2024 | NYX Game Award | Best Original Game Soundtrack | Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord | Won | NYX Awards Wizardry 2">"NYX Game Awards | Original Game Soundtrack Wizardry" nyxgameawards.com. Accessed May 25, 2024. |
| 2024 | Telly Award | Best Music — Immersive, Interactive, & Mixed | Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord | Won | Telly Awards">"Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord" tellyawards.com. Accessed May 25, 2024. |
| 2024 | Society of Composers & Lyricists Award | Outstanding Original Score for Interactive Media | Secrets of Skeifa Island | Nominated | SCL Awards">"Nominees Announced For 5th Annual SCL Awards" thescl.com. Accessed May 25, 2024. |
| 2024 | Hollywood Independent Music Awards | World | Spring Festival | Nominated[30] |