Music

I love the role music and soundscapes play in games like Thief, and given that Autonymus is told through a website, I thought it would be nice to include music to achieve a similar effect. The music player contains a musical track and an ambient soundscape, which the user can pick between. The audio is always reflective of the scene they’re currently viewing, with music tracks automatically changing as they progress through the sequence.

Autonymus's style is inspired by a mix of mediaeval, folk, and fantasy sources, but I also want to confront idealism and fantasy by exploring their contradictions, resulting in an uncanny, melancholic tone. The aesthetic of the meadows, for example, is tied to the concept of Merry England— a nostalgic vision of pastoral utopia popularised in the late 1800s. This ideal imagined people living in small, self-sufficient communities and served as escapism from the rampant industrialisation of the time. However, in reality, such a utopia was never achieved. Pastoral land was controlled first under feudalism and later by landowners through processes like enclosure.

Still, I believe Merry England aesthetics provide a lens to critique contemporary societal issues, such as alienation from the land and labour. Part of the motivation behind Autonymus stems from reacting to the ongoing limited access to commons in England and the erosion of public land rights, while also challenging the escapism inherent in these ideals. The meadows, though idyllic, reflect a landscape shaped by conflict: the oppressive feudal system, enclosure, and the scars left on the land by agriculture, as pastures are artificial landscapes. This duality informs the music choices, aiming to evoke both nostalgia and melancholy.

Below is a list of the audio tracks used in Autonymus.