Lena Raine, the composer behind Celeste and several iconic Minecraft soundtracks, has opened up about how her work on the game's 'Disc' tracks fundamentally altered Mojang's approach to music. While Raine composed numerous atmospheric pieces for the title, including tracks for the Nether update that drew from survival horror vibes, it was the playful nature of 'Pigstep' that left a lasting mark. Originally conceived as a throwaway idea based on the prompt of what music Piglins might listen to, Raine described the track as 'Dubstep for pigs.' The song's massive popularity has since created a precedent at Mojang, where the composer notes that the recurring feedback she receives is simply that because 'Pigstep was such a banger,' the studio now wants more high-energy tracks for future discs.
Raine's journey to becoming a celebrated game composer began with her early experiences playing Myst on a Mac Quadra 610 alongside her father. She initially entered the industry as a games tester for Nintendo America before joining ArenaNet as a designer for Guild Wars 2. It was there that she designed a bell-choir minigame for the Winter's Day update, composing its music and taking her first steps into game audio. After leaving ArenaNet, she composed the soundtrack for Celeste in 2018 and spent several years creating music for Minecraft, including popular tracks like Creator and Otherside. Currently, Raine is working on the early access volleyball RPG Beastieball and developing her own project, ANOTHEREAL, an RPG featuring shoot-'em-up style combat that she has been building since the pandemic.
In a recent look at her personal gaming library, Raine shared her current favorite title, Deadlock. Although she admits to not being naturally skilled at competitive shooters or MOBAs, she is drawn to Valve's spooky occult aesthetic and has committed to mastering the character Ivy, a gargoyle. Her recently completed game was The Mermaid Mask, a detective point-and-click adventure from the Detective Grimoire series that she praised for its voice acting and intricate mystery design. Raine also highlighted her enduring connection to Final Fantasy XI, which she imported from Japan during high school before it was officially released in the US. This experience required her to navigate Japanese menus and communicate with international players, leading to friendships with individuals who later became industry figures like YouTuber Maximilian Dood and former Giant Bomb employee Jason Oestreicher.
Regarding her playtime statistics, Raine revealed that while she has logged 282 hours in Elden Ring on Steam, her time in Final Fantasy XIV totals over 1,300 hours. She noted that playing Elden Ring with her wife served as a calming activity during their move to Canada, though they eventually required help from a streamer to defeat the DLC's final boss due to its steep difficulty curve. When asked what game she would never uninstall, Raine pointed to her collection of shoot-'em-up games like ZeroRanger and Deathsmiles, which she keeps installed for both enjoyment and research purposes for her own project. Professionally, she relies on Bitwig Studio as her digital audio workstation, praising its open architecture and ability to integrate various VST formats compared to her previous tools like Ableton and Cakewalk Sonar.
Sources: PC Gamer.