EL HIJO

Client: Honig Studios (developer) / HandyGames (publisher)

Project overview:

• El Hijo is a non-violent stealth game in which the player guides a six-year-old boy on a quest to find his mother, set against a Spaghetti Western backdrop inspired by Sergio Leone and Ennio Morricone.
• I composed and arrranged an interactive orchestral score that dynamically adapts to the player’s movements and the game’s environments—monastery, desert and town—creating a musical dialogue with the classic Western genre to support the unfolding narrative
• In addition, I created the music for four cut scenes, crafting distinct thematic material to enhance key story moments.

More information about the dynamic music score here:

Key responsibilities:

• Designed and composed thematic orchestral stems that respond to spatial triggers and player actions
• Mapped interactive audio states to in-game events (e.g., slide guitar for an angry monk, string trio for an approaching cowboy)
• Created adaptive stems and loops for seamless transitions between exploration, tension and discovery
• Defined orchestration cues tied to environmental contexts (cart ride punctuated by timpani and double bass; low brass for dark areas)
• Wrote detailed implementation notes and collaborated with programmer Stephan Schüritz to integrate the system in Unity
• Composed original scores for four cut scenes, developing unique motifs and instrumentation choices and arranged the orchestra.

AWARDS

• Apple TV Game of the Year, App Store Awards
• Best Indie Game, The Mix Gamescom Indie Village Selects
• Deutscher Computerspielpreis – Best Family Game
• Kinder Medien Festival Goldener Spatz – Digital jury award for Gute Geschichten – Digital erzählt
• Pädagogischer Medienpreis – Offerings for Children