Partum Artifex began as a game jam game hosted by Senscape in 2021. The basic elements were there; Joakim "Chef" Lundstrom - the developer - already knew what kind of story he wanted to tell, but as with so many game jams, time was limited, and there was a looming deadline. The game won first place in that jam, and people were clamoring for a more fully realized version. Joakim wanted to do this, and - again - brought me along for the ride.

For the full version of Partum Artifex, I made the decision to include live-recorded strings for several of the tracks, because I wanted to give the game a very particular atmosphere; a mix of intimate sorrow, claustrophobic dread, and - most importantly - a sort of romantic bombast. The game goes through some incredibly disturbing scenes, and at the heart of it all is an equally disturbing person who believes himself to be both powerful and important.

The main motif of the game happened spontaneously as I was sketching sheet music and turned into what is now "Preludium" (the main menu music track). That then informed much of the rest of the soundtrack. I already knew from the start that "Relikt" needed to be terrifying, and included several extended techniques and special instructions in the score. Andrew Thompson recorded it all beautifully, and I am extremely grateful for his performance, which lifts the entire soundtrack.

All track titles are (mostly) either references to quotes by various artists or famous works.

This was a joy to work on. I want to thank Joakim for creating this game, and for bringing me along on the journey.