• Author / Uploaded
• Banana banana

• Categories
• Ocio

Citation preview

WINIFRED PIIILLIPS

·"

', ·• " ., ' •m •• ��• •• .., A ••••• •• ' ,. •• ••••• .. • " • " ••••• •• •••• ,.a ., '" •• •••••• o,;Mw ■ ·••••••••••••••••�•wnI 1,,1• • •

•• :.0

•

-.

• • • JI •• •• •:::

"

:,�,1��m�••••••••••••w• ■ •w•a � ��• _■ � ■. a ■ • Ir O !ti;: 11_11 !ti M.■-�-s ·-� ■-• ,_. ■--•· ■ ■

!I -.c :

Wl�II RI I) 1'1111 111'"

,111: '"''

,· I i',.,1... , _,..111 1n (,"llnl ,, '" \'h,-i,.,u ,·,! ,, • 1 111' , ·, d 1.1.., ,, 1 )!, 1h. ..H" I' " ' , .,.,· ,·1 ;,,· 111,· pl11,·1 I"'" . 1 !! ,,1 !'!.", ,incl ,11J 1 , , .,, 1 1

m:,· 1.1, h•, I t \ ( "''I "" ' , , 1-,dn•f!-1111' in11, N'C'OC'ding , or infomut.l on Sloti,gC' •nd mrl('\'il)) wlthotll perml»ion fn writing from lhC pubU$hn, MITr reu tJOOkS may be purthllSfd a1 spedll qu.1ntit y diKOOrtts for busi ncss or sales promotional w.e . for lnlonnallon,plea)e tn1ail SJ')Cci.Jl_»lc,0mit1ntSS..ll'liU'du.

·n, 1,boQl( wa1$Ct In StooeSa,115and Stone Serifby Toppan lle'll•M'lPttltM'dilli Uml ll'II. 11rin1vd and t,,ound in he UrMtcd 5-:ites of Amttiea. l Uhr�,y

ot Congre» C-ual ot1lng•ln.S-Ubllrn l

on

D:.1�

"•illips, Winifred.

J i rompcxer'sguidt to g.>.nw omo.ic / Wlnifrtd l 'hl.lHps.

p. c:m

lncl�s l)ibUosnphical rricffl'IC."" ;md inclc-x. papc:;) l'Sl!N 978-0-262-02664-2 (h; m,ko-.'t'r: I, Vldto g.,mtm1ttlc-l nstruct100 ;indSl\ldy, 2 .C'.o,npul(' fp�mtnk-lMUUCtlon .11\ d .study. L Tltk. MT6.f.VSN5 Z014 781S4-d the opportutllty 10 give the gatt,e's ffiijjfC my undiv i ded attenHon. No need to so lvt puuJes or batt lt enem1e1 heie. I $(11 l»ck, l istened to the mlL\lC for a while. Ni� stuH, I though!. Thro a perSistent l ittk ldta began to n lgg k around In the back of my bra.in. I could write musk games.. The forgotten PlayStanon cootrolk r hung In my hand whik that Uttk thought kept getting blggff and biggfl' until II was fflouting in my buin. I routd wrltt mus.le forgdfflf'S! If you are a musJclan/compostf who ts also a gamer, you may have already expefitnetd a similar eutcl:a momeot. I remember mine llke It wai )'t'.Sterday. rtrhaps you.cs �'l!.f yts1erda)', On the 01her hand, maybe yov're a gam� composc:r with a few projttt.s under )'OUr btlt, and you can waiolly recaJI your own eureka moment from the perspen adven ture gatnl! Gad of Since then, I'� composed game mus.le In a w ide assonment of sty les fo r ma ny projttts. Each of th� proj«'U wu an Incredible letirnlng uperle.nct' for m e a.nd OYef the course of this bt>ok. 111 bt doi ng my bC'st to�" o n what 1·� kaml-d. A Co,11pou,'s O,ri� h?Gmff(" M1rsif is ;m cxplor:uio n of bsun rtlaiti ng to artist ic inspi�tio n within the confines of a �me ('()mp()SC'n profossio n, There a� m,11ny excc:l lcnt bOoks that focus mor� di,ectJy on business an d technical issl.N?s (you'll fin d them In the .,Further Reading" s«-tlon at the end of this book), While I will not be neg lec tin g these sublccts, my goal i$ to In.spire scope t o play an lnceractivt tab le tennis gam, (Kent 2001, 18). l n contrast, rnrns havt a hl�ory 1hat C','ln tract Its origin way b;ack to 1832. with the inveonon ol 111, rtnt dt\oiet' c.apable of displaying movtn g pictures (Old: 2012). The video game indus.uy Is 126 ye.us yoong:.er than the ftlm Indus• tr y . Howev er, despite us massh-e he.ld stan, the tum lnchmry is now being compared to the game Industry and IS coming up sllon. Publi(;)tiOns such as 'ni t G1t0,dla,i (Gral'lam lOl l) h.ave asstrted. that "Games art OVtnaking (Urns In terms of sophistica1 ion" and Elun1aim,iat1 �.t1y (W.ry 2011) has staled, "Taken ln total, the b ig movies of the last few )'ears have rarely been as /11kn.stJu9 ... as the big v ldeogames of the last few yeaf$." The face that our Industry hH come suC'h a long way Ln such a rtlatl�'tt)' shon 1tme Is an Ind ication of the r;,p i d me Of innovation Md a,dvantt• mem. Video game graph)« inrted wilh simple geometrical sttapn in a two-dlme.n$k>nal enV1ronment. Fifty.five ytllrS later, game graphics are now depicting complex and ,ealistlc ob}eets contalnlng 1ens (If lh()U$3nc.ls of polygons, and envtronments that can be fully explored In an 1hrtt dimensions. Tm" s imple physics caJc ulatlons of early games have now

Why Would Vou W.ant to Wtlte M11Jk for C..rnts?

1

matured i.ruo sophi$tieattd sys1ems inc0rp0ming such object cha.tactcris­ tiC1 as O ga.� mus ic . "II alMolutely inOu• coc:es and informs almost c:vt'f)' (lc(i�ion )'Ota ,nai:e as a gamer .. (Child 2012). Game musk mauers, and with each ne\"g.ame retcasc ou r contribution ben t«hn.qucs, induding numerous opportunit� for ,tudenl compositions to be pcrform«t by the Insti tution's v:ir«)us ln.$t1u• mental tnse.m�es. Thctt are possibl e aclY;1nugt-s to scktting:in lruti tut;on of h ighl'f learn­ ing tl'l.al has both a stron g musk program and a strong vklto game design ptogram. Thi s choitt can position an aspiri ng game composer to collabo­ rate with aspiring game devCIOptr$ within 1ha1 $.lme 1nst11ution. The opportunity to p1.11 abst·rac tknoWledgt toconaeteu� iS inval uable. It may be idvantageous ,o be In close proximity to student de\·eto1>erS who will possibly have use of our stills, ln hlet, the need for 3 composer's skills ln 3 stuc.1ent cnvltoomen1 C'an bt CruC'.ial, partlrularty in the cue of game d�>tJopment competitions that are open onlyto students Of higher learn­ ing imtltutklns. Thest include the hnagtne Cup sponsored by Mlttosort. the Independent Games 1 =esuvnl Studen t Showcase, and the Dart to Be Dlgllal event in wh ich student teanu compete to, the chanc-e to win a "On(' to W;,td1" aw.1rd from the Btitish MOOcmy of Film and Teh:vision Arts. In Ofdcr to be competili,·t-, th� s1udc-1 u teams need a rompo.s('t to take 01-tir tntdes 10 the next k,.,eL Regard.Its� ol such considtr.r,tlons. when ,naklng the d1ffkuh C'ho ic e betwttn institutiOns of hlghtr education , wt should try not t o fOfget that our personal imptcles ls very plc, and S(lf•)Urt¢n n.akc great entrepreneurs.. One of th� m0$t celet>ratl'd stlf•taught composers in the vlckO game ln, lions'"' (335 BCE.V I) . Connecting the a.c1 ion of the story \\•Ith an emotionaJ upheaval In the audience, Arl$10tle inuoduce, a \'Cry human factor into the eqwiHon. If we consider COltridgt '$ allusiOn to "human inttrest" as an echo of Arbtotk' s emphasis on emotion, it suggests the lmporta� of not only btlln·lr , gIn the story oo an Intel ectual level , b1.11 abo cmpntJ1i1.i11s with l the truth of the: tale . Wl1h th.ls Ln mind, let's consider the Idea t l m beHef exlm on tw0 scparat� kvcl.s. as a rational v1ewpolnl and a s.ubjectl\'ely emotional one. Combining 1hese two v�wpodnu Imbue$ the swpenslon of dl.Sbellef con«p1 with an emot ioruil urgency. This. Idea will become more Important as "'t' further explore the C'(U\Ctpt ofimmersiOn, Je• (64). Video g.mts ha,..e the potentLal to offor a particularly involving and powerful kind of Immersio n . But how Is immcrsk>n altain ed, and how can we a.s game compostn conttlbute to It? tmmenlon and Suspe11slon ot DlsbeJJef In a n article: for tht joum.iJ Scimcc, H:uvard profe,,soc and rcseuchet Chris Dede (2009) draws an ln tereitln.g connection betwt'ffl the concepts of Immersion and )l.1$pension of.. disbellef, Implying In hi s arUde a direct tause•al'ld-eff«t rel.atlom.hi. p The more a vlttua.l lmmenlve ex:peritl'l(t is bas('d On dt'Jign st�lc-gies th;,at «>mblnt actional, symbol ic, :il'ld 5en$1Xf fKton., tht greater t h t po1rtid�nt's suspensJon ot d lsl>elitf thal whc l:l 'inside' 11d lgltaUy enhar1ttd setting" (66), ACCOt'dln.g 10 Dt-dt, an immtf• slve exper ience requirrs l � panidp,m to rercth•t compelling sensory tnforma1 lon about the simuJated envi ronm ent, take actk>o and cause reac­ tions within that space, and experience de,ep emottons triggered by af'(he­ t)'J»l symbolic content e-noountered In.side the v l nual work!. Wit h thtst influences in pla«. playtn are empowtred to suspend thrir dt.sbeUtl, which in tum tnabies the- full immtnion tffeet. Without a beUef In t™l tmth or the tXp!!rlttoa, the playtr mi'ly ne\.'ef beeomt immersed in it . 11'le,efore, Immersi on def)Mds on the i;u1,peru100 of disbelief and Ylce versa- without OM, the ocher can't take pl.ace. Wrtte.r and game designer Allen Vuney C2006) de.scr ibes immersion as �intc n:st (OCUS. lmewhat rc:minl5Ctnt of ..leveling up" in a Video game, so the gam�n among 11s should fetl right at hocne. The firSt rewl of Immersion i.S enga.�nn,r, wl liCh Cairns .tnd Brown dt$C:rlbe :is the player'$ willlngness 10 invtst time, e((ort, and au«mtJon 10 the ga r�. Wllhou1 th is b:Jtlc mouvanon, immeni on can·1 be attah1ed. Modem video gamtt can be time consuming and l abo r intMsiv t , rtqulring the player to memorize a set of fixed rules and devtlop sJ:111.s ranglng fr()fll manu.il de.nertty 10 strategk' probltm solving. For someth ing that 1$ sup. J>Med 10 be fun, video gnllle$ can somellmes feel like work, especially 10 the newcomer. Neve.nheleu,. eng11gemem must be attained before ¾'e C3n ad11.1.0ce to the next lcve:I of lmmet1lon. The en tire development te am will do eYtryth in g they c:m 10 make the game .tccestible, from. �refully design. Ing the control scheme, to btoo.dening tht>demographic appeal of the core C(Hlatr'ler 10 a«ffi, As game u$1Rg anthem or a pounding acUon track may only serve 10 intTta$t pla)'Cf anx�1y. We may need to res.1st our Instinct as game com posers to create an lmpresSive 1n1ua1 smement or the game'S musiprot1n 10 be rcxv� to a tam poi nt . A thread of tt.tged)', and a poss.Ible n.mowing of visual focus , might tOgtthtf make such a final oonfroruau o n feet t\'en mo r e intense. At any ,:i1e, wt will ha� 10 ooosidtr t his isSu(' on a cue-4>r-c-ase bllsb. Howtvcr we choose to lnterp,ct the� flndlng_.$, or howeve, they 1nnu, ence the way w e c-ompost.>, II IS impottan1 that cvt,yooe oo the de\·eldp­ men1 team unde,rstands how profoundly musk Cilll afftet the player's Visual en i. > m • e111 of 111e g.:ime they a.re ertating. Th e Path to Engrossment: "1t�.sdng T,sks The :st'C'Ond of the thrte ttsenUal elem e nti thatcontri bute to an mg_ross:lng gameplay expetlence Is fht lnduslon of lnteres.tln.g tasks- In order for a game t o u1tima1ely become lmmer sJ\•e, It must provide actMU� that art 1nttllec:'tualty tngagtng 3nd enjC)yable. As compostr$. let'$ now ask our, sci�� i t pcmiblt' for mu$k to m3ke J gam«-p)ay t;,sl: $ettn mort intt'r• t'sting a nd mjoyable? If so, how can Wt' accomplish tllis? Here, again, xicntt" has provided pleruy o( r�rdl for us to think abOut, First of all, h.-t:'s consider the quntlon of whcth"r music C:3n h;, vc : .1ny po sitive effect on th,c ,enjoyment of a t. u k, In a 2005 rt'S«'arch �udy oo n ­ duct«:I by Of. Teresa Lcslu); of the Unlvenlt y or Windsor, Canada, com­ puter sortwate developers at four dlfferent comp:uliei were studied over a li\'C week period to determine if mus ic li$ttnin.g exhi bited :my benef ieia.1 t'ffl"Ct on tithw work p('rformanc;c or work t'njoymt'nt. Tite $1udy found that liste ning to music exerted an apprtdab� i nett'as-e In both the quality work and the wot"kl'fs' enjoyment of their jobs. Aro>rding to these fi n d­ ings, 11.s.cnlng to music; may help us enjoy our tasks more, and may a lso make us better 3t them. Several studies hove also reported th.al music c.on mak" us temporuUy a litt le imartc:r, TI1c rt3.SOnin.g behind this effect is nm when listening to ·nble, our fcxus bC'COmtt sh:iirper and our mood improves, kading t o t>eue, intc:Ucrtual pcrformanc:c. Music liM:tning has betn ihown IC.J improve pe,fo,manct on tttts of cognitive ability (Sc-htllwbcrg 2005), tcsb o n )patlaJ ;ability (lfus,in, Forde: Thomp.,o n, and Schellt'n�rg 2002). •nd even some stand�rd IQ t«:>IJ ,Sci1c:llc:nbcf3 et al. 2007,. Tht tlftc.'1 wean olf, bu.1 it is a wtll•teJted and documented pMnomet)(tfl. Two rommon ,_.c1ors remain import30t components '1f t his e f lfft , Th(' mus.le needs 10 be peppy &nd upl>eat, and it h8.$ 10 be i. n a ma jor key (wh;u "''1! might 01tN!i'wl$t call · 1,appy music"'). While this

or

..

Chapter)

phenomenon used to bt called the Mowr1 Eff«.t, rtctnt rese:uch studlts agret that thjs effect has mott ti> do with hOw e nloyable and txdtJng the." Ustp lcd by tharacters tt1at behave In wiy$ tr1.1e to both their natu res an d to the human condition. How c:an the compose, enhanoe the beUevabllity of a game's storyline and environment? �n m,1$ic make a gan1e feel inore real? While It is wtll undC"ntood that mu$ie h3i a profouod effect on tmo. Uon.al sta tes., rl!'SCarch mis also shown that m\lSiC can ha\•e a dr,matle effect on the u n derstanding a nd apprc.'Cia tion of plot. In a rtstarch lnvtst i gatiOO condueted at the OnlvenlUlt Hildesheim ln GC"rma.ny, a short film was prOduc:ed i n which the actions of the char acters and their mot ivations we re purposcfuUy ambiguous., with an open�died (lllmlna11on th at suggested the Olm's sto ,y would progrc» beyond wh at had been ,een (8ul lerfahn and GOJdenrlng 1994). The ttsc-;uchers hired three pt0£C$$k>nal composen to c,eate .stveral differen t undcrscoccs for the $amt shOrt film. Working sepa1ately, e.Kh of the thrtt composer$ crt atcd drarn:iti cally ditrerent OC'lg l • na l musical lnterprcut ions o{ t he aetion., and tmhtitc-.'" Again, Cairn s and Brown ate not rtferrtng to the t)'pr 3t the apparent r3ntings of \•ed" d1.1rac1er, 1he musJca.l theme he wrote �s dearly not meant to allow us to fo.i1Mully conjure a rnertu1I plctult of the woman in qucs.tlon, The theme 1akei oct so many variants as to bJhua Rubin (lncolas. 20JO), 1he search tm • olves "unraveling large powtr structurn to diSCO\.'tr the trvth underneath 1he surface:"' Thankfully, the game'$ di).tlnc:t geogr aphieal $tiling and the cultural ln0u4.'rKn asscncd by the heritage ot the mo1ln char&ae, 11ni,ted me greatly In dUfoK'Oti1ting the music I would write (or MJi!�irr� Ottd Ill: LJbtratior1 rrom othtf scorn within tfK' scrlh , After deve.lO()ing • plan 10 stress the diStlnct l denUty of the game via a cultura.lty informed itutru• mental ueannent and a system of re:cutnn:g leltmo«fs, I turned my atten• t ion to the issue ofunific-arton.1 would need to a$$el't a common k1eologka l thrcacl 1Mt woulO enabk' th, mu.sic to e-nh31'K't tht sense of issoctauon bL-twttn lhi.s ga� aot1 the othtrs that med evident to m, that I moukl attempt to a.ssoci.ite that icka with the most lmpOC'tant musl caJ theme of LJbtrariott. The truth became the concept behin d my klee ftxe-both the quest to att ai n it, an d those crucial moments when fragments of the truth would be revealed. Knowing that sud, a them.Hie motif should occur frequently, l n.Similarly, If a Shor t pie:ct of musk lnd lcauni succes.s was characterized strongly by Its use o( one d istinctive Instrument , 1hen lt mightnot be possible to use that Instrument elsewhere (for fear ol cornmunkatfng success when It had not occurred). Strictly In 1erm.s of lenmotlf usage , If �out the use of that Instrument elsewheie-. Using varying Instrumental tttatments with our themes allows us 10 keep our options open, wh.lJe �imultan eously lnt.rodudn.g a sense of un iqueness to chtw reappearances o f themJdc material within the body of the scote.

Tl.e lmpo,t�nce ofThtmu

••

Variation and Fragmentation One of the more intt:re\t: ing methods of adding variety to th4! presentation of IImelodic theme h by «!!"a ting vari ations of the t he m e .There are end lcs.s ways to attompUsh this, and I find h to b e one of the more 1.ntri lec1ually stimuJatlng and e nJo)'a ble a.spi:cts of bei.ng a composer. After wr111ng the ori gin al m(':lody, we can now ana. lyze that metody, looking for opportun l • ties to alter Its structure. Ptrhaps the lnltlal upward movement of 1he first phrase may be reversed, lhe major mode may become minor, ot the rhythms may be altered while leaving th e noh! va lues unchanged. the joy of dc:vising variations o n a thc.-mc i s th.at there ue alw ay s numerous pos­ slbUJUes.. depending on the muskal dfoct we wish to achieve. for the video game compoSC!r, the theme-anch•arladon technique allows us to conllnue 10 an,ert a sense ol tht'matk uni ty throughout 1he work whil e aVOklJng repeUtlon fatigue. fragmentaHon is anouwr way in whid1 we nuiy continue 10 assett a theme wtllle 111.s.iUUng a sense of freshn-ess 111,c.1 no\-tJty 10 It . To a«ompUsh this..",: examiM our initial thtmt for Its most Nsic motifs-the s1n..i1es.1 u nit of musicaJ expression tha t still m aintains a recognizable identlt)'. U sing o nly a smaller p hrue from the larger melody g lV1?s us the chance to t�ke tM melody fragment in a comp letely new (tirectton. for lnst:mce, "-'t can set this sman portion ot the 1� agalns-t ;1 more stark and primal amingcment that cmph.lsiu.,; IU comparat:lve $hnplicit)'· Then again, we can dl-ckle t o use this themat ic fragment as a repeati ng badcground figure. sttting anOther mdody ag-,inst i i (perhaps e,•cn combining ii with a sec• ondary )cilmotif whose symbolic mea ning would be heightened by me 11$SOClallon wU.h this lhematlc fragment). The multitude of possibilltit1 enab les \IS to flex our (1t3tl\'e muscles a.nd have mOfe fun With our work. Theme and Var iation inActlorc An £xafflf)&e from Asuwln'JCrtttl Ill: UtHrotion !At's�"p l0$ed a series of kitmotlfs for characte.rs and locations In the game, including a them e for an ulstoaatK e l der stattsman. W.rm, tc.nde.r, and f;ithdl y, lhlS character provides both a loving home .and a tradition of CU.ltu1e and hon· or abk! behavior. In my mind, 1 1'\eemotlons atta ched 10 this character could be br«ndcncd 10 equate with a love of one,'$ homeland and an adherence

Chlptu.f

J•t7

fl9we 4,8 'fhe brglnning o,Ow lh(l'.M' Crmt II/; li.btT"rJ01t.

'°'

en .irfUOCHl k elder jl,l,(4'Sffl� chal'3('1('fI nAn/ZW11·:S

flgin• 4,9 A�·ar1111i0n Ofthe "'cklctr $1.Jlt11na.11• lhtrnc, ustd during an cleg.1101 pa r ty, to one's pdnciples.. I u.scd th is leltmotlf frequently in the overall mus iceJ s«lrt of thi: pme. Tilt flDt appearance of this leitmotif iSa lso th· memornble. In fac:1, the oon1i 1lu• Ing popularlty of game musk «wcr bands is a tc�timony to the lo� that players feel lot their favorite game melodies. Using a symbol ic language-, themes oommunic.:ate 1 against a bright a nd energttk pop beat. Gone were th e angry g uitan,. tht mili till)' rhythms, 1he d lstoned synths, and the shouted rap vocals. If BT"s track could he perecom e 1,oubles,ome lor the g:,me compo5et' down the li ne. The 1ar3et market is a cmdal factor fOr everyone ln volvtd, lncfuding thoe romposet". The mus.il>e".lr on 1he ATop 40" char1, F inally,� comt to the category with t� cont ro­ versial nam�Ellte . This c. ,·utgocy ln dudes Jau, orchestral music, ,md reJigiOus music. Ste-ting aSide whcthef we think t his music Is elitist or belongs to so me upper echel ons of society, the c,uegory Uself (regardless of Its n.'\lnC) is useful to us .i.s we thi nk. about how musical genrn corttlilte w ith perSOnality character lst iC'S. Here we come to the most im.poruuu �rt of the Study fro m our pc11p«· live ns game composers. 11,e study dernons1ratcs a few provocat ive Con• necuons beh-.•een perSOOali ty tnil s a,,d mus.ie:il styles.. Thf:l rtspondcn ts

83

showing lhe highest level of inltO\'ersion were al$() m()$.t likc;ly 10 tnj:tt. Connecting Music Gentfl to Game Genres We ohen Ond oursth 'CS rtlylng on history to shOw us how mus.le ls ustd In specific gtnres of ga.ints. Still, ii can fetl uns:ulSfyi ng when v.-e mate a music-al choice because "that's how it's alwt)'S done." U's nuuraJ to wonder why a specific type of musk Ls so oltcn linked with a sp«ific type olg.ime . .ind why composers and de,•elopers ha\'e made these music.ii genre cho ices o\'Cr ,1nd o,�r aigllin. While there a,e no deflnlUve answers to thest'ques­ tions, "� �n 1,1$1! the researd1 stud le$ we've dl:scwsed In this diapte-r to cxoim l . n r the :ir�y or video 311rne genrtt tha1 eld.st today. Th� g•N is provMJcd with an lnfUal band of followm (usually c.al)cd "units'') that wlll obl'f commands tn1,•0Mng th e buJkUng of struc• cure s , g.atherlng of resourctl, gener.tlo n of add itional units, and engage-­ ment In skirmishes t o e-Umln.ate threats. Within this gamepla y framework, the player may be requir e d to bulld 11n entir e empire (Clll'l/12atJCN1) or ('t'USh an enemy n•tion (C011mmml & Conqr,l'J', Supr�mr Comma1rder). Stra tegy v ideo pmts havt' their h i.s.tori�I origlos \n tht tabt-etOp w:ir games devd• oped by famed gamC' company Avalon HIii. Wllh a genre as cerebral as the strategy game , we would be rl.ght in as.sum.Ing that Its most strongly ask>Ctated DGO I playe r type would b..- the Manager.Thls player ty� rind s great e nloymcnt i.n ma sttrlng the complex .1 nd subck systems of ruks thait .1rt imposed by thestr ategy genre. M wt''� prc: viO\rtly dicKussc;.- d , ther�• lts of the music pn:fertnces nudy sugge,t th111 the Mano.gtr wo uld dl: rl� the m()).l $111 lsfactioo from elth� a Roc:t or l:Jit,.

9)

musk.11 score ... ;md tha t h what this game 1,>enr e h.as usually provided. From th..- apoc.1lypcic orchntra l and choral grandeu r of Ml:,:ht w1 d Mogle Hm>f,f V1 to the driving rock rhythms and agtlilted str ln,iµ of S11p,n11t'Cot1t­ ma,irlrr 2 , the: mu,iiC' of strategy g1n 1m R.nving Rat,buls); and ,,dVf'llurt/Pullle, in whic h 1he pl.iytr expbl'S interesting environments in order to �.ll('Ov« ind soh-e inufgulng puules (Cnthui11t, Myst). Batrman .1nd Boon's OCDI m()del lndiea 1� tha1 pw.ite games may be enfo yed by a wldt vJr �t y of p\.3yer types., including Managers, Wanderers,. and Pan ldp,inu. Only Conquerors rind llttfl' to r cl i$h ill puttle games. except when they �I'(.' compctlth.� trivia game) (which appeil to a Con• quc:ror's fnlly invt'!sted In the game. The c,eativt br i e/• 1ngsa1E.l«trlay apturc- i s a video that show, a As w..-• ,.c game being played . When 1hc: game ls still in de,•elopme:nt, a gameplay apture video bears littl e resemblance to the sorts of videos we might see of a final game. Taken from an eafl)' uage of the development p,ocess, the video ma y disp la y vl$uall y Incomplete characters and perhaps al$0 mi5sing or malfunctJon l ng anlma11on.s. The e,wironmeo 1s may bt alMoards h.avt bttn prepared. when they .'Ire available we should reques.t the m . Video game storyb(lards generally 4:onSlst or pencil drawin � aNa.nged as a 5eut if me c1nemaUc$ are In theh e�rllest :.t:it,.re!. then 1he l ist may , tot be able 10 provide c0trtet timings. Sometimes the cinemalics are omillcd a ltogeUM!r h orn lhe Us1 .1nd then add«! in a l a ter reYiSIOn, As $OOn ;n we become aw.tin.• that we wUI b e scoring clnemiltlcs, � should ask to receJ1.-e video files ol them. II may take a while for these fi l es to b e ptepared, so It ts Important that � ask fotthem a,catty ilS pos,ib le. 0{1cn, the cinem:uiC'$ will beproductd by an e,uerrtalstudio,whic h means that our proltct supervisor wm need to make requQts of that s1udio, wail (Of 1epU1!$, and then relay Uu11 infonn.nion IQ us.TI1bCl1Dslow lhc proccn down , so it becomes very irnportant for us 10 stay on top of t� situation. 11,c, earlier we can rtttiv e those vkleo mes-, the more time v;, -e'II have to create music for thtm. Cinematics art not always nrccmry for a game to tell a story success• fully. They can be cxpensivt' and rime-consuming to pt'od.uce. 'fhls may be why dnematics are usuallycreated for drnmalic po lnls In a 311me's stoty• line or mome.ntous '"'wow" moments at tht' pinnacl e of o game's action �qumcts. 8«3iuJC d nematks tend to occupy imp ortant poslllons In the ovt�ll g11mc, thei.r mmk Should tt>sonatt with $.ignificance. Usually . dne­ mat iC$11re, the last t'lcmcnti \ff'JI be KOJlng (since we'll likely be rc«ome available). Eirher way, 1hesc art llw least deWrat>le cirrum:s.1.u1«>s in whk"ll 10 creue cinemulc muslC' . If th, deve:1 oper fetlS that the c:lnemllliC'5 can't be srored any other way. then we will haW! 10 us.e our lm.igln:iti ons and lm 1)fO\'i$e. Um im lons such as these may compel us 10 thrnk in ntw d rtcttOOs, st nu ating our minds 10 formul.:ue i1 l i unexpccttd solutions. Th.n bei ng said , w e should mat:e sure t o ask ror the cinematic "id� as �rly :u we can, because It is alw.iys preferable to rcctivt them. Material.$ to Request: Came luUds Finally, we come to g:11me buikts, whleh :ire wo,k ins, 1,by:1b le prottypes of the xtual game In prog:re$S. Whell It I.S poss.tble to reteiv e these builds. , we shoul d absolu1cly request lhe. m .·nie) ' can be "X'f)' In.spiting and infOt"• m.itivt. There ore, howcvt'r,a numb« of rta:so n, why d�lopcrs don't (or can't) send pme builds to th( cont ract (;Ofn!'l()$Cr. In order to ph1y tht g.imc bu.ikl Of a (;On$0olc �mt, wt' must ho1vc a ttSI kit o n hand. A IC3t l:Jt b a mod ified gamt «mw le that b Jibk to run g.11me builds in v arious stagts ()f devd()mtm. nst kits are lnctudcd as OrlC of

12$

Ch,ipttr 7

the C'Ompooents of the softwue development kit (SOK) dist ributed by t� con.slt manuf:M:tUrer. the three major manufacturers of consoles (Micro­ soft, Nintendo, and Son)') provide th� k itt to devtlopen in order to enable them to create games for their p latforms. WhileNl n lendo and Sony make the$C SDK5 ll\l\lllable only to Ucensed development companies, Mic.rrs oversea.,. What ever our means of in l tractk)O, our Rm obJe(lh•e shou ld always be to nu1ke sure that everyone is i. n ag.rttment about mu-Sjcal .stylt. I n $0mt O$tS, dbcussiOns Oil this subject wiJJ tike place and �•n ht give n the opportunity to present o ur own ideas about musical style for the gune. In othet c.ase:s, the deve�pe-rs W1II already b;ave a con cept In mJnd of what the game 's mu$iol uyk should be, .1 nd discussions thm focus on refining that a bst�ct conctpt into conaete t«hniques, instrumentation cholcll!'.S, an d gfflre infl�cn. If we C'an get everyo ne toagrc,c on a mus.lea) approach ai �,ty as ptMSl ble, then 1M workflow fTom that poin1 forward will ha\•e tht potential to be much sm()(l(h er and more productiv�. Aft er 1he s.e dlscuUions, the mus ic.ii s-tyle for the pro ject shou ld hope­ fully be clarified (or b01h th e devtk)prnen1 tum and ourselves, aUowin.g

...

Chaper t 7

us to gee s1a.rted. Jnvtgotated by all the enthusiasm flowing to us from the devtk>pment team, we imy b e tempted to jump headfint into the d«p end o( the pool and begin cranktn3 out trackl.. Befo� we do th3.t, it c.an be ver y helpful If we also begin !ncorporntlng some ongoing �rallel put• $1.t its th:u $upport ouJ cre.niYe work. Pa.ratlel Pursul.t: Resurdl This m3y seem redundant-after all, didn't l'lpmtnt stud io typirmlng th(' pla n for the ttructure of gamcpla y . Some of these dtsigners will focus their attention on g:aimepl .ay mechanks 2nd 1he pun.ult orthe amorphous concept known as the "'fu n factor."Othe r destgn, en will conccnt r;n,e on the geometric construction of levels. If there are produc ec.s employed b y a g.:ame development stud io, then they may be coosklered a part of the desj_gn team and may sonu?times take the place of the creative dirtctoc o r dl-si gn le program­ mer."' With i n smaller grime devel opment studio s , the 3udi◊ pro g rammer may come from the gffltral pooJ ot programmi 1lg ptnonnd anct be con. sidered on l oon to th e audlo dep3.rt:mMt f or lhc purpow of impleme nting code foe the integration of sound assets Into the game. In the smallnt studlOs, lhere may be on ly o ne p rogrammer responsible for every llne of code i.n the iame. The lll(,(k.-.tf11g and pub/it' rrl 11rlOII$ teams (�d by 3 ..head o( l'R" 0t ..Mt mam1 ger"' ond a ..mar keting dhec1or" or "ntark,eting manager,'"' respec­ tl�ly) arc-n't part of th e dc,.1:lopt:nent procC3,. HQwt,.· cr. thtre are limes when th� tc.ims use mu.sic from game compos..-rs a1 part of promolionat a nd ma rket.I ng materials . BOlh th e marketi n g and PR teams arc dedicated to spreadi ng the W()td about a video game pro;ec1. us in g differ ing means. n· ,e marketing te.,m CTt"a ltS adven isemen 1s and spends money 10 pl thtst ads w1,ere consumer, wm see them. In thls capacity, 1he marketi n dc-partmcnt m:iy be resp omiblt' fo r 1ht creallon of t elevis ion ads. publk rclat i()M team, on the othe, IUnd, titteinpts 10 sprtad the about a ,,.kfro game through the prns ;:md ,,..,, tile dis.stminolion of pro­ moUooal materials. ihe:se materials may Include \ide o game tr.1i ler$ bth.lnd•the-scenes documemar lcs. 8o1h the market in g an d pub l ic teams art Involved in the creation o f videos 1hat may occasion ally o-ri,ginal mus ic from the game Our oo n1aa With departmems sum as an, prog,:imming. desig n, relation s , and marktting will titlim i1ed and any requesu m3de by departments wi ll be filter«! throug1, our prim�ry l i:i.ison. \Ye may not aware th at requests ue coming from thest dep.rtmenh, but c.ich team will have needs sp«ifk to th eir d iKip1ints. which will impact our wotk in varlousv.•ay$. TilC design tc;am will h:wt':i .stron g i nnvc-ncco n tht' rnuska l styk of the game, w ith i nput from th(: .irt t eam. Progr.unmers make requests based on t h e m1.1sk impl emen tat ion plan , asking for every thJ n g from small technJcal adjU-)fmc:nts to rompk-te tcvision$ . rublit doM and ma rkt:ci n g m;ay m.iJ.:t Spt0$1Uon of linear mu sic loop s for gamn. Id's conskkr t he more ge:rwral meaning of the · mks CM mean ri lhtr �forceful and enetge'lk.. or "'perta ining word. O } na to motion.'' It ls this wcond definition that chi efly co ncerns us here. Let's again Imagine that we are walking along th.at ge ntl y curv in g path through the forest, except now let's picture a selling tl\at Includes weather and wlldllfe. Breez.es cause the treetops t0 sway. A squbrel run$ acros., a branch. O\·erhead, an t:igle rid e, the ,!find, and gnats swarm busily in the distonct. All of thcJC things b le nd tog.ether to fo rm a lively environment, )n. Whll e compos:l ng I n thls manner does n0t prtclud,e the idea or them11,tic content. satisfying composlllons can be created w lthoul themes. The- key to achit\tfng a pleasing resul.t lies in paying �ty dose atte.nuon to Ult

161 1rans1ti0f1s bw\•«n th�e moment.s of a-..'11vlty, ensuti ng 1hzlt au musical t\ 'et)U klglC:llly r ise from tht'l r drcumstancM and d o not rMkc O\'trtty surprisin8 ap�ar ancc,. Any such surptlse.s will Inev itably become land, mllrlc$ on the curvi ng palh, For examples of the compos.lUonal dyn arnics 1ec.h n ique we- nctr a.nd e.1ch quite difft: rC'nt than the on� ht-fore S() th:at our minds .ir e subronsc:klusly imp«-sscd with the highly vari.ablc envlrornn�'lt.Ou.r w, 1 lk pt"OC'«dS, and .ill the while we eonUnueo,u runvel$.ltlon, Ry the ti r»t we have 1,hyslcally

(hapt., 10

164

-·.--·-·--: ___ ----

... :...,,t:.�

,rgu,.

(B)··············,························-············· ,.,,-'="

10,1

£xccrp1 from e piano 1('(1.u(flQn of "Gr;r.-ssy Ck>n" from the Sf,.11A11b1Mb o«htsu.11 � . l!Apid Routisht1 illu�r.tlto the ttthn)q...r of (0,11/'0fhioffl.i' d),JQ,11it$. returned to our point (>f origin, we have seen M> many Si8JH$ o( su(h a h l ghly inconstant nature that when we s.ee the )Wud again we do not immediatel}' 1emcmber It and walk bywithout me-ntaUy acknowledging It. Likewise,the gnarled t r e e does not dirtetly register with us as wt•pass. and soon. A s,,cussbr ofYltffll'dons In a linear loop of thh klnd would lndude slgnlflcan1 changesi.n key, tempo, and st}'ie. F.ach muileal Yartauon wouk:I flow caretully out ol the ooe 1h:u pceceded ii, the key changes prtparcd wUh logical chord progres.slons and the nwter changes executed with gentle shifts In rhythmic emphasis. When f)l!Jnstaklng.Jycomposed, a trlloek

linear Musk In Gamn

16S

this na.turt would gtve the lmpre�on ol taking a musical tour o( a highly Interesting landscape. Most import111u, bc(:ausc the track would have me capacity 10 Include �o many diH«en t expression s of thematic material, ii W'Quld subtl y o,.-t, load the Jb:tene,, cau) lng the K"rtion 5 t◊ b lend together in tM mind 1od t>e(ont1: less readily itcogn izable. Whik! It m.ay sc,cm (OOntertntuith-e to build wch fundamental changes into a single piece or music, it cao actuaJJy fttl quite libcnllng for tht composer and can create opportunJUes for lnn ovattve expres.slQn. The techn ique works on ly wilh a loop of Significant le n gth, however. Five minutes wou ld be the min imum length at which such a loop co uld !iUC• c�s:fuUy function, and longer thin thi .s would be even bettN. Unfortu• n ately. devcloprrs do not always have the oplion to requ s tion mus.le loops ii of thb len gth, so II can be dlffkult to Ond examples of th is technique used in the loop fonnat. In the l'\\lrld of Wnmaft MMORPG from 8Uuard f.ntfflainment, th(? m u sic composlllon te.im employed the succ�slon of varlants technique in a n umber of tht.-ir Unear music coroposiUons. J:or lnlCance, In the Oun Morogh mountaJns, we' ll hear con trastlng musical s«tk>ns conn ccted with tran$ili On,-. Th is •Hows the mu.sic to seemi n gly drift from on e d ivergent ttxturc 10 another, exp loring a thunatic idea for a periOd of time bdott seuln.g ii asi� 10 pursue a very different one.the construction ol1he music dNtrges sllghtt)' rrom 1he loop ing cont-ep, In 1ha1 the musk 1s instead separatNJ Imo m1in y sliable kgmrms that are played co n secutively In a manner similar to a playll.st. However, the core mu.sical concept remains the same and tht suemskm of vaiiatlons linear composilion method erubles thls music to retai n its rre91lness througl1 many repetition s , Personally, I had the d unc e to rompose sc,.·eral tracks with lhis teeglnnll'IS o( the l(>()p ,u,d th(' other tt the end. When $lated ilonc, th(' slngle pht� at the bc-g.innlng will fetl lntroduetory, but whtn joined with Its Identical 1w ln tit the end, the two ph r:nes will disguise th e loop point beaullfolly wh.ilt sewing thei r origltlal purJ>O$C, lftturuptttl rtogmslon

MO\ltng on 10 anothtt 1acuc , we au know that a prog,tSJion Is a $cries of chords creati ng a senst of movtment and change within a music a l work. The Pfogressk>n may build to a $ignlflcan1 key cha nge, a $hlf1 In 1he ove-rall dynam ics ol 1hc piece, or the $Catemtnt of a new 1 htme or motif. In tht

,,, l11ruruptt.'rl p,ogresJwt1, lhh series of chords i$ SIKop, we can (re.ite a $tn� olantilems. U rhe rtrording Is rdati�ly dry Ot the size ot the room re,lativcJy sma l l , then we ain be rt.uon.bly confident that our "Frirf /acq1tt"s"' loop will wotl: perfectly. However, If the n:vNb Is more pronounced, wt' may find the reverb tail of the second-to-last no(� of the "FfM'Jca,;qi,r,s" phrase bleedi ng ove r Into the begin ni ng of t he loop . In this case, tha1 note is the mafot third abow- the root. TI1is rtvetb tllll would give the momentary lmprfflion Um the l'irst note of the l oop i.S in faC1 a two-note chord comprised of 11,e root and the ma io r third. Wc11 need to maJ.:t adjustments 10 pre,'fflt this sort of unintt>ndtd o,·rdap from occur• ring. Thes� adjusuncnts can be mack e i ther durtng composlllon or In the editin g Rage but It I s always prcfe r.tbk-to think of these l$SUrs as early In the prttSs as possible . since th l.s p lanning 1ends 101eflec1 welJ in the tin.ii results. Ztt0 Crots.htg Point

Those ol us who h11ve aJ rt'ady ed it«t shon aud io loops. for use .is boiJding blocl:s In our mu.slcal romposllions will bt thor01.1ghty familiar wi1h the uro 'II exam ine- a pra(I of something from one $UltC of �rtg to another. I n digital aud io, rendering is the an of con­ wrtlng a musiC31 perfonnan« into a $Ingle me. sueh as o WAV, AIFF, OGG, MP3, Qof any 01he, a1,1dio eMod in,g fo1mat. Renckri ng in-corporates all thl' prt'viPOftunit y to gauge player teiKtlo ns to both my own pr ojects and others that have taken an lntcrac• u� .ipprooch. More often th.in not, players ;ue hilly aware or their power over the musical score ¼ 'hether they ate p la ying a "mus i cal lnstrumtt11'' gamf! or 001.Game rc-v��rs and 1oumallsts; uesome or the most seasoned gamers out thcrt, and fhey can be particularly perceptive when It comes to music lntetactl..,1ty, deriving great pleasure from performing actions thal prOduct specific f!ffocts in the music. Like throwing thl' dke in that

..

,

Chapter 11

eightttnth-antury ga1n e . p l aytrs ln modem v i deo game, enjoy the lllu• $Ion o( power Q\'Cf the shapeand substance of a pfcct? of music . The sensa­ tion contribute, to Ille overall feeling ol empowerme-nt that the video gime c.xJX"ril'f'lct provides. ttorizontal R�-s�enclng In lhe musical di� g_amc attributed to Mozart, mu.steal pkcu :ue brOktn down Into s.cgmcots cons.istlng of the contents of a Sin gle: mt:isurc. Tht'S!! segnwots ate assigned numbers. RoUing the die t riewlts In numbm that alt used to detennln e whkh of these music.al scgmmu comes next In the resulting composition. Moiart composed the segments so that they could bt ju.ggled 1nd r«Omb ined in nearly endless combin at i ons. liis ga.mt i s , in fact, a low-tech but mathematically complex demonstcatkm o( a ll ori • l(mt.nl ll-Mq#Jtnnn of gamep lay. For 1his rt.non. horlt0nt111 ,e.s.equenelng can be a powtrful tool for .a video game OOml)OSl'f, Vtrtkal IJyeril'\g While the hodzontal re-sequencing method bears some strong slmllarh les t o that tightetn 1Mentury musiic:il di ce game, ioertital l11�ng 1ak6 a con­ t rasting appro:ich. The goal is essentially the s;imt-; to give ,nusic the abi lity t o change omd react t o th,: oondition, of gamc:pl�y. Thi: diffen:n� Ji-es In the system by whic;h this result is a«ompluhcd. In music thtor y , the word •�·cttkal'"indi.Cates a simultaneous M1U wch as thesou nding of sever•I concuncnt notes in a chord. "'"c-an undc:ntand the appllc ablllty of the word by picturing t h e chord as notated on a single �aft, the ooces sta(ked on top ot e,ch ocher. A (hord ts always notated \.'t'flically, and tll of tht pitches of thed\o rd aresoun ded at 1he 53me Ume. Vertical layering ope-rates uodcr the principle of simutuineou.s, s1ac-ked muslcal compOC'lcnts. To undemand this. lrt's cxpklfe thll!' s.ubje-trs, enibl ing the over all uad; 10 chang e in accordanc e with the fluctuating state or the game. Whlle this su ggests that thegame hsclf has taken on the role of a mixing engin('Cf, we should beat in m J nd th at the composlUon techn Jque invoh•ed In v ertic al layt.ring is fundamc ntaU y different than the pr0ttss of slmpty ptC'puing sttm s for mixing. Ln making recordings of stems in the aud io mi xin g tnvfronmc. nt (som etime s known as "sttmmlng"), ii Is gcner a JI)' undc-ntood th. al in the final mu.It, all stems will b e playing togcth«. The compos« Of au dlO en gineer b motivated by the: dc»n: to ,chi,r:,·e a good ovemll m.x; l . liowevtr, in v ertical layeri ng. the undertying mOtiv.it lon b to ere.ate �Egr:itc audio filt$ thM are noc always meant to pla)' simultane­ ous l y. lntie a d , they can play in mullipte «>nRgurattons, in1eract1ng with the aet piano may spring 10 mi.nd here, but 1ht possibilities of thf! MIDI sy.stem went far beyond 1he au.tonomous performanceot • sing le elec:tronic keyboard. Eventual ly ,as the sound palette of theelectroni c. mus.iclan began

lntNMI� Musk in G•mes: Mu>k D•�

-

... . ..

-

... , 11.

-

.,, ,,

,'

. .. . .·-· ..··-

I■

•

•··•··

�

II

·-

.

• ..

II

• II

• ... .,,

I • 1: I

II•

II·

I

I

••

..

II

•

'I:

Figure 12.1 lht "pi.a1'IO roll"' oird..

209 The .tdv.ml38t of uS:ing MOO Hi es lay In the,i r ability t0consoll.da1e-1hei r l s. "MOO files had •n 11(1\'an• sound librarid and mu si( d..ita I nto s.Jn g le O e toge O\'Cr MlOI, then, in that music or othet sound eve rHS would sound u the c;omp01$cr/sund designer lnt,c,ndtd," writ("5 restarcher Karen CoUJns {200& S8), HowC'\·tr, th( MOO format and the uacker softw are had s lgntft• c,1nt drawbad:s . "Many composcn have often cast a disappro\•lng eye on MOD mu.sic, sin« mflhods of composing MOOS are (Onlpll(Jted and extremely 'non use-r fritndly,'" wrltesAlenncfer BrandOn (1998), vice presi• I.lent of the Ga.ne Au lmmeclJately , since 11 Isn't avallable to anyone outside of the company. In these circumstances, we can tely on our supervison at tht dL'Velopment studio to walk us thro1.1gh the spec:Ulca• tioos and ope1atlom of their proprietary tools. On occasion, we may al$O he asked to leam how to use propricuuy $0ftware belonging to a COrl50 1e m.1 nuf3Ct'Urer such as Nintendo, Mkrosolt, Of Sony. As we: discus� in ch:tpttr 7 . these compani es create software devdopment kits ('SDKs) for the useof studios that have obtaJned a l.icense to ck?velop for the respective 5-ame systems ol the btg thtee con$O le mainu• factuters. In the C'.lst ol Ni nten do a nd Sony, the proprietary soltware In thdr de-."dopment l.Ju Isn't readily a«ess.lble to a fre,efance composer because thts:e companies make their SD Ks av.1ilab le for purchase by lk'tn.sed pl.lblishers 3nd d�opmtnt .studiOs ooly . Bt(3use ol this, w e won't ha\·e the opportun ity to use the audio tools In their sohware �klpment ldts untU �'re hired for a projeci I n tended for one of the.Ir game pla1fonns. Once hired, we can request temporuy lliCCes.s to a loaned SOK and cheer• folly p(ung-e into the. l e.rnins p,ocess if we retti\'e one. Tiia.nkfuUy , In these clrrurnstances w e can o nce ag.al n rely o n the devclopment teom to understand our situ.tl on and h elp us o ut. In the case of Microsoft, however, we don 't need access to the offkial SOK in order 10 \&Se the software bteal.lSC we wn download it for free. Microsoft ma.ke-s Us SOK software a�llable for Immed i ate download through lh l'o'Cbsltc. Since a !-t()llro uc nand•alone program called XACT handles all 1he aud io tasks of this SOK. It �u in much the same way as a mkldlnw,rr appllcatlon , which Is our nut topic of dJ srusslon. Mlddlewue As a tY1>e of stand-alone software that tocorpotates Itself Into a game eo,;lne In order 10 perform a specific task, mldd lewire add$ functionality 10 the primary appllcauon. ·rhe-re are many t)'J)N of mtddlemre avaJl al,)le10 devef. i opers, but 1he type that cooctfn:S U$ relates to audio imp lementat on. Several mldd l eware appl icit ioll$ dedica1e 1hel.r resourteS 10 ptoVld lng tools for the lndusion of intnncuve aul(lto In a v i deo same. Mc»t of these have spcclflc featutcs desig ned to provide optfons for the deployment of music. Happily, some o{ these software applications are fr« for composcn to downlo ad .ind use, Ftt:s for these applkatlons are exKled only If the mkidlcwarc b actuopi ng behiwio n , ttans.illons , and c1oss/ade.s.. 8rand1ing p.a1hs can be created for 1he triggerin g ot mus;e stgmcn ts in .11 hOrizontal re-sequencing model, and loop! can be set (Or timultantoU$ pbyWC'k and lnter11etive Swilchi ng iCCh:wM)(s. W i thin the con tain• Ct$ wt-11 find the segmt,1ts tha1 serve ;u hold in g bi ns fr the aaual musk tra and stay out or the way, Th3t being sak:I, If I find a pie« of sof1w.ue or equipmcn1 that Is ca p.ibk> of delivering something I de,pe r• .Itel)' want ror a proJect, I'll be willing to spend an lnordJnate amount of time finessin g and fJddllng with It. I ow n one softwa re applkatk>n that shall remaln nameless and th.at I regularly curse to the skies. It has an u nlnlul tlve ln1crface, u npredictable operation. and a tendency to crish. Despite thls, I .ulll use 11 because I l ow thesound, :md there's noth ing c-lse on the matket llke I t . 1' hls doesn't mean that I'm not keeplng a watchful eye r°' a rtplac..-ement. though. A s a ftn;d thought on t«-.hnoklgy's plli« in oor crtati'-'t liva, kt's OOcl• sidct the words o( transcw:ode ntatlS( phllosoph« Henry Oavkl Tho�.au. Offert ng an I nteresting pcrsp«UV1! on the technology of the ninctctnth centur)' In hls book Wafde11; or, Lift i11 rht Woods, T11oreau (l854) wamed that people had ))ecome "the tools of their 10015:" As composers of the twenty-Orsi cen1ury, we may need to remindoorselvt?s of'fhoteau's warnin g from time t ii.In � . Whi le It Is Important for us to wholeheartedl y embrace the technology that Is shaping bth mus. le pr0(>ls . We're arum first, and the creation of music Is our foremost concern. Technology should ease our way •nd offCT us lnsptn,tlon �nd support w1thou1 eve, d ls uactlng us from our goals.

14 Acting Uke a Business and Finding Work

Before I got my big blt'Jlk in the v ideo gamt' industry, I'd had a wry bkak year. In that Ume, I'd created mu.sic for three games that ne\•er saw the l!gh1 or d3y-a robot tlghllng ganw, a maulvely muJtiplayet roft.play ing game. and a l\nutl$liC 101a\.-«>nverslon game nu)(t All thret prOjectS wttt canct lC'd . Having th rown an my CTeative tt1ergleS into the,e unrel eased pmt$, I was feeling p3rtiOJl3tl)' deje-ctf'd. As a l/lst d it('h cl'fo11.. I dttk1ed to write a letter to the music dircCtOf al Sony Computer Entertainment Amr rica.'fhis was something of a Hail Mary pass considering how impor• tant this music d lr«to r was I n the Industry, and how unlikel y it was that such a high-powe1ed executive would pay an y attentio n to a composer with no rea l video g3me ectdlt s . Neve-rthe les.s,. I believed In my own ab!U­ ttCS a,a comp05oer, I ficrctty w:antcd to pl.lf$Ut a carter in the game indumy. Desperate limcs called for botd 'C' a bouomless l'(tatlons In ordtt to bulld a successful business, we shou ld e.ndeav01 to d""·elop these abilldes tn oursetves. It is all-'l 'l)'S an ongoing prooes� and e.1ch new project provides: many opportunltJC$ for w to put these s�Lls to use and hone them through experience. Let's exp lore each ot1e and diSco� how each applies to out lives a � gtme c:0111postrs.

Ot\'elo�ng • Strong Writing S-tyl e P«hapsOOCause of their high c:omfor t IC?Ycl with communJcatio ns technol­ ogy, people In the video game indu str y are a«ustomed to communkar lng �·Ith each other In short, c.uual bwsts. They send lnstant messages. post br1ef thought,o n bulletln boards and soelal netwo1b1 and text each other's smart phones. In terms al Written communlcatiOn, they value mes.sas;es that deliver the nectsury inlommion in a s few word$ as pOS5ibft. In our bush\tSS writing, wt should try to merge the blunt pithiness that typlf le$ sucl, memges witll a slightly m0re formal writin g style Ihat exprtsst� our proftsS lonal oompe1 cnct. In dOtng !O.. we shou l d ketp In mind 1h11 the v;deo g.tme industry IS hOme 10 an lnli-nilll tnthuslllsm for tht sludkl .ind itS long hh:tory of qu.aJity game dcvc-lopment. Giving in to th e tcmpt�t.ion t o iodutlc t\'i:'t ything 4 a c.isc-book demon�ration of tht 1>ehavi0f fOT whlth the lnh:met .ieror1ym tl;dr ("tOQ long; didn't read") was created. For this reason, we'll need 10 critkally t\lilluatt t\'C()' word with the goal of achieving both brevity and prect slon. If we-'\'e won a sJgnlllcan1 awa�. composed music for a noteworthy project. or reccJvtc su«inlete contact lnlormatk,n ftom the database entry, we shou l d hokt on to the entry Itse lf In the hopes that we c.an eventually ttestabHsh the connectio n. People rarely st.1y unemp lo>•ed forewr, and i t ts likely that we'U even1u.ally be able 10 add detalls for that person's new place of employmem to our database. Connecung With peopJe via 0t1line sodal net-w()rks such as FacebOOk and Llnkedfn may atso http us Stay abrmt of the� d)ange,. If we conduce our rtif!3tch ,md rolletl rtleva.nt contact dttails J ong uough, we'll inevitably accumulate a respec:1:1iblc archive ol wh.1abk info r­ mation. Our contacts d:nab1ist an be a powerful tool for our Mioess . Cultlvallhg Personal RtfaUonsh lps Beyond slm ple research, attending conferences c.m be a great way for us to Introduce ourselves to the 1ndustry and add t oour database ol contacts. Onty at such .1 gathl"ring an we enjoy the benefits of a chance meeting. While it an be quite ntf\horlcat darkn ess created by i lack of COOhlCI wi 1h our cone.ague 111,d 1 ,rospetth.Me. Even so, kt's take a closer 10 Lislm for iJ 1 Muri(. New ¥Ott: Ktw AmtrkJ.n Ubruy. .. . TIit' Ttl.-papl,. Ac«sscd Co w m ,NJ d t .201I. "'Cn-ad Sp3('c 2 : JasonGm-e� l ntttView

fdi,uary 2. 2013. http:I/WWW.!¢1q;r.iph.co,ut/lffllno logyMd�,.imes/826-13'/8/ �d-S�2•Ja.sc,o.Grn-n-in1¢1VICW,hlml. Cs.tks:ttntml .lal)'I, Mlh�Jy. 19'0. ff1>w: .,� l'SjflN)lllfY Ycwt: Hiltfl(f $ R,ow.

of Optimal l:'�INi«. Ntw

ro, £n&.tSrm�n1 and �.1m lng. Sdc'l'.w 32.'l

Dede , Chrb. (2()(19). lmmeni� l n1ffluts 45910):-66-69.

Otful� Jcmp h , 2(1(1 6 , Ulnnc n; l l : S)'mbolk ntllSlllltlon I n Mi»k. M1'tlfn1¢ hrsp«• t hfl. •10tm11,J oftht Nrw M1Ylf1t C11�ts 2 (I). Acttuepponunity.•\�MA.-.cts,( ........Mees.s Annour.ad Dct�lh (lfl lb Ntxt,(".a1 S)'$1tm." i CNNMoney. �svd Oc t1,�llN' IS, 2012, h11p://nmnl')',rnn.a:,m/200SJ05/I?/ tcchnology/p,tf'$Qn;111ef,H? "'1 lead. St i · Art di rtttOf 1\rt l�lll. 1-IZ

A»t11#n�\ Cr-ml frnndll. s t , 63-6-1, 95 MJ«.'li,,6 C,n'dflt: Lil!ffllriun, 61, 6.1-M, 69-11 , 9S Assodak producer, 139 Atari. Sn- IVitrlJtY

Airlint 1)-roon (�lk.'.h�. 91

Srt-Jign le3d.S« Crca 1h• dlttctor Design lc,m, 142. 1"3, 151 OffiJ £A' fnnchlst, ?$ ()i(>yclopmer11 (music). SN 1t,111tr Mulk lh�,ey OGDI !Demographic Game Oeti.gn h, �•. 83. 84, .s. 88. 90 '

'""'"'

,..., frttUnct romposer. St\' lndepcnden1 contr :i«or Flt'qUffiC)' Jl)CCUUm, 201

�ctlonal C11mes. S,,-A.111 1 Jt:l,ioa: TI11• l>,uk Dtscm1 Frw" O..Sr.. 91 Game builds , 127-128 Game desi,g:n doruinecu 0r til\gt, l

s• .,.

lntc:nupt«t pn.,gre»ion in rnu� toot• ((Jfnp()Sllfon, s« 1u1.-kr Loop point In mulk loop fl.1., Chrtnopher, 108 Ucnt, 157-1$8 Urw:11, loop. lSll-111. $«ubo Loops

ooopng1

and compos1Uom1I 4ymu1, 1cs , 160. 162-163 and ptf�lllll lk-vtlopm,fOI, 160-162 111ld rtp('lllins flgutts, 160, 166 a.nd ilOw tni:tur�. 1 60 , 166-167 ;a.nd �I.ICtti;�I Ofvul:atlO M , 160, t6J-166 u, wor mu ,k , I10, 162. 167, 183 dct i11ilion, 158 loop. I.St\' Lirt(-ar IOopS> �S:hOI , 181-183 )tlngcr t(t¥ Sti11gcrs:)

""

Index

linM'dln and r.alnUlln ln . g •C.Ula!NSC o f g;unc l.ndustry con t;)(U, 2.46

Upu.� Tommy.66 LittltltJ.&PlntN'r fr.andl 15':', 86, 193, 200-202 Loto Rw·o frlrld\iSf'. 93

,00p.bh1 .: ,.-d SO!IW�rt,216, 2:ZS--226 l Loop l ibruy,216,t2S-226

Looppo lm In muJlc IQQp c:ompcn!1lon, 168-176 •nd d� •m�'tf..qu�t.lon fOffl'lat,1(,8, 169170 l OO Lh(> idtntk.11 ph1:i$C',168, 170 a nd 1h e int er-ruJ"td progtts.slon ,168, 170,.171

� Ill.I the loop 1101n1 llOu.rlfh.. H i $ , 171-172 lnd LIM> v•mp,168, 1(,1) Loops UOOf)lng) l )d ti.t It.Mar loop,z h:« ll5tt Unear l l 100 1,, and muSk•I th('O'l('i, l'J t.ucasArtl. 163.206,201.212 tuminu,93

......

MJ.Cftt (Music and �mc:1 Ftsth·.al) , l

MhTI fMY"r,Brigp Type l11dkato1),

a,

,')..SIO, Mc1.:iu.;hl ln , Ru�. 9

Md.e1an,Aaron,2 IJ �krlal ti{UOll l'lt ,Rf .u,�1.\f.m, S6 MM11 I SO 1.ielroid, 5 6 ,75

uacts.

M1cr�r1, 1 8 ,128,221 a n d Wlndc.,ws ro1t11M1t erS, 216,.,217, 231 ).11($61¢ " .1.r(l ' ,1-41, 22&,2:27-2J2 JMOO l)(,�3nc:r,2VJ,22.9-230,231 f'MOD Studio.2.3 0

m Utt

a n d IUIOl l:itson )'o...Tube,

,,Lorulefl, �fartin, 112 Musi( dlm:1Clf. Sn' F.xteutl '-'l' of 1busiM, H 2KC.lmes. 104. 1 1 3

Wufdm; er. Uf,.• hr ,,� M�it. 215 W.ittr.i/t (r3nct\lM' , I IZ and \¾ltld o(U'.11tr#/t. 165

.,.., W.an'lfl' Bros. ll'lh: r3ctlYC Enttrlllinmertt. 89,106,111,239 h'uk'r J.luJ.ic, 77

Waveform. 174�176 \\lebshe dr.slsn. 24(). 241, 243-2+1 HTML (hypcr�u mllrk'Up lang�el

usl.XI In. Z44 and the webm;t$tt'r., 2.-49

Wtk kn , John, 1$6 Westccon, f.mm� 4 \-\'e:tWOOIJ Slu(IIOS , S n · lh1Jlr 2000 W U , 76 Wii.fptottt, 16 W lntuq,,A�tln. 161

"�bl (t;>ndllw, 90

WiU"lkV, 103 H\wU bicls wl/l 1 � 88

\\'ritCf$.. gamt', l.f2 t v.'rit io g . 5'\0 1".lift" 81.1s n1.'" Xbox. S,'. t:}l andX linx Uve Af'Odc,, 1 0 , 1 1 , 19S

Xl•11ot,J,1;Jt fr;inchls., 88

Y.am;aat,, Al.Ir� 102 Ytt. Nki:, 7' Yoshkb B1ocht1s, 76 YouTube m iddk."Wate tutorillb foulld 0 0 , 228

(Jtt 11/w Middlcw,re) mU:Sl(:11 lnnru.moou l.kmorutt.ucd o n . 131

Z(,roc�ing point, 112., t H 176 ZOfttt .li ter('(! mn'lt,I Sla t t l , 98-99, IOI, I tOl

27$

I'. 111 L,·.I l '! 1·lt,1·• •I'·'"'"'' , ,,,,1 t11•,',··,1,,ir,l,i•_� .., ltn,rn,·,i:m·, """' " I,• :1•,· "'' !! •, · !'· ';,,� ,, ,r-.,l.,,,,, 1 •1f,lhl1 ,n,· 11 1 1r, '' '"'I''"'1c ; 1111, 11k• '1· -•nd . , , ,,1 · ,·,n 1,, l,r, , . I ,·,1 ,,·,1,n, ,· , ,n,r I IH• ,, !' ,l-,,,1 l,,·,!., , i c' 0, 11,1:-iu,1, 1 111:�� • •11• :,