The Challenges of Writing Video Game Music - Part 2
December 20th 2006 10:22
After a bit of a hiatus, here is the conclusion to my look at some of the challenges awaiting video game composers:
2) Lack of available resources
While this is almost negligible by now, for much of the formative era of this genre, around the early 90s, composers had to work within the capabilities of whatever platform they wrote for. On the Super Nintendo and the Sega Genesis, cartridge space was far too limited to allow any music in digital soundwave format(such as mp3s). Instead, systems similar to midi playback had to be used, manipulating recorded or encoded instrumental sounds through the system's sound chip. I find it impressive that composers for these systems were able to create intelligent and well composed music in addition to taking advantage of what each console did well. Yuzo Koshiro, composer of the Shinobi and Streets of Rage series, utilized the more synthesizer oriented chipset of the Genesis to make high quality techno influenced soundtracks, while composers such as Yasunori Mitsuda and Nobuo Uematsu used the increased channels and high patch quality of the Super Nintendo to attempt to create synthetic orchestral works.
It wasn't long before the stigma of game music of the 80s was dropped and video game composers became more appreciated as their jobs became more complex. It would be unheard of for composers to make use of real, full scale orchestras for their work during the 90s, but this scoring has become a common part of the soundtrack for many games.
3) The Scene Changing Problem
One of the problems with having music for scenes that can change unpredictably (depending on the player's actions) is that there is often a difficulty in having different scenes' music segue together. This problem doesn't stop with composers, because sometimes making solutions requires sound programmers to also work on these interchanges. Simple options include using simultaneous cross fades, or having one track fade out and another fade in, and some games ignore the issue completely with jarring cuts. There have however been a number of clever developments around this problem. Baldur's Gate(and it's sequel) use a system where in a piece of battle music, there are a number of 'escape points' where a finishing cue can be played and the music can slip back into the non battle track. The problem with this is that there can be a delay where the music has to reach such a point before it can change, meaning battle music can continue for a few seconds after battle is over.
The most well known and effective method of track swapping and manipulation is undoubtedly the iMuse system incorporated most notably in Lucasarts graphic adventure games. This is a system of programming tools which allow for seamless swapping of tracks, as well as a number of clever features which can add a lot more interest into a scene. It does however require that much of the music is created specifically to take advantage of it. A good explanation of iMuse and what it does can be found at iMuse island, a good site looking at Lucasarts adventure game music and the composers and programmers behind it.
4) Complexity of Genres
The composers who write game music are by no means a standardly educated group - some such as Robert Prince had no prior real musical education, while some such as Koji Kondo have received a musical university degree and hold a life time of prior experience. While it is expected that as a game composer you might be required to write music in a cinematic style, the adaptability required to successfully write in many different genres is great indeed. To use the example of Lucasarts again(as they have been at the cutting edge of game soundtrack production in America) composers such as Michael Land are thrown into making reggae, Caribbean soundtracks for the Monkey Island series, with solid dashes of film music, jazz and atmospheric styles. Peter McConnell explored bebop and big band sounds alongside atmospheric pieces using extended techniques on bass clarinet in Grim Fandango. Composers that work in a company on different titles can expect each creation to be a fresh experience - there will be a new set of musical styles best appropriate to each game. It seems therefore that it requires not just a creative and ambitious mind, but a quick and adaptive set of ears to survive as a game music composer.
I hope you have been able to gain something from this dissertation.
I apologize for the delay between updates, but with an increased future workload, it looks unlikely that I will have the same amount of ideas for articles and the time to pursue them. I will definitely still update this journal and it will not go stale for too long, but its updates may increasingly be on a sporadic basis.
2) Lack of available resources
While this is almost negligible by now, for much of the formative era of this genre, around the early 90s, composers had to work within the capabilities of whatever platform they wrote for. On the Super Nintendo and the Sega Genesis, cartridge space was far too limited to allow any music in digital soundwave format(such as mp3s). Instead, systems similar to midi playback had to be used, manipulating recorded or encoded instrumental sounds through the system's sound chip. I find it impressive that composers for these systems were able to create intelligent and well composed music in addition to taking advantage of what each console did well. Yuzo Koshiro, composer of the Shinobi and Streets of Rage series, utilized the more synthesizer oriented chipset of the Genesis to make high quality techno influenced soundtracks, while composers such as Yasunori Mitsuda and Nobuo Uematsu used the increased channels and high patch quality of the Super Nintendo to attempt to create synthetic orchestral works.
It wasn't long before the stigma of game music of the 80s was dropped and video game composers became more appreciated as their jobs became more complex. It would be unheard of for composers to make use of real, full scale orchestras for their work during the 90s, but this scoring has become a common part of the soundtrack for many games.
3) The Scene Changing Problem
The iMuse system is considered to have been a big step forward in video game music
The most well known and effective method of track swapping and manipulation is undoubtedly the iMuse system incorporated most notably in Lucasarts graphic adventure games. This is a system of programming tools which allow for seamless swapping of tracks, as well as a number of clever features which can add a lot more interest into a scene. It does however require that much of the music is created specifically to take advantage of it. A good explanation of iMuse and what it does can be found at iMuse island, a good site looking at Lucasarts adventure game music and the composers and programmers behind it.
4) Complexity of Genres
The composers who write game music are by no means a standardly educated group - some such as Robert Prince had no prior real musical education, while some such as Koji Kondo have received a musical university degree and hold a life time of prior experience. While it is expected that as a game composer you might be required to write music in a cinematic style, the adaptability required to successfully write in many different genres is great indeed. To use the example of Lucasarts again(as they have been at the cutting edge of game soundtrack production in America) composers such as Michael Land are thrown into making reggae, Caribbean soundtracks for the Monkey Island series, with solid dashes of film music, jazz and atmospheric styles. Peter McConnell explored bebop and big band sounds alongside atmospheric pieces using extended techniques on bass clarinet in Grim Fandango. Composers that work in a company on different titles can expect each creation to be a fresh experience - there will be a new set of musical styles best appropriate to each game. It seems therefore that it requires not just a creative and ambitious mind, but a quick and adaptive set of ears to survive as a game music composer.
I hope you have been able to gain something from this dissertation.
I apologize for the delay between updates, but with an increased future workload, it looks unlikely that I will have the same amount of ideas for articles and the time to pursue them. I will definitely still update this journal and it will not go stale for too long, but its updates may increasingly be on a sporadic basis.
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