Video game music

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The term video game music encompasses all pieces of music that appear in video games . This can be either music composed specifically for the game or licensed pieces of music.

As with movies , video games are a combination of picture and sound . These two media are closely related to each other and create a multimedia work. The sound has a very strong influence on how what is seen is perceived. He can give meaning to a neutral picture, he can understand what is shown or also build a contrast to what is shown. There are innumerable categorizations that describe this influence and assign functions to it. The so-called Ludomusicology is dedicated to the scientific research of video game music, music games and music practices that have emerged from video game culture.

The emotional level

However, the different models agree on the point that the music is used functionally in order to achieve a certain emotional effect. In relation to video games, the music creates an "emotional level that supports, reinforces and often even directs the plot and the course of the game." As in the film, video game music contributes significantly to the atmosphere through its emotional component. Only through the combination of visual and auditory stimuli is it possible to immerse yourself in the game world or in the film world. A study found that when playing without sound, the mood and the feeling of being in a “real” world disappeared: “The mood, the presence and the feeling of a lifelike world disappeared, and the games revealed themselves as nothing but animated graphics on a screen. "

Compositional techniques

Various compositional techniques are used to add an emotional layer to the picture.

Mood technique

The technique most commonly used for video games so far is the so-called mood technique . With this technique, music and image are loosely related to each other. The music does not describe every action that is visible on the visual level, but rather creates a basic mood that is appropriate for the mood of the scene. Josef Kloppenburg sums up the term as follows: “In summary, Mood-Technique means a specific mood, an atmosphere, a mood-based coloring of an entire scene using music. What is meant is that the piece of music simply “corresponds” to a place of action or a mood without referring to details. ”The dominance of this technique can be explained by the fact that the possibilities of adaptive music (music that directly affects the behavior of the Player reacts) have not yet been extensively researched and have rarely been used in practice.

Motif technique

The so-called leitmotif technique is also used in video game music . According to Kloppenburg, “persons or events in the plot are given distinctive musical figures by the composer.” The distinctive musical figures of the title themes have a special effect. They make the game or film recognizable . While topics from Star Wars , Indiana Jones , Pirates of the Caribbean or Harry Potter are particularly well known in film , there are also numerous well-known title themes in video game music. Here are a few examples that show the use of motif technique:

Monkey Island

Since the appearance of the first part of the series (1990), Monkey Island has been an early and well-known example of motif technique in computer games. The signature melody of the ghost pirate LeChuck ( LeChuck's Theme ) is particularly striking and recurring in all parts of the series . The music was composed by Michael Land .

Max Payne

The Max Payne theme is the first piece of music that the player perceives in the main menu of the game. It is particularly noticeable in Max Payne 2. There it is played by a real cello - initially only accompanied by atmospheric sounds - and immediately creates a melancholy mood without the player even starting the game. The cello is played by Kivilaakso, a member of the Apocalyptica group.

Fahrenheit

Fahrenheit - Lucas Theme

The main theme on Fahrenheit , written by Angelo Badalamenti , occurs again and again in different line-ups and variations at distinctive points in the game. Sometimes it is played by a solo cello, sometimes it is implemented in a warm string set. Due to its constant presence, it stays in the player's mind and makes him feel the emotions of the devastated main character Lucas.

Metal Gear Solid

The heroic theme of Metal Gear Solid is characterized by a special catchiness due to the recurring rhythm (2 eighths, tied half, 3 eighth, quarter, half), in which the melody is always varied. There are now five Metal Gear Solid parts, with the first part containing the original composition, also in several variations. Part 2 and Part 3, however, contain new interpretations of the piece, whereby the motif is always retained. They too contain several variations of the piece. In part 4 there is only one strongly modified form of the piece, in which the motif has been heavily modified and takes on a rather subordinate role and instead a new motif comes to the fore. The reason for this is that shortly before the appearance of part 4 it became public that the main theme was used by another piece without permission. The title of the track has also been renamed Metal Gear Saga .

Underscoring

A composition technique that is more likely to be found in film is the underscoring method . The point here is that the music directly reproduces what is represented on the image level. This can go so far that almost every movement is represented musically, as is the case with early Walt Disney cartoons. This particular degree of underscoring is also known as Mickey Mousing . Underscoring is also used to depict the feelings of the people involved or to trigger feelings in the audience. This technique is more likely to be used in films, as the images appear in a predetermined order. Consequently, the composer can orientate himself on this definition and adapt his music dramaturgically to the picture. In video games, the production requirements for the music are different. Here the player decides how he interacts with his game world. The music has to react to that. Music that reacts to the player has only been found in a few games so far. However, a frequently used option that fits into the category of underscoring appears in so-called script sequences . These are predetermined events that take place when the player enters a certain part of a level. A script sequence can be designed in such a way that a player walks through a door and then a monster breaks through the walls. These scripted events are often accompanied by music.

Assimilation of all directions of 20th century serious music

Video game music has assimilated all styles of classical music . This is because the video game score is a great role model. Film music, on the other hand, developed parallel to concert music in the 20th century. In the cinema, viewers were unwittingly introduced to the developments in 20th century serious music . These developments are still significant today and influence video game music through film music.

Bioshock

The critically acclaimed action game BioShock is set in an underwater city called Rapture. The city was constructed by a group of wealthy scientists with the intention of building a new society that lives far from ethical restrictions. As a result, some genetic experiments are being conducted on Rapture. However, some of them go wrong and cause chaos to break out in Rapture. The player crashes in an airplane and happens to come across this underwater city where he has to fight for his survival. The soundtrack of Bioshock, which was composed by Garry Schyman , is largely avant-garde: It consists of sound collages that were created based on the model of the Musique Concrète, aleatoric passages or 12-note melodies . Different compositional principles are used here, which arose in classical music of the 20th century. Based on the atonal elements, the horror that prevails in Rapture is described as is typical for film music. They also create their own aesthetic effect.

Since the design of the game is modeled after the style of the American 1950s, there are also some titles that correspond to the music of the time. The player hears these via gramophones , which favors the player to immerse himself in the world of the 1950s and 1960s.

An interesting title on the soundtrack is a piece for piano, modeled after the composer Garry Schyman in the style of Rachmaninoff . This title is integrated into the plot because it is presented as if it was composed by a game character. Schyman's intention was to incorporate the typical sound of classical music of the early 20th century into the game. Consequently, the soundtrack of Bioshock shows some compositional styles of the 20th century.

Influences from the film music

Since it became technically possible, video game music has been converging to film music. This is due to the fact that the medium of video games and the medium of film are similar in terms of the link between image and sound. A development towards the Hollywood sound is also promoted by the fact that more and more film composers are writing music for video games. Well-known Hollywood composers are now also included. This shows the following list:

composer Video game soundtrack Movie soundtrack
Danny Elfman Fable (theme) Spider-Man 1,2
Harry Gregson-Williams Metal Gear Solid 2-4, Call of Duty 4 Narnia , Déjà Vu
John Debney Lair The Passion of Christ
Howard Shore SUN: Soul of the Ultimate Nation The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Angelo Badalamenti Fahrenheit Dark water
Michael Giacchino Medal of Honor series, Call of Duty , Black Ratatouille , Mission Impossible
Steve Jablonsky Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars Transformers
Tyler Bates Rise of the Argonauts 300
Hans Zimmer Modern Warfare 2 Black Hawk Down

Influences on the film music

Video game music also has an influence on film music, and not just the other way around: In 2006, the famous video game series "Silent Hill" was made into a film. The music composed by Akira Yamaoka was taken from the video game. It was arranged for the film by Jeff Danna. By keeping the original music, it was possible to transfer the unique feel to which the music made a major atmospheric contribution to the screen.

Increase in production costs

While at the beginning of video game history, purely synthetic sounds were used for technical reasons, video game soundtracks are now often recorded with real orchestras. The soundtrack for the science fiction game Outcast, released in 1999, was one of the first purely orchestral video game soundtracks. It was composed by Lennie Moore and recorded by the Moscow Symphony Orchestra and its choir. As with film music, it is just as common to carry out so-called hybrid productions. Digitally generated sounds are linked to analog instruments. If you mix a virtually played orchestra with some real recordings, the recording sounds more authentic and loses a certain degree of its often criticized synthetic character. Hybrid productions are also an inexpensive alternative, as you only take off a few analog instruments and the committed composer can program the rest of the sounds himself.

Summary

Video game music and film music are the closest relatives to each other, since both media have a picture-sound relationship and they are basically the same in terms of their functions and ways of composing. The only difference could be defined as a different distribution of the focal points (video game music: mood technique; film music: underscoring, see above). This relationship can be strengthened by the fact that many video games define the clear goal of creating film-like experiences. An example is the video game Fahrenheit, which uses many techniques from films (for example split screen) and whose soundtrack was written by the film composer Angelo Badalamenti. The goal of creating film-like experiences makes film music a clear model for video game music. As a result, all musical directions that have found their way into film music can also be found in current video game music. The proximity to film music is also reinforced by the fact that more and more film composers are hired for video games. The production costs for video game music also approximated the film music and now includes complex orchestral productions.

Despite many parallels, video games have an additional quality when networking image and sound: While films run linearly, in video games the player usually has control over different areas of the game world. He decides how he wants to achieve the goal. With this option, the games give different amounts of freedom. However, the general ability to make decisions is available in all games. This poses an important requirement for the music in video games. While in the case of film music it is added to existing images and its dramaturgical structure is fixed, in games it must be able to react flexibly and dynamically to the actions of the player. There are various methods of composing “adaptive music” (for example parallel composing, see below).

Dynamic music

The need for dynamic music

While a film captivates an average of 90 minutes, games are constructed in such a way that they offer fun over a longer period of time. The actual number of hours is extremely variable. For example, while an action game that is more linear in structure generates around 8 hours of fun, some role-playing games with their open game world can fascinate players for up to 100 hours. Online role-playing games like World of Warcraft in particular have a very long playing time. This fact provides the video game composer with a special compositional assignment: He has to compose music that is enjoyable to listen to as long as the player is engaged in the game. There are several ways to achieve this: The composer has to consider how intrusive his music can be. A catchy musical theme that occurs when exploring a section of the game in an endless loop would certainly be problematic for an RPG that provides over 100 hours of playing time. A slightly restrained atmospheric track, which lets the main theme appear every now and then, is more discreet and is able to catch the ear longer. It is clear that when it comes to the question of how intrusive music can be, the aesthetic ideas diverge widely. These are also historical. While earlier video game soundtracks used very memorable melodies (see Super Mario), current soundtracks are composed rather cautiously and hardly push themselves to the fore.

In addition to considering the degree of intrusiveness, it must also be considered how the music can be programmed using certain techniques in such a way that it always has a new effect on the player. There are different approaches to this.

Creating dynamic music

There are two important factors that make music in video games appear dynamic so that it can be enjoyed over a long period of time: variability and adaptivity.

variability

Different musical segments are put together randomly and form the piece of music heard. The music technologist Jesper Kaae compares this aspect with the work "Piano Piece XI", which was written by Stockhausen. This consists of a large sheet of music on which 19 separate segments have been noted. The player spontaneously decides which of these segments will be played. Transferred to the factor of variability in video game music, this means that the computer randomly accesses pre-made musical segments. The combination of prefabricated segments is only one of many ways to make music in video games appear variable. It mostly occurs when working with audio files. However, this variability can be made more complex. When working with midi data, each parameter of each individual note (e.g. velocity, volume, duration, etc.) can be varied by the computer within the programmed limits. Jesper Kaae sees the advantage of the method of variability that it does not require a lot of memory and enables the music to always sound “new”. The latter is an advantage because - as mentioned - most video games are designed to entertain for several hours. Without variability, the music quickly takes on a repetitive character and disturbs the player.

Adaptivity

When the music in video games reacts to the player's actions, it is called adaptivity. The sound designer Tim van Geelen reports in his essay "Realizing groundbreaking adaptive music" a. a. about five techniques how to generate adaptive music:

Branching
Branching

Branching divides a piece of music into different layers. The idea behind this division is that one or more of these layers can be muted or swapped out for other layers as soon as the gameplay changes. For example, you can create two percussion lines for a piece of music, each expressing different moods. Depending on the gameplay situation, these are then exchanged among each other. The same can be done with other layers (bass line, harmonies, melodies). This technique has some disadvantages: It takes a lot of time to compose because you always have to create different versions of the layers. Furthermore, you have to constantly check whether the different versions match each other. In addition, this technology consumes a lot of computing power, since not just one track, but several tracks run synchronously.

Layering
Layering

The layering technique works in a similar way to the branching method. To explain this, van Geelen mentions the game Tomb Raider: Legend . Here, in action sequences, a guitar part is often placed over the ambient track of the level. Van Geelen doubts whether this effect leads to greater immersion in the game world, as the effect seems very predictable.

Transitions
Transitions

With this method, a composer writes different pieces of music and also composes transition pieces for every possible jump from one piece of music to another. The advantage of this method is that you can jump from one piece of music to another, from one emotion to another. Writing transitional pieces is time-consuming, however, as new "transitions" have to be composed for each track.

Generative music

The field of generative music is very complex. One way is to show the computer how to randomly create variations on different themes. The disadvantage here is that individual samples have to be used for each note. This in turn requires a higher demand on computing power.

Parallel composing
Parallel composing

The method that van Geelen prefers is called "parallel composing". A linear piece of music is written here. At the same time, the composer also writes one or two pieces of music that match the main piece of music in the most important parameters ( tempo , key ). Each track expresses a different emotion. These tracks are played in parallel and can be switched from one another at certain points in the track. The advantage of this method is that the pieces are written in parallel. So you can continuously see whether the swapping between the tracks works smoothly. Furthermore, the memory is not overloaded. You can also use tools that are used when composing linear music. This method is also characterized by good adaptability. You don't have to use fades or transitions. You can also play with complex musical elements such as modulations or rhythmic changes as they are used in every track.

The disadvantage of this method is that you have to write a lot of music and at the same time constantly have to make sure that the song can jump to a different track at any chosen moment.

Examples of dynamic music

In practice, there are varying degrees of dynamic music in video games. The possibilities of dynamic music are currently being researched and discussed academically. One possibility that is used very often is to compose different music titles for different game states. For example, the states “exploration” and “fight” can often be compared. This should show a clear theoretical example: The player is in a dark cellar. His job is to find a missing girl. The last clues brought him here. The dark mood of the level is underlined by deep lying tones in the strings. The player continues into the basement. Suddenly a door cracks off its hinges. High string tremolos increase the shock effect. The kidnapper of the girl stands in front of the player and comes up to him with his ax raised. The following fight is accompanied by action-packed drum rhythms. In this simplified example there are three musical elements: The music that plays when you explore the cellar creates a basic mood. It doesn't directly track every single action taken by the player. As soon as the player enters a certain area, a programmed script is used: the kidnapper kicks in the door. This action is underlined by a short but effective use of music. This makes the music appear dynamic as it is directly linked to actions on the visual level. A new piece of music is started: The battle music. Driving rhythms support more movement on the visual level.

Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay

A video game that stands out for its dynamic music is " The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay ". In this game, each piece of music is divided into two tracks. These are each called "sneak track" and "action track". From this name you can already see that the music reacts dynamically to the behavior of the player. Analogous to the comparison of “exploration” and “fight”, the terms “sneaking” and “action” can be used here. In Riddick, the player has the opportunity to achieve the goal of the game primarily by sneaking. Meanwhile the sneak version of a song is playing. As soon as the player is discovered by guards, the music changes and the action version fades over.

The track "Critters" makes it clear that both versions of the music title contain the main theme. Thus, the two versions of the title are not suddenly next to each other like two independent pieces of music. They are linked by thematic references and make the change from the creeping mood to the action mood appear fluid.

Music about computer games

Since the 2010s, more and more songs have been published about video games and published on platforms such as YouTube or Spotify . The aesthetics of computer game music is also transferred to normal songs, in which z. B. 8-bit versions of the songs are published (see also Chiptune ) or remix versions are created. For example, the music genre Nintendocore mixes z. B. Chiptune and computer game music with punk , metal and rock . Furthermore, known pieces of music are also used as a music parody over computer games.

Video game themes can be found in all genres of music. The rapper Dame raps about computer games and Jan Hegenberg has published several songs about computer games. The YouTube channel JT Music regularly publishes rap songs for well-known computer games. Computer game influences can also be reflected in music videos.

See also

literature

  • Society for the Study of Sound and Music in Games - Bibliography: https://www.sssmg.org/wp/bibliography/
    • Melanie Fritsch, "Music and Computer Games, or: How the» Ludo «got into musicology". In: Christoph Hust (Ed.): Digital Games Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Discourse Fields, Staging and Music . transcript, Bielefeld 2018, pp. 385–396.
    • Melanie Fritsch, "Music". In: Benjamin Beil, Thomas Hensel, Andreas Rauscher (Eds.): Game Studies . Film, television, new media. Springer VS, Wiesbaden 2017, pp. 87-107.
  • Tim Summers: Understanding Video Game Music . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2016. ISBN 978-1-316-33785-1
  • Melanie Fritsch: Performing Bytes. Music performances from computer game culture . Königshausen & Neumann, Würzburg, 2018. ISBN 978-3-8260-6530-9
  • Michael Austin (Ed.): Music Video Games. Performance, Politics, and Play. Bloomsbury Academic, New York 2016. ISBN 978-1-5013-0852-9
  • Michiel Kamp, Tim Summers, Mark Sweeney (Eds.): Ludomusicology. Approaches to Video Game Music. Equinox, Sheffield 2016. ISBN 978-1-78179-438-8
  • Kevin Donnelly, William Gibbons, Neil Lerner (Eds.): Music in Video Games . Studying Play . Rouledge, New York 2014. ISBN 978-0-415-63444-1
  • William Cheng: Sound Play. Video Games and the Musical Imagination . Oxford University Press, New York, 2014. ISBN 0-19-996997-3
  • Karen Collins: Playing with Sound: A Theory of Interacting with Sound and Music in Video Games . The MIT-Press, Cambridge (Mass.) 2013. ISBN 978-0-262-01867-8
  • Peter Moormann (Ed.): Music and Game - Perspectives on a Popular Alliance. Springer-VS, Wiesbaden 2013. ISBN 978-3-531-17409-9 .
    • Melanie Fritsch: "History of Video Game Music". In: Peter Moormann (Ed.): Music and Game - Perspectives on a Popular Alliance. Springer-VS, Wiesbaden 2013, pp. 11–40.
  • Kiri Miller: Playing Along. Digital Game, YouTube, and Virtual Performance . Oxford University Press, New York, 2012. ISBN 0-19-975346-6
  • Melanie Fritsch (Hrsg.): "Playing music - computer games and music", ACT - magazine for music and performance no. 2, 2011
  • Karen Collins: Game Sound. An Introduction to the History, Theory, and Practice of Video Game Music and Sound Design. MIT University Press 2008. ISBN 978-0-262-03378-7
  • Karen Collins: From Pac-Man to Pop Music. Interactive Audio in Games and New Media. Ashgate, Hampshire 2008. ISBN 0-7546-6211-X
    • Jesper Kaae: "Theoretical approaches to composing dynamic music for video games". In: Karen Collins (Ed.): From Pac-Man to Pop Music. Interactive Audio in Games and New Media. Ashgate, Hampshire 2008, pp. 75-91.
    • Kristine Jorgensen: "Left in the dark: playing computer games with the sound turned off". In: Karen Collins (Ed.): From Pac-Man to Pop Music. Interactive Audio in Games and New Media . Ashgate, Hampshire 2008, pp. 163-176.
    • Tim van Geelen: "Realizing groundbreaking adaptive music". In: Karen Collins (Ed.): From Pac-Man to Pop Music. Interactive Audio in Games and New Media . Ashgate, Hampshire 2008, pp. 94-102.
  • Yvonne Stingel-Voigt: Soundtracks of Virtual Worlds . Music in video games. W. Hülsbusch, Glückstadt 2014, ISBN 978-3-86488-057-5 , pp. 260 .
  • Julia H. Schröder, Yvonne Stingel-Voigt: Special edition: The ear plays along - sound in computer games. In: PAIDIA - magazine for computer game research. , 2019, ISSN  2363-5630 , ( [1] ).
  • Enjott Schneider: “Composing for film and television”. Schott, Mainz 1997.
  • Josef Kloppenburg: “Multimedia music. Film music, video clip, television ”. Laaber, Laaber.
  • Mark Russell et al. a .: "Film Arts: Film Music". Reinbek, Hamburg 2001.
  • Sascha Beckmann: "Games Scores - the sound for graphics". In: "Keys". 3/08., 2008, pp. 16-18.
  • Sascha Beckmann: "Producing music for games". In: "Keys". 3/08, 2008, p. 24.

Broadcast reports

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Schneider, Enjott: composing for film and television. Schott, Mainz 2005, p. 24.
  2. ^ Kloppenburg, Josef: Music multimedia. Film music, video clip, television. Laaber, Laaber, 2000, pp. 48-56.
  3. ↑ Melanie Fritsch: Performing Bytes. Music performances of the computer game culture. Königshausen & Neumann, Würzburg 2018, ISBN 978-3-8260-6530-9 .
  4. ↑ Melanie Fritsch: Music . In: Benjamin Beil, Thomas Hensel, Andreas Rauscher (Eds.): Game Studies . Springer VS, Wiesbaden 2017, ISBN 978-3-658-13497-6 , p. 87-107 .
  5. ↑ Beckmann, Sascha: Games Scores - the sound for graphics. In: "Keys". 3/08., 2008, p. 16 f.
  6. ↑ Jorgensen, Kristine: Left in the dark: playing computer games with the sound turned off. In: Karen Collins (Ed.): From Pac-Man to Pop Music. Interactive Audio in Games and New Media. Ashgate, Hampshire 2008, p. 175.
  7. ↑ a b c Kloppenburg, Josef: Music multimedia. Film music, video clip, television. Laaber, Laaber, 2000, pp. 42-44.
  8. ↑ Leigh Alexander: Report: Konami Didn't Use Metal Gear Solid Theme In MGS4 Due To Plagiarism Accusations. In: Gamasutra . December 12, 2008, accessed August 13, 2012 .
  9. ↑ a b Beckmann, Sascha: Games Scores - the sound for graphics. In: "Keys". 3/08., 2008, p. 24.
  10. ↑ Russell, Mark et al. a .: Film arts: film music. Reinbek, Hamburg 2001, p. 13.
  11. ↑ Interview with Garry Schyman (September 26, 2008) ( Memento of February 8, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
  12. ↑ a b Kaae, Jesper: Theoretical approaches to composing dynamic music for video games. In: Karen Collins (Ed.): From Pac-Man to Pop Music. Interactive Audio in Games and New Media. Ashgate, Hampshire 2008, p. 83 f.
  13. ^ Kaae, Jesper: Theoretical approaches to composing dynamic music for video games. In: Karen Collins (Ed.): From Pac-Man to Pop Music. Interactive Audio in Games and New Media. Ashgate, Hampshire 2008, p. 78.
  14. ^ Van Geelen, Tim: Realizing groundbreaking adaptive music. In: Karen Collins (Ed.): From Pac-Man to Pop Music. Interactive Audio in Games and New Media. Ashgate, Hampshire 2008, pp. 93-102.
  15. ↑ Video games are influencing a generation of electronic music innovators. Retrieved August 7, 2019 .
  16. ↑ http://www.reedquest.org/subgenres-of-the-week-nintendocore-feat-holiday-pop/. Retrieved August 7, 2019 .
  17. ↑ Nintendo Rock: Nostalgia or Sound of the Future | Arts | The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved August 7, 2019 .
  18. ^ The Best Songs About Video Games. Retrieved August 7, 2019 .
  19. ↑ 11 Songs About Video Games. Retrieved August 7, 2019 (American English).
  20. ↑ 8 Video Game Inspired Music Videos That We Can Play All Day. Retrieved August 7, 2019 .