Accompanying the World - Music in Games

"A storm rolls in, elements in the music start fading out, melodies first, then percussion, etc. Ambient wildlife quiets down, and the sounds of the elements intensify. As the storm rolls out, wildlife begins to fade back in, music begins to pick up layers and the clouds give way." -Todd Masten, Audio Designer and Composer for Vanguard: Saga of Heroes

3rd Generation is constantly the major buzzword surrounding most elements being discussed about Vanguard. For audio and music, there are no exceptions. While it has been wildly debated over the years, the truth of the matter is that for a real immersive experience in any game, sound is one of the driving forces behind completing the illusion.

There may be some gamers who argue against the importance of sound, rebelliously turning it down while pumping their own music. For them, a game is perhaps something they only feel compelled to experience on certain levels. From its origin, however, sound and music have always been a part of gaming even in its most primitive forms.

Obviously sound in the original video games has left a lasting impression on the general population, as until recent years most people still think of it as the primitive 'beeps' from the founding days. Truly, sound in games has accelerated at an incredible pace. Some people believe it has matured and become sophisticated over the years, but from the beginnings of music in games the same creative efforts have been placed into its creation.

In the 8-bit era of video games, we saw the rise of major melodic themes. Previously, most music had been little jingles that played when certain key events occurred. Composers were still severely limited by technology, restricted to being able to use only 4 tracks. Usually, one line was dedicated to the main melody. One line carried the bass. The other two either provided harmonies, or a single harmony and a percussion track. In the outside world of music, 12-tone and atonal techniques were reigning rather prevalently, yet in our world of games, composers found themselves revisiting the early inspirations of western music: counterpoint. Developed in the 1700s, counterpoint is the juxtaposition of two or more melodic lines, working together to create a musical phrase. Used extensively by composers such as Bach and Mozart, with the restriction of early game music it only seemed natural to use some of these techniques whether intentionally or not. Toss in a bit of inspiration from progressive rock, and you get the general gist of where early game music came from.

With the advance into the 16-bit era of games, there came a huge improvement of both instrument quality and quantity. Composers were, for the first time, able to use samples or synthesized versions of real instruments. The sounds from 8-bit games were mainly wave-forms tailored to produce different qualities. Things like string sections and mock orchestras could be used to an extent for the more epic sweeping scores. Low-fi samples could be used as well, but generally composers were still restricted to one set of instruments designed specifically for the system in mind.

Once games broke away from cartridges and onto CDs, the restrictions began to slowly wear down. Redbook (pre-recorded) audio could now be used, but the restriction was now on disc space as opposed to system limitations. Because of this, most composers stuck to samples and midi for their scores. They could now, however, store midi sample banks on the games themselves in order to grant the music its own flavor depending on what instruments or sounds needed to be used.

In this time period and before, there was still one more factor to be considered as far as the limitation composers faced: the infamous looping music. Some love it, some hate it, but it was the original solution to consistent game scores. Game music as a whole is different from every other form of music in that it does not have a beginning or an end in the traditional sense. The music exists with the game, to set moods and create an atmospheric guide through the worlds established.

In the current era of games, the final restriction is becoming loosened: technology now allows for music to not need to loop indefinitely. Will elements of looping still be used? Yes. However, game music is no longer a strictly linear thing. Some people have likened the maturing of game music to becoming like film music, but this is something that it isn't and cannot become. A game and movie will share similarities such as themes for characters and mood techniques, but the key element in games is interactivity. A character could do anything at any time, given the gameplay, and the music should be reactive and support that. The trick here is that even without limitation, a new restriction is applied to the composition techniques. The music must be written in such a way where it can transition from one section to a number of others seamlessly.

Recent examples of reactive music are quite varied and of different levels of complexity. The score for Dreamcast game Skies of Arcadia utilized a simple method to great effect for its boss battle theme. There was the basic song loop that began when the battle occurred. Depending on the progress of the battle, the music could fluctuate to two different layers. If the player found him/herself overwhelmed and on the verge of death, a more ominous theme rolled in. If the opposite occurred and they were on the verge of victory, a more upbeat victorious theme would play. To make an extreme comeback from the ominous to victorious was not only satisfying in terms of gameplay, but also supported by the music.

An even more relevant example would be the battle music from the MMORPG Anarchy Online. The music was set up to react to the difficulty and length of the encounter, something that hadn't been done before in the genre. Little chunks of music were set up to be played in any sort of order, and ranged from a light skirmish to an epic battle with loads of percussion.

Recent release The Matrix Online also tackled issues of linearity by making its battle tracks intentionally linear, but in a randomized way, rather similar to how a modern synthesizer/sampler's "groove" feature works. Once initiated, each battle theme had a preset intro that led into any number of chunks ranging from 5-15 seconds in length. When the battle came to an end, the currently playing chunk came to its conclusion and ended the piece.

With all this in mind, what does Todd Masten have in store for the soundtrack and technology of Vanguard? The issue of linearity is being addressed by creating several different layers for each area in the game. Depending on time of day, in battle or not, inside a house or structure, will affect the overlaying music for each area. Also, as put to example by the quote at the start of this article, various elements from the music might have the ability to be shifted around in emphasis depending on the necessary mood. Additionally, as the character idles the music will get progressively less busy and will eventually become simply the background sound effects. Whatever other bits of 'sekret sauce' about music are still unknown at this point, though hopefully more will be revealed in the near future.

Music in games is gradually becoming its own subtle art form. Learning from the past, progressing forward, the restrictions are what define each era. However, don't think of them as a bad thing. Restrictions are what guide music or art in general, serving as our greatest inspiration.