{"title":"Player Immersion and Music","authors":"Noah Kellman","doi":"10.1093/oso/9780190938680.003.0004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190938680.003.0004","url":null,"abstract":"When players are “immersed” in a game, they become temporarily unaware of the existence of the outside world. Audio creators have a heavy responsibility to make each game experience as engrossing, or immersive, as possible. The choices can greatly enhance the player’s connection to the game world, or just as easily can be a distraction that detracts from his or her experience. There are certain factors that make game immersion unique compared to other forms of media immersion, and they stem primarily from interaction. This chapter will discuss how music affects player immersion, then will dive deeper into how the player interacts with the music.","PeriodicalId":325867,"journal":{"name":"The Game Music Handbook","volume":"279 2 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-11-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116852595","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Advanced Algorithmic Music Systems","authors":"Noah Kellman","doi":"10.1093/oso/9780190938680.003.0011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190938680.003.0011","url":null,"abstract":"This chapter builds on the previous discussion of procedural music, examining the advanced capabilities of custom-built algorithmic music systems, and how they can respond to minute changes in game data. This exploration examines Uurnog Uurnlimited (2017), a game developed by Niklas Nygren (aka Nifflas), which features such an algorithmic music system. Nifflas designed Uurnog with real-time audio generation as a key feature of the gameplay experience, even going so far as to create a stand-alone music system called Ondskan to give himself nearly unlimited control over how a procedural musical score is attached to game data. Through the exploration of advanced reactive music systems, the reader will encounter many tools useful in thinking outside the box when crafting a music design for a game. These tools can give developers multiple approaches for creating scores that adapt to each play-through and provide the player with a uniquely personalized score.","PeriodicalId":325867,"journal":{"name":"The Game Music Handbook","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-11-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129019621","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"What Is “Game Music”?","authors":"Noah Kellman","doi":"10.1093/oso/9780190938680.003.0003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190938680.003.0003","url":null,"abstract":"Game music is an eclectic term, encompassing the many different musical genres that are used in video game scores. This chapter introduces readers to important game music history while seeking to define what musical characteristics are unique to game music. As composers found creative ways to work within the scope of this limited technology, unique challenges led to the conception of a new body of musical work that would later be referred to by the gaming world as “video game music,” or just “game music” for short. This chapter explores the history and development of game music as a genre. It focuses on analyzing how the limitations of previous gaming systems influenced composers to make specific musical choices, while also seeking to define what aesthetic characteristics are unique to video game music and how interactivity has led to new musical forms.","PeriodicalId":325867,"journal":{"name":"The Game Music Handbook","volume":"17 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-11-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133459487","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Exploring the Use of Musical Sound Effects in Games","authors":"Noah Kellman","doi":"10.1093/oso/9780190938680.003.0006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190938680.003.0006","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Musical sound effects are brief, event-triggered sounds, apart from the dialogue or music, which nonetheless contain a distinctly musical element as part of their sonic essence. Combining semiotic codes and thematic materials, musical sound effects can serve various important functions in video games: accentuating emotions, building worlds, providing signals and clues, and other purposes. This chapter explores various examples of their use, discussing how and why they are used on a case by case basis. It then provides readers with different techniques that can be applied to their own video game music projects.","PeriodicalId":325867,"journal":{"name":"The Game Music Handbook","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-11-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130828566","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Using Audio Middleware","authors":"Noah Kellman","doi":"10.1093/oso/9780190938680.003.0015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190938680.003.0015","url":null,"abstract":"While game engines are impressive in their power, they lack many important features for composers and sound designers. Often, a composer must spend several hours accomplishing a seemingly simple task in Unity that could be achieved quite easily with other methods. This chapter demonstrates the benefits of audio middleware, discussing its functionality and the practical reasons why it is ideal to implement middleware to create game audio whenever possible. The reader will learn how to use Wwise to create interactive music structures and seamless transitions.","PeriodicalId":325867,"journal":{"name":"The Game Music Handbook","volume":"64 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-11-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114481897","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Programming Crash Course for Composers","authors":"Noah Kellman","doi":"10.1093/oso/9780190938680.003.0014","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190938680.003.0014","url":null,"abstract":"This chapter serves as a concise, understandable introduction to programming concepts, with a focus on principles useful specifically to someone planning to integrate music or sound into a game. When learning game audio as a field, it is far too easy to skip over basic programming principles that should be part of any game music composer’s foundation. Intricate details of programing basics are not the focus of this chapter, but rather general concepts that are essential for understanding how a programmer thinks and being able to read code in a scripting language such as C#. These general concepts are then applied through audio-specific demonstrations using C#.","PeriodicalId":325867,"journal":{"name":"The Game Music Handbook","volume":"20 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-11-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128630376","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Emergence: Music’s Role in Player Experimentation","authors":"Noah Kellman","doi":"10.1093/oso/9780190938680.003.0009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190938680.003.0009","url":null,"abstract":"In the context of computer science, “emergent behavior” is when a number of simple behaviors interact and evolve into a larger, more complex behavior. This concept is quite common in video games. In cases of designed emergence, the music is designed to react to the player’s personality and to musically encourage the player to carry out certain actions. However, in unpredicted emergence, one must ask the question: how will the players’ personalities then affect the resulting music itself? This chapter will discuss different techniques that can be used to create a system that adapts well to both designed and unpredicted emergence, including the uses of model-based sound design, as well as modular orchestration. Among other examples, this chapter examines how Avalanche created a highly reactive music system which accounted systematically for the many possibilities in Just Cause 4.\u0000","PeriodicalId":325867,"journal":{"name":"The Game Music Handbook","volume":"66 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-11-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116058715","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Game Music Basics","authors":"Noah Kellman","doi":"10.1093/oso/9780190938680.003.0001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190938680.003.0001","url":null,"abstract":"Film music is linear, meaning you always know in what order the on-screen events occur. Game music, on the other hand, evolves and changes in real time based on the player’s actions. Composing for this unpredictable, nonlinear medium is a necessary skill unique to game music composition. This chapter examines how composing for nonlinear timelines is different both conceptually and technically, discussing the common techniques used in games today and empowering readers to use these in their own game projects.","PeriodicalId":325867,"journal":{"name":"The Game Music Handbook","volume":"5 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-11-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122089483","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Fundamental Game Scoring Techniques","authors":"Noah Kellman","doi":"10.1093/oso/9780190938680.003.0002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190938680.003.0002","url":null,"abstract":"Chapter 2 dives further into the technical side of game scoring fundamentals. The reader will learn how game composers structure their scores using techniques like horizontal resequencing and vertical layering, as well as looping and stingers. These fundamental methods of scoring games are essential to any game composer’s tool set, and this chapter leaves the reader with the necessary knowledge to jump right into game scoring.","PeriodicalId":325867,"journal":{"name":"The Game Music Handbook","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-11-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131194188","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Designing Interaction between the Player and the Music","authors":"Noah Kellman","doi":"10.1093/oso/9780190938680.003.0008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190938680.003.0008","url":null,"abstract":"There are many different ways in which a player might interact with your music: the player may have either an indirect relationship with the music (that is, the player’s actions do not directly lead to distinct musical consequences) or a direct relationship with the music (that is, the player’s actions and decisions do result in distinct musical consequences). These interactions might also happen diegetically or nondiegetically. It is important to determine early in the audio-planning process whether or not the player will share a direct relationship with the music. Different types of games require different types of interaction for the best gaming experience, and this chapter will cover various interaction types and how they can be applied.","PeriodicalId":325867,"journal":{"name":"The Game Music Handbook","volume":"59 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-11-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134457200","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}