Week 18: Game Technology - Sound for Games

The sounds and soundtracks to games are widely popular, and the effect of these sounds within a game are widely unrecognised. The impact they have on the player is widely unrecognised as you dont usually notice the ,music in the background. Grand Unified Theories of games do not account for the ways the musical soundtrack to the game, effects the users experience and creates a seamless impression of the gameplay in which they are participating.

Sounds used within games, whether whole songs which form soundtracks, or parts of songs/purely instrumental pieces constantly feature throughout games, help to create the atmosphere of a game. For instance, when playing Quake or Doom, whilst in gameplay the music only appears when danger is near, or during a battle. Other than that the sound consists of guns, dripping of taps and small things like that as you explore the world you are in. They can also show a happy/relaxed atmosphere, and for this, take the Spyro games as an example. Throughout these games, as Spyro is exploring the peaceful words looking for new things to find and more challenges to do, the music is calm and tranquil, indicating that its a peaceful and relaxed atmosphere.

The mood of a game can soon change due to the music. Some games imply have music to accompany them for audio purposes. These are games such as SSX 3 and Need for Speed Underground. There is no soundtrack or danger warning needed for these games, however, because there is no shooting, danger, happiness, anxiety and so on, the music is simply put in to avoid silence and give some background noise to the game, You will also find that the music fits in with the theme. For example, take the SSX series, a skiing and snowboarding tournament game, the music there fits in with the genre of the game, which is mainly Indie music. Need for Speed however, has rap/Hip-hop/Grunge music which gives a feel of anticipation and winning.

Japan appears to have a huge impact on composing the music for games. Over there, video games soundtracks are most of the best selling titles around! You dont get much of that over here....do you? please, correct me if i am wrong on that one (about not getting much of it in the UK). You will find that some composers have more of an input into the industry than others. The compositions for the Final Fantasy games have become very popular as more and more of the games are published, but still, you dont always see albums with music from games on it. I mean you may do, just not in the charts like you would in Japan.

Two main Japanese composers are Shinji Hosoe who composed many of Namco's Titles, which includes the Ridge Racer Series. And also, Taro Hara, a top pianist is heavily involved in game music. They also work on many cross platform titles for big name companies, which includes Kinami and Bandai. Both composers are also part of Independent Music Companies. Many different people make a contribution to video game music, some is more widely known and anticipated than others. Although, im not sure anybody takes it as seriously as the Japanese.

Personally, when i am playing a game, i rarely sit there and go 'wow this music is gooooooooooooood' Half the time i dont even notice it (except when its silence and then music starts and then something jumps out at you! dammit i hate that!) Only really games like SSX and Need for Speed do i occasionally notice the music, mainly because i know the songs and when it changes the title comes up in the corner. Sometimes its distracting though you gotta admit! To me, its just something in the background so its not a silent game. Games like Super Mario, Puzzle Bobble and or course Tetris, can be impossible to get out of your head. Everybody knows those theme tunes. They are EVERYWHERE! you cant escape them. Even my grandparents know those theme tunes! (well Super Mario and Tetris they do anyways). Why are those theme tunes so catchy?

*curse the theme tune of Tetris*

Great games though......

The song 'Good times' composed by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards was, and indeed still is a very influential record. However, saying that it is the most influential record of the 20th century is a different matter. Ok so both artists worked with a lot of bands, had their own band, and weren’t afraid to leave the 'black' music scene and Warner Bros use their music, but for one song being the most influential? now that’s a title to have....but do they have the right to own it? To be honest, i dont think you can say that a most influential record exists. To many different people, many different songs will be influential on so many levels, you cannot measure up the best one. A lot of songs have been used in many multimedia projects, and many composers have become well known and loved over the years.