This is the slideshow for the 2015 Spring Meeting of the American Musicological Society held at the Juilliard School of Music. It includes hyperlinks, audio, and video examples.
This presentation explores the extent to which video game music promotes fantasy-play through dynamic shifts in mood and tension caused by player actions.
The diversity of sonorities and musical patterns within the scope of primitive sound chips is a result of technical ingenuity through collaborations of composers and sound programmers.
This aids in the total immersion of the player in the game-generated world.
Immersion into Fantasy: Compositional Techniques of Video Game Music from the Late 80s and Early 90s
1. Immersion into Fantasy: Compositional
Techniques of Video Game Music from
the Late 80s and Early 90s
● A Presentation for the American Musicological
Society
● By Dr. Christopher Hopkins, Five Towns College
Faculty
2. Goals
● This presentation explores the extent to whichvideo
game music promotes fantasy-play through
dynamic shifts in mood and tension caused by
player actions.
● The diversity of sonorities and musical patterns
within the scope of primitive sound chips is a
result of technical ingenuity through
collaborations of composers and sound
programmers.
● This aids in the total immersion of the player in the
game-generated world.
3. Dissertation
● Chiptune Music: An Exploration of Compositional
Techniques as Found in Sunsoft Games for the
Nintendo Entertainment System and Famicom
from 1988-1992
– How did the composers at Sunsoft overcome the
limitations of the sound chips to create compelling
sounds and effects?
– This dissertation defines and acknowledges the
compositional tradition of this genre during the 8-
bit gaming era.
4. Video Games
● Fantasy through graphics
– Hardware limits color choices, amount of visual
content on-screen at any given time
Final Fantasy 2
Contra
5. Video Games
● Fantasy through audio
– Memory and hardware specifications limit timbres,
volume gradients, simultaneous sounds
● NES/Famicom
– 5 sound channels
● 2 pulse, 1 triangle, 1 noise, 1 sampled
12.5% Pulse
25% Pulse
50% Pulse
Triangle
Sampled
Noise
7. Compositional Techniques
● Focus on melody
● Reuse musical motives
– Rhythmic
– Melodic
– Harmonic
– Micro & Macro
● Variation through
– Duty cycles
– Tempo
– Key
– Meter
– Dynamics
– Articulation
8. Artificial Reverberation
● Simulate a more convincing physical soundscape
with two sound channels desynced
● PROS
– The part has a denser tone more indicative of
acoustics
● CONS
– Instrumentation is sparse
9. Batman (1990)
● Takes place in the world from the 1989 movie with
Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson
● “Ending”
– Top of cathedral to street level
– No more actions from player required
– Relief, inner peace, completion, no fanfare
Melody w/ reverb Melody w/o reverb Full
11. Looping
● Compose music such that sections transition
smoothly at the loop point
● PROS
– Good balance between memory and musical content
– Accounts for music of variable length in gameplay
● CONS
– Limits amount of musical development
– End of track dictated by player action
12. Ufouria: the Saga (1992)
● Bop-Louie is in search of his three friends who
have amnesia and were abducted by an alien and
a robot
● “Boss 1”
– Arena setting
– First large enemy fight with endurance and attack
strategy
– Danger, excitement, agitation
Melody
Full
14. Arpeggiation
● Cycle through 2 or more notes on one sound
channel
● PROS
– Frees up other sound channels
● CONS
– Needs to be moderate to fast as harmony
– Not as effective for slow tracks
15. Mega Man 9 (2008)
● As Mega Man, a robotic man, fight through a robot
army to prove your creator's innocence
● “Galaxy Man”
– Takes place in outer space
– UFO enemies, teleporters
– Futuristic, technological, digital, out of this world
Arpeggiation Alone Full
17. Samples
● Record and use original sounds
– Sound effects
– Grunts, moans,
– Percussion hits
● NES/Famicom can repitch samples on the PCM
channel
short voiceovers
Sampled bass Sampled orchestra hit
Sampled percussion
18. Shovel Knight (2014)
● Chiptunes are still used for a game-infused fantasy
backdrop
● Armed with only a shovel, dig and battle your way
against creatures, dragons, and knights to find and
rescue your fellow knight
● “Plains – Stage 1”
– Outdoors, nature, thematic
– Needs to be engaging to encourage play
20. Conclusion
● Video game music, specifically chiptunes, enlivens
and supports the fantasy world of the game
● Composers and sound programmers worked out the
best practices to simulate a more realistic aural
world
● Player interaction with audio responses promote
immersion and continued play
