From the early days of orchestral
accompaniments to silent films, music has played an important role in enhancing
media. In early cinema, music was played as a method of masking unwanted noise
from the street outside and from the projector [1]. As film became more popular
however, practitioners in the field soon noticed the impact of including music
as a way of enhancing the psychological drama of a film [2] and thus music
became a much more integral part of the performance.
In the context of computer games
music is a slightly more complex subject. Due to their interactive nature, games
present the unique challenge that the actions of the player in the game cannot
be exactly anticipated. This creates interesting problems when considering
musical accompaniment which, if used in a similar way to film, must reflect the
emotional state of the player and the game environment. In a game situation a
linear score can quickly become repetitive. If a player is stuck in a certain
place in the game for example, the monotonous looping of music will become
increasingly maddening and will only serve to infuriate the
player as they struggle to progress.
The answer to this problem is
therefore to create a system which allows the music to flow and change with the
game dynamics, reflecting the mood of the game in real time. There have been
many attempts to create interactive music systems in games and many have been
unsuccessful!
This is a good example of an
interactive music score failing to react to a change in emotional state. As you
can see, the high-energy action music, which is perfectly suited to fighting gorillas does not work so well when all the gorillas are dead and you’re standing
still. This demonstrates some of the problems that need to be overcome when
considering an interactive music score.
One of the key elements with
interactive music is to address the balance of ‘Musical Structure vs Player Autonomy’. The music must be structured
enough that it can complement the emotional state of the player but also allow
and be able to adapt to the unpredictable nature of the game environment. This
presents a constant challenge for the audio development team and especially in
recent years have led to many novel applications of technology to address this critical
balance.
A great example of modern day
interactive music is demonstrated by the highly stylised, side-scroller puzzle
game Limbo by Playdead studios [3]. Limbo takes a refreshingly different
attitude to in-game music, merging the boundary between the diegetic sounds of
the game and the otherworldly textures that form the music. Arnt Jensen, the creator and game director said that he wanted to
‘give prominence to the boy’s Foley
sounds, to emphasize silence and subtlety in the ambiences, and to avoid music
that would manipulate the emotions of the player.’
The music below is taken from the
title screen of Limbo.
Immediately the tone of the game
becomes apparent. Bleak sonic textures and unidentifiable acousmatic sound
combine to create an eerie soundscape which is strangely organic. A subtle
drone is layered with what sounds like a combination of waves and bee and
traffic or possibly rain, a waterfall, maybe wind. This highlights the beauty
of the sound design for this game. All the elements are suggestive of
real-world sounds but are expertly manipulated and combined to become one flowing
sonic journey that remains strangely ambiguous. The sound designer, Martin Stig
Anderson, has a background in ‘electroacoustic’ music and has developed
techniques that perfectly complement the artistic style of the game.
This next video shows an example
of how the music responds to mirror and emphasise in-game events. At the start
of the clip a high pitch drone can be heard, layered with what sounds like
birdsong and forest ambience. This continues until the boulder crashes into the
ground whereby a different tonality can be observed. Notice how after the
sounds of debris from the impact settle, the music adopts a more granular
character almost mimicking and continuing the sounds heard from the previous
event.
This second gameplay video shows
another example of the adaptive, almost narrative nature of the music. Before
the encounter with the infamous spider, the music takes the form of what
appears to be a wind-like texture. The spider comes into view and unfurls its
legs, smashing the ground as the boy approaches. As before, in synchronicity to
the impact of the spider’s leg to the ground the music reacts, evolving into
much more ominous and menacing tone.
As you can see, this demonstrates an
extremely effective method of implementing an interactive music score into a
game which perfectly fits the aesthetic and tone the developer is trying to
achieve. The music enhances and complements the emotional state of the player,
seamlessly adapting to the changing game world without breaking immersion.
Achieving such an immersive example of
interactive music was a long process and many paradigms about existing
techniques had to be rethought. Usually with game sounds all audio artefacts
will be presented in mono however, in an interview with Martin Stig Anderson he
explains about how when he put everything into mono he couldn’t engage with the
sounds, stating that it was just not immersive enough [4].
Anderson continues to explain
that ambiences and textures were broken down into individual ‘grains’. Sound effects such
as rain and wind might only consist of a two second sample which was then cut
into ten to fifteen different slices and stitched back together at run time.
This allowed huge varied textures to be created from very small chicks of
audio. This technique also ensures that the probability of hearing any
repetition within the music is incredibly low.
It must be stated that the music in Limbo does not directly confront many of the issues presented with interactive music, it merely sidesteps them. None of the music has a notable pulse or rhythm meaning that sections can easily transitioned between without breaking the immersion of the game. Nevertheless it is still a great example of how effective sound design and clever use of technology can be used to create a powerful sense of identity and style within a game.
In an article on Kotaku [5], Stephen Totilo
suggests that video game music is neither essential nor necessary for complete
functioning of a computer game, implying that the same experience could be had
if the music is replaced by a podcast or other such media. Limbo is a shining example of why (properly implemented) music is
essential in modern games not only as an accompaniment to the graphic but also
as a key game mechanic. The way the music functions in Limbo to highlight certain objects in the landscape or emphasise
certain actions is just as integral to the experience as the graphics. The game
is presented as a whole, with the graphics and sound so tightly integrated and
essential to the feel of the game that they cannot be separated. Simply put, to
play Limbo without music would be to
play half a game.
References:
1.
Calvalcanti,
A. (1985). Sounds in films. In Film
Sound:Theory and practive (eds. E. Weis & J. Belton), pp 98-111. New
York: Columbia University Press.
2.
Lipscomb,
S.D. & Tolchinsky, D.E. (in press). The role of music communication in
cinema. In Music Communication (Eds.,
D. Miell, R. MacDonald, & D. Hargreaves), Oxford, UK: Oxford University
Press.
5.
http://kotaku.com/5730637/the-year-i-gained-the-courage-to-ignore-
video-game-music
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