Music production and diffusion was a lot more daunting than it is today. Besides writing and composition, musicians had to make use of tape machines to record their music and mixing had to be done entirely by hand in real-time. The year is 1977 and while Donna Summer was singing I Feel Love, Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) were only a mere concept. But how has video game music changed over time? We’ve benefited from decades of technological improvements and discoveries to get where we’re at now, let’s explore some of them! Music and sound design in video games were shaped by technological limitations In current times, we tend to think about video game soundtracks as a way to soothe the experience and gameplay while complementing the narrative. These golden years also saw the advent of the first gaming consoles and, as opposed to the explosive live scene at the time, early consoles induced a set of creative restrictions in terms of music and sound design. Developers were aware of the importance of audio in video games very early on and, with these limitations in mind, they had to resort to ingenious techniques to be able to convey the musical atmosphere they desired for their game From the 8-bit era to modern timesīetween Pink Floyd, Stevie Wonder, Led Zeppelin and David Bowie, the 70s sure left their mark on our creative musical history. This conference inspired us to explore a topic that’s been a core part of game design since its inception – the influence of video game soundtracks on a player’s immersion. This exploration will be divided into two articles: first we will discuss the evolution of technology from the late 70s to current times, and in our second part, we will approach the atmospheric implications of music and sound design in video games. Chipzel discussing audio composition at the High Score 2019. The event reunited renowned video game music composers such as Manami Matsumae (Mega Man, Shovel Knight), Takahiro Izutani (Metal Gear Solid, Bayonetta) but also newer faces like Chipzel (OctaHedron, Interstellaria). The Melbourne International Games Week took place on October 5th – 13th, 2019 and was jam-packed with great conferences and panels! One of them being High Score, which focused on game music composition styles.
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