Video Game Music!! 191‘‘sold 1 million units in less than 2 months’’ (Billboard, May 13, 2006). Game
companies search for new ideas that will keep gamers interested in the
medium.
!!Rapper 50 Cent sam-
pled a song written by me
and Aram Schefrin for the
game ‘‘50 Cent: Bullet-
proff.’’ The track is called
‘‘I’m a Rider.’’ 50 Cent wrote
and performed the rap.Music has developed into one of the
most essential elements of video games.
Full orchestral scores that accompany
games are now common. The most sought
after film composers are scoring games. In
addition to underscoring, licensing songs
recorded by popular artists is routine.
Home entertainment systems are avail-
able at reasonable prices; consequently,
most avid game players own sophisticated audio and visual reproduction
systems, adding to the excitement of the gaming experience. Purchasing
games has created a negative impact on the sale of music and motion pic-
tures. The game, music, and motion picture industries are all vying for
consumers’ leisure expenditures. These subjects are discussed in the
remainder of this chapter.
Portions of the following material are from an interview with Steve
Schnur, worldwide executive of music and audio for Electronic Arts for
Billboardmagazine, November 10, 2007:
[Referring to popular music being licensed for use in video games] This
is the beginning of music and film and TV becoming interactive vs. linear
forms of entertainment. Interactive media is the only way media is going
to be delivered in the future.
Writing music for video games differs from writing music for films.
Video games are interactive entertainment and game players, therefore,
must feel as though they are a part of the experience. If the music, sound
effects, and dialogue do not contain the same artistic value as the audio
on major motion picture soundtracks, the games would not be competi-
tive in the video game market. Most game players own high-definition
televisions and surround sound speaker systems; the visual and audio
component of games has to equal the experience of viewing feature films
on home state-of-the-art entertainment systems.
Film composers compose music after viewing completed films. The
films have been edited. Usually temp (temporary) musical tracks (music
taken from other sources, e.g. CDs, commercials and other films) have
been added. This helps to communicate a director’s musical vision to a
composer.
In addition to hearing the dialogue, many of the films contain either
the final sound effects or temporary sound effects. Hearing or envisioning
the sound effects is essential to composers because it affects the style of
music they write for particular scenes. If the sound effects are going to be
prominent in the final audio mix, which is comprised of dialogue, music,
and/or sound effects, composers must write music that will be audible,
but not compete with the other elements. For example, it might be diffi-