Video Game Music!! 193posing is not written in a linear format. Game players have the power to
control the behavior of the characters; they control the outcome of the
game. For instance, if a character is directed to go to the left, they might
encounter a hostile situation; if they go to the right, they might encounter
a friendly situation, and so forth. The musical cues [specific compositions]
must be written so that the transition from one musical mood to another
does not sound disruptive. In many ways, this makes game writing more
complex than film writing. Games vary from fifty minutes of music to
more than one hundred and twenty minutes of music, with an average of
sixty minutes. It depends on the complexity of a game.The Composition Process
As in any form of musical composition that accompanies visual images,
composers must first decide on the genre of music that will most appropri-
ately complement a game. Game scores may require traditional romantic
or heroic filmesque scores, rock and roll, jazz, a combination of styles, and
so on. It is helpful for game music composers to be versatile. Versatile com-
posers receive more assignments than composers who specialize in one or
two musical genres. Composers should display their musical strengths on
their demo reels and on their websites. (Most game composers have a web-
site that is used to market their work. It is easier for a potential employer
to hear their work and read their credits and other essential information.)
!!Steve Schnur stated
that in his search for com-
posers, he is most inter-
ested in a competent com-
poser who may not
understand the technique of
writing to film or games but
who writes melodic themes
and well-constructed me-
lodic content. He can hire
someone to help a com-
poser with the technical re-
quirements (musical ‘‘hits,’’
transitions in the proper
keys, and so on).This reiterates the importance of
musical training; learning the techniques
of writing to visual images is relatively
simple compared to learning composition
and orchestration.
Executive producers and creative
teams from the game publishers usually
have clear visions of musical styles most
appropriate for their projects. Often, they
play musical examples to communicate
the style of music they envision. The pur-
pose of the examples is to present an over-
view of their musical expectations. The
creatives want composers to write in their
own styles and not copy the exact
approach taken by the composers of the
examples. They are asking composers not
to plagiarize but merely to understand the musical direction that, in their
opinion, will be most suitable for a project.