196 !!Chapter 11
music written by other composers or music the composer has written for
other projects. In an effort to avoid legal problems, many game publishers
hire musicologists to analyze the music written for their games. The scores
must be original.
Sound Effects
Composers work closely with sound designers and/or sound design
teams. Most composers do not hear the sound effects before they compose.
Since game composers are not viewing or hearing the audio for the final
game, they must internalize the imagined sound effects and the manner in
which the sounds will affect their compositional process. This parallels the
process used in film scoring with the exception that film composers, most
often, will hear most of the sound effects or temp sound effects while they
are composing. This offers the advantage of hearing the music while
simultaneously hearing dialogue and sound effects. Composers are able
to determine if the sound effects and dialogue mask the music.
!!I interviewed a sound
designer who was working
on a sports video game. A
team of six sound engineers
simultaneously recorded a
crowd of 50,000 sports fans
at a stadium. Since the
audio is mixed in 5.1 sur-
round sound, the crowd ef-
fects sound as if the game
player is in a real stadium.
The game had a sizable
budget for the creation of
the sound design. Complex
and expensive sound ef-
fects recording sessions are
usually reserved for feature
films; this is an unusual ex-
ample for a video game.Most sound effects are created spe-
cifically for games with substantial bud-
gets. Games with sizable production
budgets generally do not employ sound
effects libraries. Creating original effects
is costly and requires the same creative
skills and talent used by Foley artists (cre-
ators of sound effects) in the film industry.
If a game presents the illusion that it takes
place during World War II, the sound
designers might fire and record weapons
from that historic period. Their goal is to
create authentic effects.
Reactions to sound effects from cre-
ative teams are subjective. Sound design-
ers might create multiple effects for a
requested sound before a creative team
agrees that one or more of the sounds
work in the game. If the effects are
rejected, the sound designers create new
effects until the creatives are satisfied.
Since games are mixed in 5.1 surround
sound, a game with poorly designed effects could fail in the competitive
marketplace. As the industry grows, so do the expectations of game play-
ers. Consumers are exposed to superior sound and realistic, clear pictures
with fluid motion. Developers producing mediocre work usually cannot
compete against companies producing state-of-the-art games.
When game developers have limited budgets, composers may be asked