Assignment 1 - Use of music within games and the methodology of recording and production.
Start Date: 02/02/16
Deadline: 09/02/16
Tutor: Josh, Rai
Name: Wyatt, Chapman
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How do games use music to add an enhanced effect to an atmosphere?
Chase Events (Male Ward Chase SoundTrack Outlast) - Most developers will express the execution of a chase event by suddenly initiating a song with a fast rhythm. This can cause players to panic, as they feel the need to rush, in order to escape. In most cases it would be the correct thing to do, but rushing, along with panicking can make players flustered and may not be able to respond to the situation correctly or slowly.
Outlast is full of moments where it has you on the edge of the seat and with the assistance of music (specifically the link above) and the run down surroundings increasing the intensity of the moment.
Emotional Scenes (Last Of Us -All Gone (No Escape) - The aim for this song is to make the mood feel as though all hope has escaped, that all the main character can do is give up. This could invoke the player to feel sad. I would say that given the atmosphere and scenery within the game, this music would suit it well within a distressing part of the story.
Finding an item (Zelda chest opening sound) - Zelda - when you find a treasure chest with a new item, a small tune is activated, to inform you that you have have found an important piece of equipment.
My Theory of why music is used in games.
Music and sound FX are so important within a game or film. They are used to enhance the atmosphere.
Using spine chilling music, you can create a game with low graphics, yet still setup a good scenario. SlenderMan for example is mainly thriller based. Nothing really happens but it builds up the music as you go on through the game, to put you off of the objective and more focused on running away. Music can also assist in making the player feel more emotionally attached to a character. The Last Of Us does this exceptionally well. It's a game that is solely focused on character attachments to increase the emotional trauma of the game's story/plot.
Keywords:
Wavelength - The distance between crests of sound waves.
Pitch is perceived as how "low" or "high" a sound is and represents the cyclic, repetitive nature of the vibrations that make up sound. For simple sounds, pitch relates to the frequency of the slowest vibration in the sound. In the case of complex sounds, pitch perception can vary. Sometimes individuals identify different pitches for the same sound, based on their personal experience of particular sound patterns.
Amplitude - Refers to the intensity of sound.
Pitch - How high or low a tone is.
Hertz - The unit for frequency.
Decibel - The unit used to measure the intensity of sound.
Foley - Creating artificial sounds for films or games. an example of this would be if they had a scene where a character slapped another, then they would probably use a slab of meat and hit it with a rolling pin to create the illusion of the person being slapped.
Timbre - The quality of musical sound or voices, from the pitch to the intensity.
Evaluation of 2 Game Songs:
Halo 2: A game about the last remaining spartan (Master Chief) who is trying to save the universe and prevent the activation of the halo rings
Halo 2 - Mjolnir mix (Original Soundtrack) - The song starts off by creating a mystical atmosphere, filling the player with wonder, then it goes into an intense guitar solo, indicating the start of an event that is intense, being fast paste and full of action. Players may feel curious at the start, possibly later on in the song players may feel motivated to try their hardest to complete the task before them, people could feel heroic.
The Last of Us: This game follows the story of Joel. A man who was caught up in the chaos of the outbreak, which ended with him losing his daughter. Later on he is tasked with escorting Ellie to a laboratory, where doctors decide to dissect Ellie in order to obtain a cure.
Last of Us - Main Theme (Gustavo Santaolalla) - for me it sounds like something sad, or dramatic has happened. Maybe something is coming but it cant be foreseen. The song itself has a very distinct western feel to it, especially when its put into context with the game. The music could have been specifically made to go along with the ruined city, which was plagued. Making the play feel just how terrible the outbreak was.
Obviously both games have copyrighted their music to prevent other people or companies from stealing it. In order to use their music in a videos or other media service you would first have to pay royalties or ask for permission and try to obtain rights for free, with afew other ways to use the songs.
