Isolating Game Elements: Listen to the Music

Unless a game is all about music and has music as protagonist - like Guitar Hero - usually music and sound effects has just auxiliary function in games. Isolating music is easy because it kind of have independent life apart from belonging a game. A game without music isn´t boring at all, but has the impression that something else is missing there. Gradually hardware evolution allowed most games to play some sound effects here and there. Finally a level was reached where playing music wasn´t that hard in computers and consoles although it wasn´t possible to play any instrument. Nowadays music and sound effects has no limits anymore.

Beyond all this ease, it seems to be harder to a generalist person to understand music rather than producing some random graphics. Most of people enjoy listening music, and that´s all. Mainly because music, like any form of art, has some inexplicable points that can either seduce or cast you away from a product. However, there are some points that can be learned or, at least, trained in order to make this process of choosing music easier.

Music causes an immersive experience on games that separates you from real world. It helps players to be closer to game reality.

Are you listening to me?

Hearing is a sense that helps people to understand reality around them. Humans are conditioned to react according to some sound effects and even to change mood according to some music. Being that said, it is natural that game should cause same effects through music and sound effects. In fact, music acts like a reality separator, getting player immerse on game experience. Similar experience is found on cinema: music gradually invites your audience to join the movie same way as game does.

Matching points

Which music is the best to be used in a game? It obviously depends. And depends on a countless factors. However, a rule that can be mentioned here is: the music has to do with the game at some level. We will not be able to find best level where a game should be related to its own music - but a well aware game designer are able to find it easily. If your game is based on Egyptian culture, it would be wise to find some good references on instruments and musics they used to play, watch some movies about Cleopatra.

Can music be used freely at games? What are the rules to find appropriate music?

Yes, it can. However it is wise to follow some rules. Music may cause countless reactions on people. Each moment ask some type of music: expectation moment should have music that cause expectation on player, if a boss´ level must be killed, find a music that stimulate player to do so. If princess was saved, let´s celebrate the event accordingly. In fact, finding out what´s the game designer intention at each relevant moments helps a lot to find appropriate music. According to that intention, a list of potential music can be written and pick one of them will be easier.

In this video, you can watch and feel how things might change suddenly if we use different music style in a movie. It works same way for games. And it shows precisely that music doesn´t have to match only movie style but also director intentions. Although it is easy to watch and feel, it isn´t that easy to explain music effects on audience. Lots of listening exercises are advised to get you sharp on this matter.

Learning music

If you have time enough and intentions to go deep in music, there are lots of music schools where you can get to know a little bit more. Also, there might be tutorials and online courses available to help people on learning music. When you find out how music can cause some feelings to people, it will be easier to identify and match appropriate music to occasion on games.

Listen music is one good hint. It doesn´t matter if you like it or not: listen music of all kind, all origins. It can´t be learned at school and is very important. Build relations between music and names, sensations, dates, events, composers, singers, bands because it can get your sense of music sharper. Try instruments out there even if you don´t want to play is important to know the kind of sound each instrument generate. Once you try a couple of instruments and get to know music styles, it is easier to extend this knowledge to musics you haven´t listened yet.

Once you get yourself identifying music style, instruments and all sort of things related to music, next steps are easier and quicker to do. This trainning process might be long and pay attention to things that you like and dislike. It is important to the whole process and will be discussed later. For now, try to identify music style from favorite games, find their relations and take note of everything. Try to get some references of music style and be a open minded professional. It will surely be useful upfront, mostly when you have to work on projects that doesn´t match your personal preferences.

Isolating Game Elements - Art in the games

A game is a curious blend of Graphic Art, Music, Literature and Code. It is a multimedia product because each of the described items has autonomy on its own. Only when these items are put together and under certain conditions it might be considered a game. That´s the reason why studying games might be a complex subject. When it comes to creative process, the broader the better. So how to study a subject that is a blend of other complex areas? Lucidity is the key to this problem.

If doing games was an equation, it would surely help us to see more than meets the eye and start thinking analytically. With this equation as a starting point, it can be possible not only to analyze a game but also to subdivide equation members to find their correct classification. It can also help us seek further information regarding a specific area that was hidden behind the game as a whole.

Just as a theoretical exercise, consider all sentences as true and generating different expression subjects:

Graphic Art + Literature = (Installations, comic books, illustrated books, others*)

Graphic Art + Music = (Animations, others*)

Graphic Art + Music + Literature = (Movie, others*)

Graphic Art + Music + Literature + Code = (Game!*)

(*)Results are countless, so "others" always has  to be an option.

Literature

Inside a game, literature can be considered any element directly related to written expression. That said, all explicit elements such as score, character dialogs, numbers and any displayed messages can be considered Literature. There are also elements that have no need to be shown and that might be classified as Literature: Characters descriptions, game plot, text drafts.

Words and Texts are important part of games.

Any work involving translation and localization of texts might be classified as Literature when it comes to game design and development. For people curious about improving skills in this specific field, it is recommended to attend Literature and Arts basic classes at any university. In addition, Geography and History classes can help students to broad their basic knowledge about it.

Graphic Art

Any form of non-written and inaudible message expressed through draws, images and sketches can be considered Graphic Art. Same as Literature, there might be explicit and implicit GA. It embraces any sort of animation and paintings under any technique. It includes icons, characters graphical representation, charset, 3D models, screens, layout design and balance.

Although there isn´t a main component of a game, it is reasonable to say that GA deserves a little highlight in the process. Any form of graphic expression can be used to influence game production. Among others, Baroque, Realism, Naturalism, Cubism, Surrealism. There is no rule to get influenced.

The Last Judgement (Michelangelo).

Putting historical styles apart, an important tool to influence art on games is Color Theory. It is important to work objectively with colors. Sometimes, it is not so easy to work with colors when you are not used to. What seems to be a natural ability at some people skills might be a complete disaster with others. It classifies colors according to certain rules so, when Color Theory is used, designer can rest assured that, at least, regular work was delivered.

Curious people about improving GA skills can attend drawing classes, painting classes, animation classes available at any university. In addition, Art History classes, Aesthetics classes, Print Art classes and related subjects can help students to broad their knowledgment about this GA.

Music

Music is responsible for providing the whole ambient a game needs to push player into the game. Basically music in games can be divided in two: Background Music (BGM) and Auxiliary Sounds. Similarly Music has the same importance at games as it has at movies.

Music and Sound Effects expand player´s game experience

People curious about improving music skills should attend classes at any music institute or school or might go to a music university course if the intention is to become a musician.

Code

Coding involves whole support system to present a game. Code might get analyzed as a means of expressing the game itself. However, most of readers are involved with technology activities at some level and going straight to the point might be better and practical to our purposes.

Code involves game logic, game structure, game screen layout, databases, game programming, security issues, hardware and software connections, quality control tests, code optimization and more. Basically it seems that code activity involves the delivery of the game as a product. The group in charge of coding has a huge responsibility in a game process because game will get delivered from their hands.

Although it is very precise and technical, coding involves art at some level. If we consider that Michelangelo was very concerned regarding human anatomy proportions and that coding activity involves the art of putting every element of a game together, working fine, properly balanced and keeps it running, that coding activity involves getting all part of music, graphics and text to create a new product, it is art indeed.

Art at producing games

Creating games involves areas that are sometimes out of the designer’s knowledge range. This text exposes how to find at ordinary world all information and help a designer might need to accomplish a project. Once all resources are at hand, the whole game creation process becomes easy to get designed, produced and published. Designing a game involves balancing all game´s equation members and testing it insanely to check if desired result meets delivered result. Possibly there might be remaining points that were forgotten, please let me know so it can get fixed.

Clarification

Any written expression might also be considered as a graphic expression. Ideograms would be precisely the place where graphics and texts meet. However, to ease our analytical process, it was decided to explain them apart. In time, there is also a place where sounds meet texts. Any music with voices could get analyzed as a text at some level. Here again, it was decided to classify music with voices as Music and not as Text although there are surely some texts on it.