This presentation explores the role of video game sound and music designers. It discusses how advances in technology have created opportunities for composers to experiment and create compelling audio. The presentation covers types of game sounds, platforms, notable early examples, software, education programs, and the presenter's own research on music from 8-bit Nintendo games. It aims to give students an understanding of the game audio industry and have them work in teams to create audio for a game.

1. SOUNDS Like Fun and Games
● A Presentation for the 2013 Summer Teaching with
Technology Institute
● By Prof. Christopher Hopkins, LIU Post Faculty

2. Goals
● This presentation will explore the role and
development of the video game sound and music
designer. Advances in game design and
technology have created a competitive, yet
imaginative arena in which young composers
must explore, experiment, and create ways to
effectively implement compelling game audio into
games as well as market their work through
multimedia geared toward potential gaming
companies.

3. Blended Teaching
● Students listen and interact with games available
through the internet
● Students listen and interact with each other through
discussion forums and online classroom
● Students create and upload original sounds and
music compositions
● Students and professor evaluate appropriate and
originality of audio when associated with a game

4. Types of Game Sounds
● Sound Effects
– Footsteps
– explosion
● Music
– Stage Theme
– Cutscene Music
● Voiceover
– Dialogue

5. Game Media
● Cartridges
– Durable, made of plastic
– Popular until the mid 90's
● Discs
– Hold more memory
– More space for sampled audio
● Digital Download
– Limited by internet speeds
– Audio dependent on hardware specs

6. Sound Effects
● Relatively short bursts of sound
● Bears resemblance to sounds in daily life
● Sound strongly associated with iconic games
● Jingles or short cadence

7. 1980
● Pac-Man
– Start Jingle

8. 1985
● Super Mario Bros.
– Moving down pipe

9. 1991
● Macintosh Quadra
– Startup Jingle

10. 1995
● Microsoft Windows 95
– Startup Jingle

11. Voiceover
● Human Voices or Other In-Game Life
● Communicate with player or other characters

12. 1994
● Gex
● “Float like a butterfly, sting like a gecko!”

13. 2001
● Halo: Combat Evolved
– Cortana

14. Music
● Create a mood
● React based on player's actions
● Dynamic and immersive

15. 1986
● The Legend of Zelda
– Hyrule Theme

16. 2012
● Journey
– First Game ever nominated for a Grammy for Best
Score Soundtrack for Visual Media
– Track: Apotheosis

17. Teaching
● Rhythm-Music Games
– Rock Band
– Guitar Hero

18. 1990
● The Miracle Piano Teaching System
– Educate players to play the piano in the guise of a
computer/video game
– Exercises matched with coordination of animations
and audio cues

19. 1992
● Mario Paint
– Features a music composition mode which uses cute
icons to represent different instruments on a staff
– Promotes creativity and imagination through
technological means

20. Why Video Games?
● Video games are one of the earliest avenues of
music listening for young children
● Music and sounds associated with player
experience
● Each game has its own musical style and character

21. 1989
● Tetris
– “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” from
Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite

22. Types of Video Game Music
● Original Music
– Orchestral soundtracks
– Chiptunes
● Licensed Music
– Band exclusives only in game
– Undiscovered band debut
– Increased exposure and tie-in opportunities

23. 1990
● Journey to Silius
– Level 3 Theme

24. 2001
● Halo: Combat Evolved
– Halo Theme

25. Soundchips vs. Samples
● Soundchips produce electronically-generated
sounds
– Create new sounds by altering waveforms
● Samples taken from acoustic sounds
– More memory = clearer sounds
– Majority of games use instrument samples
– Orchestra piece without a live orchestra using
samples for each instrument

26. Ambience
● Use natural soundtrack of real events and places
● Adds depth to the realism of the in-game setting
● Does not suggest any additional meaning as can
composed music

27. Sound FX Bible
● Baseball Game Crowd
– Combination of simultaneous sounds found in such a
setting

28. Why Ambience?
● Identify what objects or people are producing
sounds in an area
● Give focus to sounds that are characteristic of each
area
● Soundsculpting

29. Accessibility
● Video game music can be found on the internet or
in commercial music CD releases
● Video game sound effects can be found on the
internet, purchased via sound libraries, or
recorded with a microphone
● Video game voiceovers can be found on the internet
or recorded with a microphone
– Additional software can alter the quality of the audio
to give it special effects, ex. evil cackle

30. Game Venues
● Games are everywhere!
– Apple's App Store
– Google Play Store
– Nintendo eShop
– Xbox Live Arcade
– Playstation Store
– Steam

31. Audio Software
● Audacity
– Free
– Audio Editor and Recorder
– Cut, copy, splice, mix sounds
– Change speed and pitch of sounds, and more!
● Noteflight
– Free
– Compose in music notation with instrument sounds
– Accessible on any mobile or desktop device
– Designed for online sharing and editing

32. Audio Palette
● Where to get compelling musical sounds?
– Soundfonts (sf2, sfz, sfark files)
● Small file size and easy to load
– Audio Unit, Virtual Studio Technology plug-ins
● Better quality sounds
● Digital Audio Workstation (DAW)
– Cubase
– Logic Pro
– Pro Tools
– Renoise

33. Distribution Venues
● Digital Portfolio for listening online
– BandCamp
– SoundCloud
● Other distribution circuits
– iTunes Store
– Amazon Store

34. Academia
● College and universities have undergraduate and
graduate degree programs for Game Design and
Game Audio Composition
– Berklee College of Music
● Orchestrating and Producing Music for Film and Games
– NYU Steinhardt
● Music Technology
– Game Audio sequence
– Pinnacle College
● Sound for Video Games

35. Continued...
– USC Thornton School of Music
● Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television
– Composing Music for Games
– LIU Post
● Game Design and Development
– Audio Design for Games

36. My Research
● Doctoral Candidate, Five Towns College
● Doctor of Musical Arts in Music History and
Literature
● Area of Interest: Video Game Audio

37. Dissertation
● Chiptune Music: An Exploration of Compositional
Techniques in Sunsoft Games for the Nintendo
Entertainment System and Famicom from 1988-
1992
– How did the composers at Sunsoft overcome the
limitations of the sound chips to create the desired
effects?
– This dissertation will serve as a textbook that
outlines the compositional tradition of this genre
during the 8-bit gaming era.

38. MUS16G:
SOUNDS Like Fun and Games
● This course puts you in the role of a video game
sound and music designer. Through analysis of
game series like Super Mario Bros. (NES) and
Halo (Xbox) and a study of prominent game
composers and sound designers, you will learn
about the hardware and software innovations that
drive the video game music industry, and you will
gain a solid grasp of the musical genres available
in modern gaming. Working in teams, you will
choose appropriate audio for an existing, original
game, while exploring presentation skills
essential for a career in the gaming industry.

39. Audio and Image Sources
● Games
– Pac-Man
– Super Mario Bros.
– Journey to Silius
– Tetris
– Mario Paint
– Gex
– Halo
– The Legend of Zelda
– Journey
● Other
– Wii U eShop
– Sound FX Bible
– Audacity
– Noteflight
– Renoise
– Macintosh Quadra
– Windows 95

40. Digital DJ
● Super Mario Synthesizer

41. Questions?
● Prof. Christopher Hopkins
– Official Website
– E-Mail