The Video Game Industry as a Creative Space
- The video game industry is often viewed as a waste of time, but it can be considered a disruptive and interesting space where rethinking long-held paradigms can yield solutions to big problems 10s.
- The composer started their career in film, working with Harry Gregson Williams and learning how to score a film, work with a director, and respond to an emotional brief, with music being the emotional backbone of media properties 2m6s.
- The composer had the opportunity to work with notable filmmakers such as James Cameron, Ridley Scott, and Tony Scott, and was introduced to the video game industry when Harry Gregson Williams referred them to work on the Call of Duty game 2m6s.
- At the time, video games were not considered a prestigious medium for composers, with film and television being more desirable, and video games were seen as a lesser art form with lower budgets 4m30s.
The Composer's Journey into Video Game Music
- The composer's first game, Call of Duty, was released in 2007, sold 16 million copies, and marked a cultural moment where video games could tell hugely emotional stories and make players cry 6m40s.
- The director of Call of Duty wanted to create a playable Jerry Bruckheimer movie, and the composer had the privilege of writing music for an audience of effectively billions of people through games like APEX Legends, which has 300 million registered players 8m20s.
- Through their work on various projects, the composer has found that video games are not a waste of time, but an amazing art form that offers a big canvas to tell stories, with some games having 30 to 100 hours to tell a story, which is often impossible in other mediums 10m50s.
Challenges and Opportunities in Video Game Music Composition
- Video game music is a unique and challenging field because it is a non-linear medium, where the player has agency and can choose their own story, making it difficult for composers to create music that adapts to the player's actions 10s.
- The evolution of video game music has been shaped by the industry's young age, approximately 40-50 years old, and has undergone significant changes, from the chip era with limited memory to the CD era with full resolution audio, and finally to the ability to have fully dynamic music 2m6s.
- The revolution in video game music came around 2000-2005 with the emergence of fully dynamic music, which allows for looping, layering, and transitioning between different pieces of music on the fly, creating a permanent readiness for music that can adapt to the player's actions 4m30s.
- Composers aim to create music that feels human, emotional, and aids storytelling, despite the non-linear nature of video games, and to achieve this, they use techniques such as looping and layering to create a sense of continuity and flow 6m10s.
Character Themes and Sonic Identity in Games
- As an example, composers may receive briefs to create unique sonic identities for characters in games, such as Revenant from APEX Legends, who has a distinct theme that reflects his personality and abilities 8m20s.
The State of Music Education in the UK
- The field of video game music composition is not well-represented in music education, with few courses available, such as those at Berklee in Boston and Guildhall, and as a result, music education in the UK is in a poor state, with fewer than 5,000 students taking A-level music 12m10s.
- The game industry is a significant contributor to the UK economy, worth around GBP 7 billion and supporting 76,000 jobs, while the music industry supports around 220,000 jobs, highlighting the importance of addressing the decline in music education 14m20s.
- Music hubs that were set up in the early 2000s have been consolidated, resulting in a decrease from 116 to 43, and there is a £161 million black hole in financing, with independent school students having a 50% chance of receiving sustained music tuition, while state school students have only a 15% chance, highlighting a funding and relevance crisis 10s.
- The UK is the birthplace of various music genres, all of which are based on technology and digital audio workstations, but only 6% of UK schools have music technology, and only 3% have a decent recording studio, making it difficult for students to engage with music in a relevant way 2m6s.
Reforming Music Education Through Technology
- The traditional approach to teaching music theory is backwards, with students learning scales and arpeggios before learning how to express themselves through music, and this can be changed by using technology to teach music production, allowing students to learn through play and experimentation 4m42s.
- Music technology can provide an immersive experience, allowing students to learn and make mistakes in real-time, and with the availability of free software and tools, it is possible to create music without expensive equipment, which will be demonstrated using free software, an iPad, a mini keyboard, and headphones 8m15s.
Creating Professional Music with Free Tools
- The goal is to create music using free tools and software, and to determine if it is possible to produce high-quality music in a professional way, by working on a brief and using the input of the audience to guide the creative process, starting with questions about genres, artists, and instruments 12m10s.
- The process of creating music involves considering various instruments, such as piano, French horn, steel drums, and metal, to create a unique sound 10s.
- The goal is to demonstrate that with the right tools, it is possible to produce professional-level music, and these tools are capable of delivering high-quality results 42s.
- Using free software and sounds, such as those found in GarageBand, it is possible to create music without incurring any costs, and this is evident in the music created within a short timeframe of roughly two and a half hours 2m6s.
- The rapid development of music technology over the last 20 years has been significant, similar to the advancements in video games, and it is essential to incorporate this technology into educational settings 2m6s.
