Music is a big part of life. Almost anyone and everyone can enjoy some form of music. Whether it’s listening to and enjoying the lyrics of a particular song, or enjoying the beat of the drums from a piece of music, or even a singalong from a Disney movie; music can be enjoyed by just about everyone in the world. Music has always played a big role in today’s media. How iconic would Star Wars be today, if it wasn’t for the intro piece of music, or Darth Vader’s theme music when he marches in? Lord of The Rings, Harry Potter, Indiana Jones and other masterpieces wouldn’t be thought of the same if they didn’t have that iconic piece of music that excited the viewers. That same logic can be applied to another form of media: Video Games.
Music in video games is a huge part of the experience. Video games would simply not be the same without music that brings it all together. From simple sounds to a full out orchestra, any type of music makes the video game much more enjoyable. How would Super Mario Bros. seem without that iconic theme song? Would entering a warp pipe feel as satisfying without the usual sound while going down or up one of the pipes? Sound and music in video games can sometimes make or break a game. A masterpiece of a soundtrack can set a game apart from others alike it with lesser musical quality. Video game music has such a long and big history. But what is it that truly sets it apart from its peers? And how does one create such brilliant, catchy pieces?
Music in video games has not always been as advanced as it is today. Today, you can play a game that has had the pleasure of using a full orchestra to conduct its soundtrack. This leads to some pretty awesome and memorable soundtracks. Way back in the day, video games were made in the 8-Bit era. The 8-Bit video games started with what many would call the “third generation” of game consoles. These would be consoles such as the Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Master System, and the Atari 7800. The “first generation” are consoles like Magnavox Odyssey and Pong, and second generation are the Odyssey 2 and the Atari 2600.
The 8 Bit Era
The 8 Bit era (third generation consoles) of video games was what really ushered in a new era for sound and music in video games. But before the 8 Bit era, arcade machines in the late 70’s really gave a kickstart to putting sound and music inside of video games. Arcade games such as Space Invaders and Pac-Man were the first of its kind to include more “complex” sounds than its recent cousins. Since arcade machines were so big compared to home video games and computers, engineers could include a separate sound chip to handle sound and music that way the CPU didn’t have to. To make sounds and music, game programmers would create electrical impulses. These impulses would then be changed into analogue sound by the sound card, which would then sound more like “sound” which is outputted by the computer’s speaker. Different sounds were made by different levels in the analogue waves which changed the volume and pitch of the sound.
Eventually, as computer technology advanced, so did sound and musical technology. When the 8 Bit era of video games started in 1983, home consoles were able to produce sound with up to five channels of mostly square waves. The Nintendo Entertainment System was able to produce up to 5 “voices” at once. This meant that there could be 5 different sounds. A good way to understand the voices is by looking at old musical keyboards. When you pressed them, you would only hear the one key that was pressed first, instead of hearing multiple different tones. But with more advanced keyboards, they were able to hear multiple different keys at once. Hence the number of voices.
The NES, having 5 voices, is able to hear 5 different tones. Each voice is set to a specific type however. The first two voices of the NES sound chip are able to produce “square waves”, the third is used for “triangular waves”, the fourth for static noise, and the fifth for small audio samples. The fifth voice was rarely used however. An example of the fifth voice being used is in Super Mario Bros for the NES, using steel drums or something similar, that cannot be created on a computer.
Sound Waves
To describe the different waves, they are simply just different sounds. The square waves tend to be of a higher tonality, more so of the beeps in the video games. And the triangular waves are the sound waves that handle more of a deep, bass tonality. When mixing all of the 5 voices together, this gave a lot more depth to the music that was played in these games. A good example of the NES using these two main waveforms is a piece of music composed by Koji Kondo. The piece is the theme song for the original The Legend of Zelda.
This video above is a visual representation of the actual square of triangle waves. When watching the video, if you look closely at the square waves at the top of the screen, you can notice the waves constantly “bouncing” up and down. They never really sit still. The constant moving is what gives the sound more of raspier beeping noise. After the intro section of the composition, you can see the two square wave voices being overlapped with different sounds. They work together nicely by one providing a constant rhythm and the other providing a more intersectional piece to break up the rhythm. The bottom left side of the screen shows the triangle waves. If you listen closely, it can be heard every time those waves come in. They are providing a nice background bass beat that compliments the two square waves nicely. And the last section of the screen is the static noise which can be seen and heard coming in intermittently.
As is said in the article titled Gaming Literacy, the author points out that Kijo Kondo is able to mix these 4 voices together, particularly the square waves, to give a more wind instrument sound (Game Crate). Another visualization I found on YouTube is one that is probably a lot more noticeable.
The Super Mario Bros. theme song is another piece composed by Koji Kondo. This piece uses a lot more of the static noise, which is very noticeable visually. One thing I tried doing was muting the sound of watching the video of the waves. At first it was hard to make out the sound in my head, but after trying it a few times it was interesting to be able to understand each voice and sort of make out what they are doing individually.
At the end of the Gaming Literacy article, another NES game is mentioned. Super Mario Bros. 3 with a complete NES memory visualization is provided. The video on the site shows the same type of visualizations as the two previous videos. But what this one does different is it is a much better example of the 5th voice. The video is of just a random playthrough of the game, going the levels, title screen, and level select. As the game is being played, the steel drums and other sounds are very noticeable, both audibly and visually. One very cool part that I found was of certain sound effects made when Mario performs a certain move. For example, when the player makes Mario perform his spin move, the sound that is used for that is nothing but shortened, close together triangular waves.
Commodore 64
Similar to the NES and in the same 8-Bit generation of video games was the Commodore 64. The Commodore 64 was built more like a computer. Inside of the computer was a MOS SID sound chip. Compared to the NES sound chip, the one inside of the Commodore 64 only had 3 voices instead of 5. Even with 2 fewer voices, the Commodore 64 still had superior sound. The reason behind this is that each of the three voices were capable of producing square waves, triangle waves, sawtooth waves, and noise. Meaning that all of the 3 voices were much more flexible than the static voices of the NES. Commodore 64 programmers were even able to change the particular wave form dynamically as the game progressed, depending on the sound that was needed. This helped lead to more interesting sounds produced on the Commodore 64.
Now both the Commodore 64 and the NES used technology called Chiptune. Chiptune is essentially just electronic music or synthesized music which was programmable. Some of the sound chips found in these old consoles and computers are actually ones that were also used in some Yamaha keyboards, giving the composers an opportunity to mess around and sample their music on a keyboard before programming the voices to sound the same.
Technological Advancements
As technology advanced, game sound eventually went away from the Chiptune technology. But today it can still be found in some retro style games such as Shovel Knight, as well as used in some “recent” handheld consoles such as the Game Boy Advance and the Nintendo DS.
Up until the fifth generation of video game consoles came out, 8 bit and 16 bit music was used with chiptune technology. With the release of the PlayStation 1 and the Nintendo 64, music took a big leap. The N64 still used cartridge based games, but it was able to produce 16 bit sound with 44kHz sampling on multiple voices. And with the PlayStation introducing CD ROM technology to the video game world, it gave 24 channels on the sound chip with the same 16 bit and 44kHz sampling on all 24 channels, as well as a streaming channel (Fifth Generation). The next generation of PlayStation and the introduction of the XBOX only further increased audio technology with surround sound and Dolby Digital Sound which is still used in today’s home consoles such as the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 and the Xbox 360 and the Xbox One.
Large Musical Compositions
Today, video games are able to use fully recorded sound as opposed to programmable sound. This clearly leads to a more diverse audio track. Giving musical composers a lot more freedom, some are even able to include full orchestras in their games. Some games such as the God of War and Halo franchises use complete live orchestras. While others games such as Grand Theft Auto use a soundtrack complete with fully licensed music that one can hear on the radio. Both of these approaches work perfectly for their respective games. But no matter the technology, whether it’s 8 Bit music, a full live orchestra, or licensed music, the game designers still have to make or include music that is both engaging and memorable for the player.
Adding a live orchestra to a game like Super Mario Bros. is probably not a good idea. But having the 8 Bit music that is used in the game makes it a much more enjoyable experience. So what determines if the game’s music is good or bad? Well to start, no matter the type of music, the artist still has to create music in the same manner that “normal” music is created. Including the correct pitch, tone, frequency, intensity, or all of the above is clearly important. If the music just isn’t good, then it is a failure from the beginning. When a song from a video game is great and memorable, it is likely coming from a great game. Memorable music and video games go hand in hand. Almost every great game can have a great soundtrack attached alongside it.
Smart musical composers know how and when to use certain music or sounds in video games. When a game’s music changes based on the action that the character is performing or the song changing to something more intense when the player gets into a boss battle or a standard fight; Any of these changes can sometimes make or break a game. If Mario had a different sound every time the player entered a pipe, would that sound be as memorable? Or whenever a player encounters a wild Pokémon in the Pokémon games, would that sound be as iconic? Some games just have the perfect sound and music for each particular part of the game.
Conclusion
In the world of video games, there are a few different ways an artist can include a particular tone or melody into the game. The first would be the general world. When thinking of a game like The Legend of Zelda, just walking around the game can give a somewhat peaceful melody. This just provides an overall atmospheric presence that otherwise might not be there without the correct piece of music. The next would be an encounter. When the player runs into a monster or a certain character that can change the dynamic of the game, the same should be done for the music. Most good examples of this are boss battles. When a player encounters a boss, the tone of the music most of the time becomes dark and more serious. Generally, it’s very fitting to the timeline of the game. Third would be something similar to world clues. Giving the players a different sound to either warn them that something is about to happen or that what they did caused something to happen. This can be huge as it can provide insight to the player without actually letting them know directly. Finally is just straight up surprises. Jump scares are a perfect example of this. Another, more serious example, is the use of surprises in aid of world building. When some games like Halo have you complete some big mission that can have some dire consequences, or when you are just given the freedom to stare off into the space of the alien world of the game’s universe, the surreal moments that can be achieved by the dramatic pieces can really add to the game’s overarching mission.
Overall, games can be made or broken with a soundtrack. Whether that is a 8Bit soundtrack like Super Mario Bros. or with a full concert style orchestra, games that have memorable music are generally given higher praise. And not all games need to have music IN the core of the game to be considered successful in that area. Looking at the game Portal, the track Still Alive that plays during the end credits is arguably one of the most memorable video game sound pieces of all time. And then there are games like The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Not only is the soundtrack potentially the best soundtrack ever to be included in a video game, but music is also a big part of the game itself; having the player perform certain, but simple, songs on the player’s ocarina.
Music is a big part of the video game world today. While it is not completely necessary for a game to include powerful, memorable music to be considered successful, it certainly doesn’t hurt. Video game music can sometimes make or break a game. And it can also sometimes be the crucial part of the game that sets it apart from the competition.