What Composing for a Game is Like [Marlow]

Hello everyone! I'm Marlow, the Sound Designer for Temple Escape (as well as the Uncharted update). Today, I'm going to talk about the process of making a soundtrack for a video game.

• Getting Started

In order to compose for a game, you have to find a game that is still in the making. For novices and veterans alike, there's an easy way to do this; a game jam! A game jam is a timed challenge where an individual or group make a game with a specific theme. They happen all the time, and you can find a calender of both upcoming and ongoing game jams on itch.io/jams. You can find teams on CrowdForge, and use an instant messenger with the ability to send files like Discord or Skype during the jam for maximum productivity and less stress!

Next is... you! How do you compose? What instrument or instruments can you play? Do you play any at all?  What's your favorite kind of music? No matter how you answer these questions, you're going to need a few things. First, a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) to make your audio. I use FL Studio 12, which has a free trial if you ever need to make some music pretty fast. I recommend that if you can't play any instruments, because it has the best notation. There's Ableton Live, for those who like performing music with live instruments. There are lots of resources out there, so take a dive into the world of DAWs! 

The second part is your sound library: what virtual instruments (VST/VSTi) do you have? If you're just getting started, you probably don't have any that didn't come with your DAW. I have a few free VSTs that I like to use; Bleep, Synth1, and NES VST. There's a website called VST4FREE which offers a slew of indie plugins. Some are better than others, but you'll probably find some good synths if you do some digging. VST trials are also good. KONTAKT is very good, so I would suggest trying out its trial if you want realistic sounds. KONTAKT plugins are usually expensive and have large file sizes, though, so if you're purchasing, buy in a bundle and make sure you have a lot of hard drive space. Xpand!2 is a favorite of mine, I use the trial whenever I can. It's email based, so if you feel like you want to try it out more after the time runs out, you can use another email.  I'm sure the developers would prefer you buy it though, so keep that in mind. I've heard it goes on sale a lot. It has a lot of good synth pads, leads, and basses to choose from, and some decent guitars and strings too. Beyond that, just do your research and you'll come up with something! Steinberg, Roland, all those big brands... the possibilities are almost endless!

• Composing on Demand

There are many elements to composing, so before getting overwhelmed by the blank screen of your DAW, ask yourself: "What am I being asked to do by the developers?" At first, restrictions on how you make your music is really... restricting. With that prompt in mind, though, music theory can work its magic, and viola, a fantastic song just waiting to be heard! Music theory is pretty daunting, especially when there are 30 minute youtube videos with people talking over a complex sheet of music. So to tackle this learning curve... you have to learn! The simplest way to do it is by going to educational websites. Many music scholars are probably already aware of Musictheory.net, which is an amazing utility for even the most seasoned of composers to look at for help, knowledge, and practice. 

You can read articles and watch hours of tutorials, but the real power of music theory is you. Or rather, your ears. Listen to your favorite video game soundtracks, and try to notice these things:

• How the song increases tension
• Which part is the most catchy and memorable
• What tricks the composers use to "hook" you into the song instead of making you lose interest
• Why the same note played in different parts of a song can give off a completely different vibe
• When a melody reoccurs in a different song of the same soundtrack and how the same melody could give different vibes

Composing is fun! But stress isn't. Coming up with new ideas quickly is hard, and when a developer asks for music, you have to provide it fast. Here are some tips for composing when you are short on time:

• Don't overdo it- unless explicitly stated by the developers, your song does not need to be an omni-instrumental chorus of sound that lasts 19 minutes. Compose the song halfway through first, and decide on what needs to be touched up before continuing.
• RHYTHM IS THE CORE OF MUSIC. IF A SONG HAS BAD/NO RHYTHM, IT'S JUST SOUND. Drums aren't the only rhythmic instruments, by the way! If you've ever played in a band, you may have noticed that the bass, strumming guitars, pianos, and synthesizers playing chords are considered rhythm instruments. Drums and the bassline set the entire song up, so be careful how you manage those. If you're stuck, look up common chord progressions and use the lowest note for the bass. Listen to older music in your preferred genre for patterns you see in drumming styles.
• Leitmotifs are super cool and can save you precious time! These are reoccuring melodies with different rhythms, sounds, and/or scales. Learning how to manipulate rhythm while maintaining the recognizability of a melody is a valuable skill. Do some more research on these!

That's all the tips I've got. Just remember to stay cool, think smarter and not harder, and have confidence in your abilities. Maybe you can't sing, or perhaps you can't play an instrument, or you have trouble structuring a song, but you are always good at something. Play your strengths, listen to the developer, and give each song your own unique flair. You got this. Good luck out there!

Thanks for reading!

-Marlow