One of the reasons that many of us find games so enjoyable is because of the music. Music can really help to enhance a players experience of a game and to immerse them in it. When choosing what music to put to your game, it is important to have in mind the various ways that music can be used throughout the game…
1. Setting the Scene
Music can help the player to understand where they are and what might be going on around them. Most games are set in a certain ‘world’ and the music that you choose can help to introduce that ‘world’ to us.
Players often benefit from having clues about where they are within this virtual environment i.e. where they are within the world and what level they are on. So, selecting and creating different themes and tunes for different settings can really help to enhance your game.
2. Introducing & Distinguishing Between Characters
If your game has a number of characters in it, choose the music carefully to suit each character. Many games have specific theme tunes for their key characters and this helps players to distinguish between them and to build an emotional connection with them.
For example – heroes and villains are usually made to sound very different – so when you listen to the music for a game, you should be able to identify which one you’re dealing with!
3. Signalling Danger or a Change of State
Music can help to indicate to players that something has changed. Perhaps you have entered into enemy territory, or maybe you’ve run out of resources. Whatever it is – if something has changed, the music can help to signal to the player to take note of this.
4. Storytelling
Like films, many games have a story and will want to take you on a journey. Great game music will support this and bring your story arcs to life.
5. Immersion
If you want your game to fully immerse a player and to connect with them emotionally, music is the key to doing this. If your music is thrilling and exciting, it will make people feel excited to play your game. That is why so many of the big games have epic theme tunes which are memorable, grand and quite exhilarating to listen to.
Need help with music for your game or project?
Game music is my specialty, so I’d be more than delighted to help and to learn more about your wonderful project! Get in touch now to see how we can work together or explore my game music soundtracks to get a sense of my work.
Also see: 3 Basic but Important Game Music Rules! and the article: How to Choose the Right Music for Your Game
About the author: Ninichi is a game music composer and musician. She is the in-house composer for games company Quinton Studios and enjoys working on a range of freelance composing projects for games, film, media and other commercial uses.
Find out more about her game music and contact her to discuss your project and music needs.
Follow her @ninichimusic
Music is an important element to any game. As a game music composer (see more about me!), I really believe that it helps to enhance the overall experience, to bring it all together and to set the general tone of the game. Great music can help to make your game more memorable, more fun to play and can even to make it stand out.
However, it is not always easy or obvious where to find the right music for a game or which approach to take. If you’re wondering what your options are and which way to turn, perhaps this article will help. There are also many other useful tips, articles and resources on my blog so do take a minute to browse through those as well.
Interview By Ninichi | Contact | Follow
What is Calico all about?
‘Calico is a cute and cozy community sim game where the player is a magical girl who inherits a cat-cafe. They are tasked with filling the cafe back up with new fuzzy friends, furniture, and wonderful baked goods. ‘
Who’s it for & where did the idea come from?
Since I work with many indie developers as a game music composer, I’ve been asked a few times and invited to be involved with revenue share deals with new and up-and-coming indie games.
In order to ensure that you get the very best game music soundtrack for your game, you will need to brief your composer as well as you can. As a game music composer myself (learn more about me), I have experience in working with many different types of people and clients – from indie game developers, small game studios, filmmakers, podcasters, tv producers and more.
If you’re working on your first game or perhaps you’ve done a few already but now you’re considering hiring a composer to work with you, this may feel like a big step! It could feel like a risk or a bit daunting to be bringing on someone new to the team, but it doesn’t have to be difficult or scary.
I’m a game music composer (see some of my music) and have worked with various indie game developers on their projects and have found it a very rewarding, fun and simple process. It could be this for you as well!
As a game music composer, I believe that the music that one chooses and includes in a game is really important. I think that in some cases, it is easy to underestimate the impact that great game music can have on a players experience and perception of a game. This is an easy mistake to make but I am hoping that this article will help to convince you of the real potential that well chosen and well placed music can have in your game.
As a composer for games, film and other media, I am often asked about sound effects and where to find some for various projects. I myself specialise in music only and so I don't create sound effects - however, there are many resources online which offer great audio clips for various uses. Many of these are free to use, some requiring creator attribution and some not at all. Others do charge for the sound effects but they don't charge much, so they're worth exploring too. I've attempted to list some of these sound effect libraries in the hope that this is a helpful reference for you...
One of the reasons that many of us find games so enjoyable is because of the music. Music can really help to enhance a players experience of a game and to immerse them in it. When choosing what music to put to your game, it is important to have in mind the various ways that music can be used throughout the game…
There comes a time in every game development process where one will start to think about the music. Can you create the soundtrack yourself? Should you try to find some royalty free music to use? Should you hire a composer? There are many options available to you, but which way should you go!?
Working with the right composer is such an important part to any successful project – whether you’re producing a film (see my cinematic music), working on an artistic project or creating a new game (see my game music examples).
There are many things to think about when considering what music to put alongside your game. Getting it right, however, is really important as the music can really bring a game to life. It can enhance the user experience and get them in the right 'zone' for playing and enjoying your game. Read on to find out more...