Video game music in election games

Since I first started teaching my video game music class in 2013, Tuesday became the first time I was teaching on a major election day in the USA.  So, for a portion of the class activities on Tuesday, we looked at some uses of game audio in election related games.

One fact I was fascinated to learn is that, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, the first piece of video game music used in an election campaign was in 2008.  "Casualties of War" from Medal of Honor European Assault was used without permission of the composer Christopher Lennertz in a TV campaign for John McCain.  

I also looked for various examples of gameplay footage from games that address elections to get a sense of what style of music the games use.  Many election games, especially earlier ones, use only a few sound effects and were rather unremarkable in terms of audio.  But one favorites I discovered with fully fledged music from more recent times  Battleground States 2008.  I couldn't find much more about who created the sound for this game and would love to learn if you know-- leave me a comment.  

You'll hear that this has a very dramatic feel with lots of percussion instruments that has a distinct feel of an evening news program.  My students mused that the gameplay and audio also have a bit of a civil war/ war game component as well.  

One of the most contemporary election related games I could find was Combover Monster Campaign Manager.  In this game, I can easily understand the relevance of the soundbites that are used.  But both my class and I found it challenging to understand why the music fit well with the game.  Having played the game a bit (follow the link above), my first instinct is that the music is just to make the gameplay a bit more immersive and that the spoken word portion is really the hero of the audio.  This feeling is definitely confirmed when you win the game and the ending of the game is a short Trump speech.  Really unique use of the audio.  Interestingly, the audio wasn't made with complex tools, either-- just Audacity and GarageBand.  Again, I'd be interested to learn more about who made this game and the audio.  

Do you know of any other games about elections?  What sort of music/audio do they have?  Do you think it works well for the game?  Why?  Leave me a comment below!  I'm eager to learn more about this topic and want to expand my knowledge for 2020.  

Video Game Music Class write up in The Tab

Yeah, I know.  Get your act together and blog, right?  I will.  But for today, just a dip in to share an awesome link.  Nice write up by my former student William Jang on Video Game Music class!  

Check it out!

Video Game Music Class: End of Semester

Once again, I'm long overdue for an update about happenings in Video Game Music class.  One thing that I've learned this semester is that it's too much for me to blog while I'm teaching the class.  The class was so huge this semester with 97 students... and unlike many of my peers, I actually do read what they're writing and thinking and want to hear their ideas.  Learning from the students is one of the great joys of teaching.  So, forgive the lapse.  I've got lots of plans for writing in the new year and plenty that I want to research and learn about-- not to mention a ton of backed up writing to get published here-- so I'm excited for the future.

First, best to comment on the end of the semester.  In the final few weeks-- even month-- of the course, we shift the focus to the compositional process.  How does one get ideas for composing game music?  What are tools (software and hardware) and techniques that might make sense?  What are different kinds of pieces that the students might create (for instance, an orchestral mock-up for a scene versus music for a game trailer)?  How do the realities of various game situations cause the music to be modified (limits of mobile audio or ideas about implementing audio into games)?  Every semester I show Garageband a bit in class as well as have a PAT major (think music technology) show Logic as well as some basic recording techniques.  Since I was teaching the course for the second time around, I was also able to show some past examples of final project highlights and flops.

Here's a picture from the class.  UM sent the wonderfully talented Peter Smith to take some pictures for SMTD's bi-annual magazine, The Muse.  Here's a great one I love of the class while one of the students is showing off his game creation.

Other than the composing study, which is a good three or four classes, we also examine mobile/social game audio as well as games/topics of students' choice.  The course almost becomes cyclical in a way, because many of the limitations faced by early pioneers in the game audio world are a part of the mobile industry now: must be able to play with the sound off, very small space for audio in the overall game design, etc.  The other great thing at the end of the year is the chance for me to learn about games from the students.  Because I've gamified the course, I have an award for the high score holder-- a throwback to the arcade era-- where they HSH is allowed to choose some games or topics that we examine in class.  This year's choices included LittleBigPlanet, Monument Valley, Rhythm Heaven Fever, and the idea of creating chip tunes.  The LittleBigPlanet was especially a treat for me since I'm FaceBook friends with Winifred Phillips after GameSoundCon and have been seeing these dolls on her feed without having any idea what they are... and now I do!  Especially cool too was that LittleBigPlanet 2 uses A Fifth of Beethoven, as does Frantic Freddie, which we looked at earlier in the semester.  I especially love the feeling of coming around to the same themes in different games toward the end of the year.

The final day of class is definitely one of the most wild as well as one of my favorites.  I bring in a game console from the video game library and we all play some games together pausing every so often to analyze the audio live.  This year I brought a Wii U with Super Mario 3D World, Mario Kart 8, and Super Smash Bros.  One of the coolest things was that kids were able to pull out their DS and join into the gameplay of SSB with those controllers!  I didn't even need more than 4 controllers, and we easily had eight players, which was both crazy and amazing!  It's a great way to end the year and symbolic of how I hope they'll keep thinking about game audio critically as they continue to play in the future.

Undoubtedly, the best part of the end of the semester is for me to hear the students composition projects, which I call Composition Quests!  (We're playing a game after all, not drudging through the end of the semester.)  Almost everyone finds the creative process rewarding, albeit frustrating at times, and a release from the rest of the work they're expected to do at that point in the school year.  It's a pleasure for me to hear them all and I take time to make feedback to everyone, although this makes for a daunting multi-day headphones on in lock down mode with the computer situation for me.  Some are definitely more creative than others in terms of making the projects personal and customized, whether via midi or better orchestra libraries.  Others sound a little more generic because of the loop libraries used to build the projects or just sound crazy because of a lack of musical knowledge.  I have to say, though, year after year I'm a bit blown away by the level of the projects and the creativity in them.  More students than ever said they thought about having structure to their piece, various sections and different instrumentation because of our class discussions.  These are huge wins for everyone who takes the class.

All in all, I'd say the class was a huge success.  I hope to improve it even more when I teach it next year, particularly exploring the idea of incorporating even more musical analysis into the class as well as a mini-composition project before the final.  Plus plenty of more small details to consider.  We'll see what churns out of the sieve in a few months when I've had more time to process it.  I'll also post the course syllabus as I taught the class this semester soon.  I'm going to be sorry to lose contact with many of the students (though a few friended me on FB at the end of the semester), but that's the circle of life in academia.  I'm already excited for the next round of students to come through.

In a the omnipresent "spirit of lists," one of the questions I'm asked often when I talk about the course is what software students use to create their game audio.  UM is fortunate to have some professional DAWs in various areas of the school as well as serious space for students to create.  However, other students use their laptops, phones, or other equipment they own and get great results too.  I kept a list of software that the students used to create their composition projects and present it below with the hopes that it might help others who are intimidated about where to start.  Many of these programs are free, at least in a trial version to explore:

Native Instruments' Maschine Software
Noteflight
Abelton
GarageBand
Acid Music Studio
Finale Notepad
LMMS
Wavosaur
Pulseboy
Famitracker
Cubase
Ozone
Logic Pro X
Music Maker Jam
dskmusic.com
MainStage 3
Pro Tools
Renoise
Goldwave
FL Studio
Reaper
Adobe Audition
looperman.com
Hydrogen
Propellerhead Reason
Anvil Studio  

Video Game Music Class: an overdue update.

It's been forever since I've updated what's been going on in class and today's time to catch up!

For the class I missed in early October while traveling to GameSoundCon, I asked my students to watch some of my videos (linked in the right sidebar) about Leitmotifs in Final Fantasy 7, idée fixe in Super Mario World, and musical form in Super Mario Bros and then answer some questions about what they saw.  The class is also a pilot trial of Canvas for UM, so I used that to administer the quizzes while I was away.  It worked pretty well, except that-- as least, at of my writing-- it's not possible to have an audio file be an answer in a multiple choice quiz question in Canvas.  The tech staff gave me a workaround, but it wasn't as streamlined and didn't allow the level of control I was hoping for.  For instance: I want to have the question: "which of these themes is NOT one of the Leitmotifs discussed in the video" where A, B, C, and D are audio files with a maximum of two plays each.  Seems basic to me, and I think language teachers would see advantages of this as well.  However, not possible.  The challenges of modern music teaching...

I tried out a new class on South Park: Stick of Truth that went very much in line with my blog entry about playing the game.  I'm thinking more strongly about the connection between my blogging and teaching this semester, and am seeing the powerful connection between the two.  Using my blog this way was a big moment for me because it was the first time that I realized my notes here are easy and convenient ways for me to construct lesson plans for game music class.  Most of the time, I've got links to the audio and all my notes on the game's audio are collected right here.  Super convenient for creating a lecture.  Now, even though I enjoyed creating the class, I'm not sure I'll do a SoT class again because the material is racy.  Teaching this course is always a balance between finding modern games and franchises that the students know while keeping the material appropriate for the classroom.

We had a photographer come to class to get some pictures for UM's biannual magazine, Muse.  (I'll throw the link up once it's out.)  VGM will be getting a little publicity in the Winter edition.  I asked several members of the class who have created games to show them during the class period so that we could hear and react to their audio.  Really an interesting exercise that's valuable for these game creators as they get feedback about their creations, and also for the students in class who have never made a game --and may never-- because they see their peers' creativity and the work that goes into it.  Really awesome discussions this day.  Also, note to self: brilliant toss to the students regarding the photo op.  It's always better to showcase them!

Last week, we covered music games (Parappa, Vib Ribbon, DDR, Guitar Hero, Rock Band, Wii Music, etc) and "live" performance of game audio via YouTube.  This took the form of a "party" day where we watched a few videos of Smooth McGroove and other game music covers before seeing a chunk of a Video Games Live concert.  I baked cookies for them.  97 cookies for this class!  Also encouraged the students to dress up (as is the fashion with game music shows) and a couple of students wanted to take a picture with me afterward as we were all Zelda related.

This Tuesday I did an in-class tutorial about creating audio with GarageBand.  Not that GB is the greatest software, but it's prevalent, free, and user friendly.  Also, it's fairly common for students to have used GB either through their own experimentation or in a high school music class.  Experience tells me that some will use other software: Logic, Ableton, ProTools, and FL Studio come to mind as professional level tools some serious music lovers in class will learn/already know.  I've also had students work with an online chip tune music program, or a DS music maker and these work just fine too.  My point in asking the students to create game audio is in part to realize that game audio can be anything.  New theme songs for Pac-Man?  Great.  Beach Boys sound-a-like to avoid licensing fees for BioShock 7?  Awesome.  Get creative.

Tomorrow we'll have our last Skype conversation of the semester with Alexander Brandon.  It's awesome to talk with a game composer at the point when the students are thinking about their own projects.  I know the discussion will be great.  Really looking forward to it.

  

Video Game Music Class: Happenings last week and this week.

I'm writing this morning from the airport, where I'm about to fly to LA for the sold-out GameSoundCon 2014.  Super excited for the trip-- not only to meet the game audio experts, but also to learn a bit of FMOD and Wwise.  Pretty sure I'll be the only faculty member on the UM campus who has familiarity with these softwares.  I'll be able to demo them live in class later in the semester instead of my usual playing some of the video tutorials from Stevens/Raybould The Game Audio Tutorial.  Exciting times.

Last week in class, we talked briefly about MIDI and iMuse.  A number of the engineers in class have used MIDI in various ways before, as have the Peformance Art Technology students, of course.  Virtually no one knew about iMuse, though, except one student who had played a game that made use of its technology.  There are some great videos on youtube via Peter Silk's channel that demonstrate some different features of iMuse that I show in class when we discuss iMuse.  The great thing about these videos is that its much simpler and clearer to hear how they're working in some cases than it is to describe exactly what's happening in words.

We also had a superb Skype chat on Thursday with Aaron Marks.  When we have in-class Skype sessions, I pass out index cards to take attendance and ask the students to write a brief thought/reaction to the conversation also.  Often, I get creative doodles on the notecards as well and one student's drawing of the Skype session with Aaron was too amazing not to share with the world.  Talented artist!

Finally, I thought I'd share one other list.  Because we'd been speaking with Chance Thomas two weeks ago and Aaron Marks last week, the theme of this week's online discussion was to get familiar with a game audio composer of the students' choice.  I suggested that they research one of their favorite games and learn a bit about who created the music/sound for the game.  (As I think about it, I'm probably also a bit motivated for this line of thinking as I continue to watch the Diggin' in the Carts series about Japanese video game composers.)  I learned several things from their choices, some about composers I thought I knew well-- for instance, I didn't know that Nobuo Uematsu was an English major (What Do You Do with a BA in English?!)-- and I also learned about several composers and foreign games I'd never heard of.  Cool people and games to get more familiar with!

If you read much of my blog, you know I love lists, so I present below the list of "favorite game composers" from my Fall 2014 video game music students.  There was a fair amount of overlap, so there are fewer composers than I have students!

Austin Wintory
Ari Pulkkinen
Grant Kirkhope
Gustavo Santaolalla
Harry Gregson Williams
Masaya Matsuura
Masafumi Takada
Junichi Masuda
Motoi Sakuraba
Yuka Tsujiyoko
Simon Viklund
Jesper Kyd
Christopher Tin
Jun Maeda
Yoko Shimomura
Daisuke Ishiwatari
Koji Kondo
Brian Trifon
Darren Korb
Jun Senoue
Kevin Manthei
Kan Gao
Robyn Miller
Jeremy Soule
Garry Schyman
Joe Hisaishi
Greg Edmonson
Kazumi Totaka
Yoko Shimomura
Ben Prunty
Magnus Birgersson
Jack Wall
Ryo Nagamatsu
Nobuo Uematsu
Daniel Rosenfeld
Steve Jablonsky
HirokazuTanaka
Setsuo Yamamoto
Jim Guthrie
Michael Land
Kow Otani
Kenta Nagata
Ron Fish
Marty O’Donnell
Mitsuo Terada
Carlo Castellano
Keiichi Suzuki
Christopher Lennertz
Glenn Stafford

Stewart Copeland

Video Game Music Class: Playing Games: A Link to the Past and NES Remix 2

One of the joys of teaching Video Game Music is that it often has me playing games or looking at game footage for examples of the current topics we're discussing.  In class recently we've been looking at the function of game audio.  What's the purpose of a particular sound?  How does where a sound is placed in a game determine certain features about it (i.e., menu music vs battle music)?

Over the weekend I got sick and had quite a bit of time to enjoy a few games.  One game that I replayed is A Link to the Past.  The music for that game is great!  I love the old games where voice acting was less prominent because music has such a powerful role to play in the storytelling and immersion.  Actually, what I was most struck by on this play through was in the credits of the game.  The ending is a lovely, long nearly 10 minute scene.  You hear themes from this game during these final scenes.  There's a particularly powerful moment that occurs around 7:43.  I've started the video at 7:00 in the timestamp below, but remember if you were actually playing, you'd have heard those 7 minutes before!

The impact of hearing the famous Legend of Zelda overworld theme as Koji Kondo's name appears onscreen is genius.   I'll have to remember if I ever score a video game to put my most famous sounds as my name appears as well!

A second game I've been playing around with is NES Remix 2 on the Wii U.  I can't find footage online that shows how the various games open as you play and progress, but perhaps there will be some up soon.  Or else, I can make a video to demonstrate.  In any case, when a new game opens for play-- say, Metroid-- the first thing you hear when the notice flashes onscreen is the main theme from whatever game has opened up.  Then, after you see your score for the level you just finished, you see the game open on the main menu and its main them plays again.  Definitely a cool use of audio as a reward in a video game.  This is probably much simpler and clearer to hear than describe, so I'll keep my eyes open for some footage that demonstrates what I mean.

This week in video game music, we're having a guest Skype session with Chance Thomas, and having a quiz later in the week.  I love the first quiz because it really lets the students (and me!) realize how much they've already learned.  More as the week progresses!

Video Game Music Class: List of favorite game audio.

As an ice breaker class activity, I ask the students to post in an online forum about their favorite game audio and why.  One of the reactions I have each year as I read their responses is: "Wow... I'm out of touch with the games these students played!"  With more responsibilities in high school, I was already starting to play games a bit less around the time when these students were just starting to play!  My parents' Atari was for me the equivalent of these students' SNES and PlayStation, that is to say a gaming system they knew because their parents had this "old" system already when they were born.

I compiled a list of games that this year's students chose as their favorite game audio.  I can imagine this as interesting to look at in a number of ways.  For me, it helps guide discussions in class as I try to include games of the class choice in discussions.  For a person who was just thinking about starting to teach with game audio in a music class, this list might give relevant examples to connect with modern students.  Since I've got such a diverse group of students in the course, I think this list probably gives a pretty good variety of genres and platforms.  For scholars, perhaps these could be games would be good places for research/writing.  Make of it what you will.

So here it is in no particular order....

Video Game Music's Top Game Audio Choices 2014

Riven
Mega Man X
Super Mario Galaxy
Elder Scrolls: Oblivion
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3
Vindictus
Ezio’s Family (Assassin’s Creed)
Journey
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explores of Time/Darkness/Sky
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
Bioshock
The Last of Us
Donkey Kong SNES
Fire Emblem
Pacman Championship Edition DX
Spyro the Dragon
Super Smash Bros 64
Pokemon Crystal
Fallout 3/ Fallout: New Vegas
Dragon’s Dogma
Mario Kart 8
Persona 4
Kingdom Hearts
Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
Firelink Shrine
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes
Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask
Banjo-Kazooie
Batman Arkham City
Golden Sun
Halo
Silent Hill
World of Warcraft
Legend of Zelda: Windwaker
Burnout: Revenge
Mortal Kombat
SSX
Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Starcraft 2: Heart of the Swarm
Frozen Synapse
Donkey Kong Country 2
Earthbound
Monster Hunter 3 Medley
Crash Bandicoot 2
Civilization IV
Final Fantasy VII
Minecraft
Rocket: Robot on Wheels
Ghost Recon: Future Soldier
Final Fantasy VI
Ni No Kuni
Pokemon Blue
Yoshi’s Story
Tomb Raider
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Jet Set Radio
Pokemon Red/Blue
Megaman
Cave Story
Mass Effect
Final Fantasy 9
Mario 64
Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess
GoldenEye 64
Duel of Fates in Star Wars video game
Pokemon X and Y
Pokemon Green
Animal Crossing: Wild World
Demon’s Souls
Ragnarok Online
Pokemon Crystal
Mario Kart 64
Cave Story
Bioshock

Super Smash Bros Melee

Musings: Video Game Music Class

One of my goals this semester is to blog about teaching my video game music course weekly.  Since our semester started on Tuesday, today's a perfect day to begin!  

One of the best things about teaching the course-- at least for me, with the way I set it up-- is that there's plenty of time for student discussion and comments.  These moments are the ones where I learn the most from the students.  It's that classic "several minds are better than one" scenario.  

On the first day, we surveyed game audio in four brief examples: Pong, Super Mario Bros, Final Fantasy VII, and Journey.  When I played the Pong video example and asked for reactions, one of the students mentioned that he found it interesting that the designers had decided to celebrate the loss in Pong, rather than the win.  

Have you ever thought about that?  I certainly hadn't!  Instead of a "good" sound that clearly celebrates the point earned by the winning player, the sound is abrasive and harsh, seemingly related to the ball being out of bounds.  Some of this is dependent on the version of Pong you're listening too, but here's a pretty close version to what we heard in class.   

This decision to have that sort of sound play may have simply been pragmatic, based on what Al Alcorn could coax out of the machine at the time.  Still, I had never considered the fact that the scoring point audio highlights the out of bounds loss rather than the crafty win.  

Musings: Video Games Live on a college campus

This semester, I've been part of a UMS Faculty Insight Group that is exploring campus connections to the performing arts.  As part of our end of year meeting Friday, we were asked to bring ideas for performances that would connect with courses we currently teach or would like to teach in the next five years.  Of course, my mind went immediately to a Video Games Live concert.  My proposal was met with laughter.  I'm not sure if it's too "out-of-the-box" for the concert series, too low art, too new, too untested, etc...  But I can't get that moment out of my head and wanted to process my thoughts about the idea a bit more by writing them out explicitly.

Here are the benefits I see in bringing a Video Games Live concert close to the University of Michigan:

1- Interdisciplinary Connections:  Of course, the School of Music would benefit-- our technology students (PAT: Performance Art Technology) would not only enjoy seeing a multi-media concert, some of them are considering working in the game audio industry.  A VGL concert would potentially bring Jack Wall and Tommy Tallarico to the area and our student would benefit greatly from a Q&A or brown bag lunch with industry experts like this.  I'm certain that students in the Engineering area, particularly Computer Science, would be interested in these discussions.  Other possible campus connections exist with the Screen Arts and Culture area, as well as others across campus who are interested in multi-media connections and video games.

2- Possibility to attract new audience members:  Every performing series is exploring how to retain audience members as well as find new ones.  I'm not sure if there are any studies of whether audience members who attend a concert like VGL, Distant Worlds, etc, are more likely to attend another concert later, but I am fairly sure that a game music concert would attract a different audience from a typical classical or jazz concert.  Does that really matter?  If folks come into the concert hall for a multi-media concert event, haven't we (musicians) already won?  They're listening to an orchestra play music they love.  That alone seems cool to me... win-win?  These concerts are special events.  Last fall, I showed a short clip of a VGL concert in my game music class and the students were blown away.  The number one question: "where could they go to see one of these?!"

3- Popular among a young demographic:  Another issue that performing arts series are exploring is how to gain younger concert goers.  Let me offer my game music class at UM as a testament to how popular game audio is among young folks.  I grew up with game music, but it was even more a part of young folks lives!  Despite the fact that I can't get UM to give my class a credit toward graduation (UM calls these "area distribution:" Humanities, Creative Expression, Social Science, etc-- my class is just a free elective), Video Game Music class is amazingly popular.  In fact, my game music class is the largest broad appeal class the School of Music has offered that doesn't carry area distribution.  Game audio has become a part of our culture, our references, our lives.  The younger one is, I think the more likely to be exposed to and attracted to game audio.  The potential audience is exactly the one that performing arts series are looking to attract.

If a Video Games Live concert came to the Ann Arbor area, it would be no laughing matter.  I see it as a perfect example of so many of the things we're looking for in the performing arts today: multi-media, technology plus art, attractive to young people, and attractive to-- perhaps-- a different audience than would normally attend concerts on a typical classical/ jazz series.  Even better are practical interdisciplinary connections that exist around a university environment.

Of course there would be challenges in bringing a Video Games Live (or the like) concert to this area as well.  I'm told the concerts are quite expensive and a sponsor is needed for it to be a financial reality.  I think Ann Arbor's UMS is uniquely poised to handle that because they have a "Renegade" series that could potentially provide some of that support.  The Renegade series is one that exists to explore new, avant grade art.  Is there any doubt that-- whether it's your cup of tea or not-- a video game music concert is the kind of performance that would fit well in this arena?

Also, there's unquestionably the idea that many of the regular concert goers on a mainly classical/ jazz concert series would think this was not a concert to attend.  But I wonder if the number of people who would be first-time attendees, or at least rare attendees who might return could make up for those stable audience members?

I'm sure there are other ideas that would support a Video Games Live (or the like) concert coming to the Ann Arbor area (or any similar University).  I'm also confident there are more challenges as well.  I'd love to hear your ideas on the matter.  Do you know any statistics about game music concerts?  Do they sell well?  Are they profitable?  Do they have good attendance?  Whether you're working in the area and have specialized knowledge or are have attended a concert in the past, leave me your thoughts if you're inspired to do so.  

Video Game Music Class: Syllabus

As I mentioned in my last post, there was great interest in my sharing the syllabus for Video Game Music at NACVGM.  The text is below.  I should note that I wouldn't teach the class in exactly the same way again; there are some definitely flaws that I will correct the second time around-- which I've just found out will be happening in Fall 2014!  Yay!  For instance, in the first pilot of the course, I rewarded how MUCH people wrote in the online forums.  Next time around, I plan to reward how OFTEN people write in the forums.  Frankly, people don't typically read huge essays online (I know, I'm not the right person to say that...), but that's an example of a takeaway that I have from the pilot of the course.  Maybe next year, I'll repost the syllabus with updated changes when I re-work it.

In any case, if you're interested in teaching with video game music, or considering gamification of a course you're teaching, I hope this helps you!  Let me know if you have questions.  The formatting is a little crazy, as I copy and paste here, but the information is all there.  Enjoy!

Video Game Music
MusPerf 300
Tuesday/Thursday 4:00-5:00, East Business, 0540
Office hours: by appointment (3057)
Matthew Thompson

In this course you will...

1- listen thoughtfully to game audio, learn to hear it more deeply, and increase your awareness of game music’s function within the broader scope of game audio.
2- learn to hear loops, form, structure, and instrumentation in video game music.
3- contemplate game music history, particularly examining the audio consequences of technological evolution.
4- learn about differences in game music across various genres of gaming.
4- learn about game audio workflow, examining the various jobs within the field, and in particular, examine how game audio is implemented in video games
5- become acquainted with game audio professionals, composers, and musicians through Skype conversations with industry experts as well as class readings.
6- undertake a Composition Quest!, composing game music with GarageBand (or another program you know).
7- take active part in an online listening blog community in the Ctools discussion forums, discussing class readings and activities, as well as posting links to and writing comments about video game music.

Required Materials

Karen Collins, Game Sound: an introduction to the history, theory, and practice of video game music and sound design. MIT Press. 2008.
You will likely want a USB flash drive when you are working on your GarageBand project. 2 GB should be more than enough space.


Grading

Because the topic of the course is game music, I wanted to try a bit of gamification with the course grading and design. Here’s how it works:

Attendance:25,000 XP points
Ctools Forums Participation: 40, 000 XP points
Quizzes: 10,000 XP points
Composition Quest!: 25, 000 XP points

You start the semester with 0 XP points (a Noob!) at Level 1. As you complete assignments, you gain points. Your work in this course is worth 100,000 XP points and a ranking of Level 5. (It is possible, though, to get above 100,000 XP points by earning trophies and to Level 6!)

Thus:
Earned XP points
Letter grade equivalent
100,000+  A+
93,000- 100,000  A
90,000- 93,000  A-
87,000-90,000  B+
83,000- 87,000  B
80,000- 83,000  B-
77,000- 80,000  C+
73,000- 77,000  C
70,000- 73,000  C-
67,000- 70,000  D+
63,000- 67,000 D
60,000- 63,000  D-
< 60,000  GAME OVER!


Levels

You start at Level 1 (Noob!). As you gain XP points, you’ll level up. 20,000 XP points are necessary for each level-up, for a possibility of 5 levels.

Note: Ancient legends speak of an elusive 6th level possible for those who really push themselves, do superior work, and earn trophies! When you level up, you’ll receive a ping in the Announcement section of Ctools as well as a ping in class.

Level 1  Noob  < 20,000 XP points
Level 2  Audio Intern  20,000 XP points
Level 3  Freelance Audio Implementor  40,000 XP points
Level 4  Rockstar Composer  60,000 XP points
Level 5  Music Supervisor 80,000 XP points
Level 6  Game Audio Grandmaster  100,000+ XP points

Note: The current high score holder in the class (person with the most XP points) will receive a ping as well. This person holds the title of “MusPerf Best Player!” This title may bestow certain privileges, but that is all I will say at this time...

Trophies (Extra Credit)

Trophies carry the possibility of bonus points! These trophies represent a lot of work and are meant to be difficult to achieve. There are announced trophies and hidden trophies.

Locutus of Ctools -- posting double the number of words necessary in the Ctools forums -- 1000 bonus points!
Ctools Surveyor -- posting/commenting in every Ctools forum topic-- 500 bonus points!
Four Eyed Bookworm-- reading (and posting on) all of the optional articles as well as all the chapters in Collins Game Sound--1000 bonus points!
Next Jeremy Soule-- composing double the amount of game music for your final project-- 1000 bonus points!

There are also 5 hidden trophies. The achievement necessary to unlock these trophies may or may not be revealed in the course of the class. Below are their names and rewards.
Good Samaritan (1000 points)
Word of Mouth (1000 points)
To Boldly Go (500 points)
Perfectly Present (500 points)
Focused under Pressure (500 points)

A student who earns any of these 9 trophies will be notified via a Ctools announcement as well as receiving a ping in class. It should go without saying that this work must be of a high caliber to earn the trophy. Phoned-in or shoddy work is never acceptable.

Challenges!

• If 10% of the class earns at least 4 trophies, everyone in the class gets 1000 bonus points!
• If anyone in the class earns all 9 trophies, everyone in the class gets 1500 bonus points!


Attendance (25,000 points)

Attendance should be considered mandatory. I will take attendance quite regularly, but at unannounced intervals, and at the beginning of the class. Thus, you need to be on time. Punctuality is a skill that will serve you well no matter your field or profession. The amount of points you receive from the maximum 25,000 will be distributed as a percentage of your attendance versus the number of times attendance is taken. This part of your grade should be a freebie!

Class will be a mixture of directed listening, discussion, and lecture. This won’t just be my standing and talking while you struggle to stay awake. This will be an interactive experience! Be present! Be focused! There’s no amount of outside reading or studying you can do to make up for the classroom experience because this class is the first of its kind! Let’s make the classroom environment the best on campus! I promise to give you my all when I’m in the classroom; can you make the same pact with me?

I understand the many pressures on students. Put those aside from Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:10-5 and come participate in a groundbreaking, ear opening, and wonderfully interactive course! Make the choice to be present! That said, if you’re very sick, please don’t come to class. Rest and get well. An appropriately dated doctor’s note will excuse an absence from negatively impacting your grade. Emailing me after class that you “weren’t feeling well” does no good. Save yourself the effort. For family emergencies, be in touch with me.

Note: By “present,” I don’t simply mean “physically in the room.” I mean invested in the tasks, discussions, and current moment in the classroom environment. Don’t show up to type a paper for another class, IM your BFF, or troll Facebook; that’s disrespectful and distracting to those around you. Come to class to learn, grow, and be focused on the present moment.

Ctools Forums (40,000 points)

The majority of the course grade is comprised of your activity and interactivity outside of class in the Ctools forums. There are numerous forums available and-- in the spirit of gaming, where you choose how you proceed through the game-- much of the time, you’re able to choose the forums/discussions you wish to participate in, readings you want to complete, and so forth.

Each week, you need to log 200 words in the forums. I will be tabulating these results weekly and awarding points appropriately. Strive for the following ratio: 150 words of your own primary contribution and 50 words in reaction to what others are saying. Don’t worry about this being an exact requirement, simply aim for about 2/3rds of your contribution to the forums to be primary material and about 1/3rd to be in reaction to other comments. A minimum of 200 words is the number you want to get to!


Example Forum Entries:
Primary contribution entries:

“I just finished reading Collins chapter 5 which deals with..... I’d never thought about the fact that game audio was divided into so many different jobs like.... The job that seemed most intriguing to me was..... I did an internet search for that job and found this video where Damian Kastbauer describes his life as an audio implementor: http://...... Super glad I watched that! I think the best part is 5:06-6:10 when he describes.....”

or
“I’ve been thinking a lot about hearing musical performances as a part of gameplay since the class where we discussed that topic. I remember a game I used to play when I was little, Maniac Mansion, where you can play as a singer/songwriter. If you choose this character, you have the chance to record a demo which.... The graphics are pretty crude (no playing motions), but when you select the piano, the music..... Check out the gameplay here: http://......”

NOTE: If you actually finished the sentences in either of these sample entries, just one of them would be an appropriate length entry for one week!

Comments/reaction entries might be like:
“Wow! What a great video! I watched the part you mentioned. He really does do a
good job of breaking down the occupation. Have you seen his website at http://.....?”

or
“I didn’t know who Damian Kastbauer was, so I found his website and am perusing the various games he’s worked on. Here’s a list if you want to check it out: http://......”

or
“I read that chapter too and thought it was the most boring one in the whole book. I don’t care at all about any game audio jobs other than the composers.”

or
“I didn’t know Maniac Mansion at all. I watched some of the gameplay. The era of wall- to-wall music was super annoying! I can’t believe that game music is so famous!”

NOTE: Two entires of this length in a week are all you need to fulfill your commenting requirement!

New Ctools forums will open as we progress through the semester. Check them out and see what’s possible. There will also be opportunities to suggest topics for forums. Let’s make this into an incredible online community!

Although we will be writing in an online forum, please avoid texting and internet slang: IMHO, TYVM, CUL8R, etc... Instead, opt for complete thoughts and intelligible writing. Also, while short statements like: “Wow!” “Really cool!” “Thanks for posting.” Can be a part of your reactionary comments, notice that all of my examples above also added something worthwhile to the conversation. They were not simply “bumps” to the thread.

Be polite and respectful in your comments. There’s a tendency to write things that one would never say in a face-to-face conversation. Consider that you’re interacting with your classmates, human beings! Be kind, honest, thoughtful. Treat others as you wish to be treated!

In the course of the semester, 200 words per week is the equivalent of a 10 page double spaced paper. This rather light output expectation is in counterbalance to the input time that it takes to write in the forums. Each time you write, you should be reading what others are saying and responding to them. Your writings will also often be reactions to readings you’ve completed. Thus, the heavy weighting of this portion of your grade tries to take into consideration that you need to invest time and attention into these forums. To receive full credit, your writing needs to clearly show that you are making this investment.

Forum Requirements Summary:

14 weeks of class, nothing due the first week. After that, 200 words weekly due each Tuesday before class begins! Late work will not receive credit! Roughly 1/3 as “comments/reactions” to what others have said. 2/3rds “Primary” material that you write on the following topics:

1 introductory entry on your favorite video game music
4 entries on chapters from Collins Game Sound -- you choose which chapters!
3 entries on other possible class readings -- you choose readings of interest to you! 4 entries in forums of your choice
1 entry as a course reflection on what you learned

Note: the Composition Quest! Ctools forum entries are graded as part of the Composition Quest! project. While you’ll be posting in Ctools forums for that project, which will be quite similar to this work, notice those entries do not count toward these 13 forum entry requirements!


Quizzes (10,000 points)

There are two quizzes in class on the dates listed in the course schedule. These quizzes are not to trick you! They are to help me gauge how your listening is developing and what knowledge you’re retaining. Nearly every class period, we’ll be practicing for these quizzes through directed listening and discussion. The only difference between the class discussions and these quizzes is that you’ll be working alone and submitting work for a grade. Do not stress about them! These quizzes will be short, quick, and-- if you’ve been coming to class and paying attention-- easy chances to show off what you’ve learned!

Composition Quest! (25,000 points)

This is your chance to compose some music with the aid of a computer! Your musical skill/knowledge don’t matter. While superior musical projects may receive more points, the vast majority of points will be awarded for projects that show effort and connection between the intended use of the music and the aural result. In other words, don’t submit a dance-hip-hop sounding MP3 for a horror/gothic game scene.

Notice on the schedule that I’ll conduct a GarageBand tutorial during one class period. For most of you, this (and perhaps online tutorials) will be all you need to compose your piece(s). Additionally, I’ll also poll the class on Ctools, and if there’s interest, I’ll give a two hour GarageBand tutorial session in the “Fish Bowl.” This is a great time to get added input from me or to get more help with GarageBand if you have any trouble.

1- Using GarageBand (or another audio program you’re familiar with), compose 90 seconds to 2 minutes of game audio.
2- Post in the appropriate Ctools forum a description of your composition process, what your inspiration was, the overall mood and effect of your music, and any other information you wish to include about your piece (title, video you synced to, artwork you took inspiration from, etc). 200 words. 5,000 points
3- Submit your recording as an MP3 (no other file types will be accepted!) to your Ctools dropbox no later than the beginning of the last day of class (Dec 10th at 4 pm).
Your MP3 MUST be titled in the following format: YourFirstandLastName_MusPerf300_CompProj_F13. 10,000 points
4- I will post the recordings in iTunesU during the study day.
5- Choose three of the recordings, listen to them, read their associated forum entry and comment on them in reply to the original post. Use techniques we’ve built all semester to comment on the music. What do you like? What works well? Are there things that are not convincing? This final step is due by the conclusion of the final exam period. 150 words (approximately 50 per reply). 10,000 points


Course Schedule

This schedule is subject to change and adjustment. Guest speaker availability and the needs and desires of the class will ultimately determine daily activities.
I have suggested course readings that follow the topics of the class. As long as you read and write in Ctools about at least 4 Collins Game Sound chapters and 3 of the other possible readings, you’ll receive full credit for the course readings.

September 3

Welcome, Introduction, A survey of game music

September 5

Beginnings of Game Audio

September 10

Rise of Arcades, First home consoles, Early PC Games
200 words due in Ctools forums: Your Favorite Game Music and Why

September 12

Fall of arcades, 8-bit home consoles
Hearing loops vs 1 shot music

September 17

8- bit consoles Hearing form End game music
200 more words due in Ctools forums: Novak History of Game Audio Development

September 19

The SNES and Genesis 16 bit consoles
Functions of Game Audio

September 24

Skype with Brian Schmidt
200 more words due in Ctools forums: Collins 2, 3, or 4

September 26

More SNES and Genesis and PC games
Boss, Menu, Battle Music
Quiz 1

October 1

PS and Xbox Games Hearing instrumentation
200 more words due in Ctools forums: Forum Topic/Reading of your choice


October 3

PS, Xbox, and PCGames

October 8

Current generation games Interactive Audio Realized Functions of Game Audio
200 more words due in Ctools forums: Collins- Chapter 7 or Novak- Functions of Game Music

October 10

Skype with Karen Collins

October 17

Current generation games, Interactive Audio

October 22

Nostalgia in game music music /Remakes
200 more words due in Ctools forums: Reading/ Topic of your choice

October 24

Music making in games

October 29

Music games/ CRLT evaluation
200 more words due in Ctools forums: Jorgensen- Playing with the Sound Off or Shultz- Music Theory in Music Games

October 31

Game music outside of Video Games

November 5

GarageBand Composition Techniques
200 more words due in Ctools forums Collins- Chapter 6 or Karja- Marketing Music Through Computer Games

November 7

Skype with George Sanger, compositional process

November 12

Game composers, Compositional process
200 more words due in Ctools forums: Collins Chapter 8 or Marks- Creating Music for Games or The Fat Man- Methods of Efficient Audio Production


November 14

Skype with Damian Kastbauer Game audio implementation

November 19

Game audio process, sound effects, foley, implementation
200 more words due in Ctools forums: Stevenson- The Game Audio Tutorial Chapter 4, “Music” or Brandon- Adaptive Audio

November 21

Synergy between game music and other industries
QUIZ 2

November 26

Mobile Game Audio/ Social Media Game Audio
200 more words due in Ctools forums: Topic/ Reading of your choice

December 3

Topics of class choice
200 more words due in Ctools forums: Topic/ Reading of your choice

December 5

Games/Topics of class choice

December 10

Course wrap up, gaming in class
1- Game music MP3s submitted to your Ctools Dropbox,
2- Ctools Forum description of your work complete
3- 200 more words due in Ctools forums: A Course Reflection

December 18

work due by end of Final Exam period (10 AM)
Your comments/replies to three of the game music tracks in iTunesU


On reserve in the Music Library:

Here are some of the books I’ve read about game audio. These are the vast majority of books that consider game music in their discussion. The first is the textbook for the class (there’s only one copy available in the library). The others have articles/chapters that may be one of your optional readings. There’s no requirement to use these, but if you’re interested in game audio/music, these books provide a wealth of information and are a good place to learn more.

Karen Collins: Game Sound
Karen Collins: Playing with Sound
Karen Collins, ed: From Pac-Man to Pop Music
Stevens/Raybould: The Game Audio Tutorial
Kiri Miller: Playing Along
Kristine Jorgensen: A Comprehensive Study of Sound in Computer Games
Alexander Brandon: Audio for Games
George Sanger: The Fat Man on Game Audio
Aaron Marks: The Complete Guide to Game Audio
Marks/ Novak: Game Development Essentials: Game Audio

Video Game Music Class: The end of the semester.

I'm basking today in a bit of a relaxation mode... a bit...  For the last few days I've been grading the final projects in VGM, which were amazing.  Of course, some a bit better than others, but everyone in the class submitted a final project and they were quite good.  Almost everyone fulfilled the requirement of listening and commenting on other classmates projects as well, so experiencing the art and reacting to it worked well.  I've been thinking about the class and what the students took away from it and what I took away from teaching it.  I've got my presentation on teaching the class at the NACVGM in less than a month, so I'm definitely spending some time reflecting on it all.  At this point, I'm thinking of organizing my presentation around different quotes I've pulled from student end of course reflections.  I want to show what worked well (as well as what didn't work well!).

All in all, I'd say the class was a big success and I hope to reteach the class next fall.  One of the coolest things that came out of the class was a partnership with the Engineering school.  I'm looking forward to continuing that in the future as well, and perhaps even building more interdepartmental connections.

As I narrow down the quotes I want to use for my presentation, some that don't make the cut will be posted here with some reflections as well, so I'll share some of my post-teaching knowledge here as well.  Otherwise, most of my reflective energies need to go into creating my presentation on the course.

This next year should be really exciting.  Getting training in Wwise is going to be awesome, attending game music conferences...  I've got lots coming up to look forward to.  For now, I'm trying to wrap up gift purchasing and get ready for a short trip home.  I'm going to try to blog more often during the holiday as well as the new year.  I think it should be fairly easy since my game energies won't have a course outlet next semester.  My outlet will be here!  So stay tuned and happy holidays!

Video Game Music Class: An Update.

So the semester at UM is roughly three weeks away from wrapping up and my class is (hopefully) working on their final game audio projects.  I've asked them to each make 90 seconds to 2 minutes of game audio with extra credit possible for students who create double that amount.  While a small portion of the grade will be based on "crafty" work-- that subjective thing that happens in arts teaching-- the vast majority of the music will be for projects that make sense.  By this I mean, if the students have said they're writing music for a FPS, that the music doesn't sound like a cartoony platform game for kids.

For inspiration, I've suggested that the students use artwork, other music, or perhaps a written description of the scene(s) they're scoring.  Other possibilities exist as well.  One of the biggest boons of this game music work is the possibility for interdisciplinary connections.  So, today, I took a few of my interested (and available) students over to a game design class in the Engineering school and heard pitches about some of the student games.  One of them jumped out at me as being cool and so I'm planning to write some music for it, which will be my first attempt at game music.  I'm really excited by the possibilities and I think several of my students are as well.  It's really cool to hear the concepts described and have the game teams discuss what they are thinking about in terms of audio.  A couple of teams had temp tracks they'd been playing to already and were looking for things "close to that."  Some had playable footage and others were more in a screenshot stage.  All in all, it was a very cool as it adds a big pinch of realism to the class.

I've been really happy with how the class has gone so far.  This weekend I get to grade some quizzes that the students did on Thursday.  The initial quiz the class did had amazing results.  I was really happy to read that they're listening very intently to the music and definitely thinking more about when music plays, how it transitions, and why.  This time around, I asked more about how various audio jobs shaped the sound in a scene, where a design team might find inspiration for sound, and various audio distinctions across game genres and platforms.  Looking forward to seeing what they came up with.

The rest of the semester after Tuesday (which is mobile/social gaming) is devoted to answering questions about the final project (composition quest!) as well as topics of student interest.  I'll be sure to list the topics they ask for more info on here.

Live Performances(?): Two videos.

My students are always sending me various game music links that they find interesting.   I'm usually floored by these videos and have no idea they exist!  Here are two recent ones that I've really enjoyed.

Smooth McGroove has a ton of awesome videos where he makes a cappella arrangements of various game music tracks.  I've listened to numerous ones and think they sound incredible!  Really glad to hear these!

Here's another one that where I'm not sure I understand exactly what's happening technically.  That said, it's clear that MIDI data and Tesla coils are somehow working together to create a musical and light show.

Both of these project represent labors of love that required lots of time to program, perfect, and perform.  Congrats to the creators!

Video Game Music Class: An Update.

I've been struggling to find time to write on here recently, for which I want to apologize.  I love this blog and the connections that it gives me, but right now so much of my energy is going into my game music class.  I don't know that it'll get much better any time soon, but I will try to make updates about once a week as I'm able.

I always knew this class would be a lot of work, but I've been surprised about how much time and energy it's taking, even compared against other classes I've taught.  The hardest thing about it is that because there's a lot of video game footage to show, I have to do a lot of video manipulation which simply takes time.  Some footage I've pulled off of youtube-- from a longplay, for instance-- and then simply taken out the 90 seconds that I want to show.  Other footage I've had to record on my own for some very specific audio examples that aren't online.  For instance, I'm going to be talking about Ocarina of Time in a few classes, and I want to show how the crossfades between the current theme and the battle theme work.  So, I recorded myself inching toward and away from an enemy to show how the crossfading works.  Something like that isn't a normal part of gameplay and doesn't exist in a playthrough, so I'm having to create some materials like that at a very basic level.  All in all, a huge undertaking.

Making each lecture is taking between 6-9 hours.  I can usually create a lecture in about half that time, but a lot of the time is spent with video manipulation.  Luckily, I'll have this material for the future, if UM decides to re-run the course.  I think it's also hard to do this because, unlike the other courses I teach, a music appreciation course through the lens of video game music has never been taught before, so simply figuring out how to do it and make the materials is an enormous process, building from the ground up.

Kirsten wrote recently on the blog and asked how the class was going and what we were doing.  As far as I can tell, things are going pretty well.  The last day to drop/add is tomorrow, and I'm thinking the class attendance will set around 67, with 80 possible seats in the room.  I also have a few folks who aren't formally enrolled for whatever reason, but are attending, so the class looks very full generally.  As I understand it, this enrollment is the most successful non-music major outreach sort of course UM-SMTD has ever offered.  That's encouraging.  The first of two quizzes is on Thursday, and once I look at that, I'll have a better idea of what the students are taking away from the class.  I can say already that reading what they've written in the online forums shows that their eyes are opening quickly to the complexity of game audio.  Many of them appreciated it, but they're starting to see how much planning is involved and the behind the scenes aspects of game music.

So far, most of the class activities have been my playing gameplay and then either talking to the students about the audio and its connection to the visual aspects, or else I play them some gameplay and then they talk in small groups about what they notice about the music.  How does the visual connect with the audio?  Space Invaders is a good example of this, with the music mimicking a heartbeat and speeding up as the gameplay progresses.  How does the music in Super Mario Bros represent the situation?-- for instance, the overworld theme versus going down a pipe and having the underworld theme.  We started at the beginning with the first computer games and have progressed through Atari, NES, SNES, Genesis, and are going to look at GameBoy and some other computer games on Thursday.  Tues is our first guest Skype with Brian Schmidt.

I've emphasized numerous examples of game music that use folk tunes, classical, and popular music to open them to the amount of covering that goes on in game music.  For me, this is an important idea: when you play a game, you're not just hearing that game's music-- you're being exposed to a lot of culture.  The same as the Looney Tunes cartoons passed down all sorts of musical heritage, so do video games.  I've also asked them recently to start to notice how the music changes from one track to another.  Of course in the oldest games, there was no background music, just sound effects or short musical fanfares.  With the NES, often one track plays until a certain action makes the audio switch to a second track.  As we were recently exploring in some SNES and Genesis games, tracks might fade into one another.  I don't always know what'll come up and what we're going to do next, but I do like that discussing some of the basics of mixing/recording are going to be a part of the class.  Those considerations probably wouldn't be a part of most classically based music appreciation courses.

Kirsten, as for a final project, we're using GarageBand (or other software) to create game music.  What I like about GB is that it's easy to drop in a video and score it.  Students could re-score gameplay footage they pull off YouTube, for instance.  That's actually a practical project if any of them are interested in being game composers.  For students who don't want to actually set their music to video, they can use artwork or simply verbal descriptions of the scene where their music should fit.  I've even got some class members who are working on creating video games now and are eager to learn more about how to create their own music for these games.  I don't know if you'd have that in middle school, but I definitely think that using GB to create music is a very simple project that your students could do.  I haven't taught middle school, but I know from readings in the Tech for Mus Ed class that I teach that MS teachers do find GB to be an easy program for that age group to work with.

The last thing I wanted to add is that I set the course up in a gamification way.  Instead of typical grades (which students still do get at the end of the semester), the course is worth 100,000 points and various activities are worth certain amount of points.  We have trophies that are rewarded for going above and beyond the normal workload.  Class members level up as the semester progresses.  All of this results in a little more work for me behind the scenes, but I'm excited to try it out this semester.  It's been well received by the students, although so far, they haven't seen many results from it.  Part of that was just getting everything going, but I'm excited that it should be in full swing by the end of the month.

I'll continue to update as the class goes on.  Thanks for writing and asking!  Let me know how your class goes!

Behind the Scenes: Tomorrow starts my Game Music Course!

Well, I JUST finished my game music lecture.  It ROCKS!  Not usually a procrastinator, but I was up against two problems: 

1- I've been taking in as much data as possible before creating the course.   

2- I also ditched one of two textbooks in another course and had to create my own workbook to make up for it.  Had never done that before, and didn't know what was involved.  Made an incredible workbook, but that was days of solid work from waking to sleeping.  

Anyway, sorry to have been away for a few days, but the semester has kicked in.  I just did a massive amount of work, but September looks to be a very busy month.  I'll definitely update on the weekends and will probably drop in some ideas that arise in my game music class in short entries as well.  

Tomorrow is the first day of a dream come true-- teaching VIDEO GAME MUSIC!  Here we go!

Video Game Music Class: Just won a grant for guest speakers!

I'm elated to say that I just got notice I won a grant for my game music class. It's a small award that UM's Center for Research on Learning and Teaching makes available for developing courses called the Instructional Development Fund. My proposal is to use the fund to moderate Q&A's between leading game music experts via Skype. A condition of the grant is that I have to record the conversations for reuse (if the class is offered again) and to enter them into the UM library collection. Through my work on this blog, I've made contact with Karen Collins and Brian Schmidt, both of whom I've asked to participate in these conversations. I also reached out to Tommy Tallarico and got him on board as a speaker as well. I'm still looking for a composer who works primarily in mobile audio as a final interview. This is superb news for the class, the library collection, and me!  This class is going to rock!

Video Game Music Class: Brainstorming class design, Sound effects vs. Music

Today I've spent quite a bit of time reading about setting up a music appreciation class.  I imagine my class to have elements of music appreciation-- that's how I describe it to my classical colleagues, and probably at its heart, it is a music appreciation class-- but I also see it as a "topics in game music" course as well.  Reading these articles is a way for me to try to gain some experience from previous music appreciation teachers.  I was really struck by how far back the literature on teaching music appreciation reaches!  It's obviously not a new topic, but technology has changed it tremendously; reading articles about teaching music appreciation before the 1930s would generally be before recordings were widely available and used in class.  

Reading these articles was also sifting through a lot of opinion.  I'd say that most everything I read emphasizes that the major theme of a music appreciation class should be listening and increasing their involvement with the music.  Also, it's important to consider what skills/thoughts that the teacher wants the students to leave the class with.  Different authors think certain topics/ activities are a waste of time, for instance, playing different instruments, composing music, discussing composer biographies.  I simply can't agree with these ideas as I think if I knew nothing about art and took an art appreciation class and we got to paint, sculpt, etc for even a few minutes, I'd remember it and love it.  Why take out the hands on part?  And further, I want to appreciate all the different tasks that are possible in game music: audio integration, programming, workflow, synergy with the music industry, etc.  Listening can (and will) be a part of these discussions.  

I've already considered that I want to devote at least 10 minutes of each class to listening to and discussing musical examples: a guided listening activity.  Some classes this could last even longer, perhaps at time being the majority of the class, even 40 minutes of a 50 minute class.  In general, examples will progress from the beginnings of game audio to present day.  This'll make a logical sense not only to the chronologically minded, but also because game music grows in complexity as we approach modern day.  

I think GarageBand makes it so easy to compose music that I don't think of the composition project as a waste.  In fact, unlike considering a traditional classically based course, where knowledge of how to play an instrument or standard notation is required, the simplicity of creating one's own music these days with computer aid should be a perk for a general music class.  I see this as a way to get students even more interested by involving them in the creative process.  

Many of these texts suggest discussing "what is music" at the first class meeting.  I've already decided that I want to play a couple of game music bookends-- some of the earliest game sounds and some contemporary ones to get a discussion started about the journey we'll be exploring in class.  Since the earliest games audio is mostly limited to a few sound effects with perhaps just a short melodic phrase played, I think my discussion will be: what's the difference between a sound effect and game music?  I remember reading about this very issue somewhere earlier, but I can't now remember where...  I do recall that there needs to be a distinction between sampled sound effects and musical sound effects.  Where's the line between musical sound effects and game music?  I'm not sure I know myself, so that'll be interesting to explore!  

What do I want students to take away from the class?  At this point, just under a month from the start of the class, I'm solidifying my mind around these goals:

-A deeper understanding of music (in this case, game music, but the knowledge is transferable)

-The ability to create music with a computer serving some role (from a recorder to using pre-recorded loops to construct the piece)

-A clearer sense of hearing game audio, understanding its evolution, what's involved in creating it, and the people who create it

In case you're interested, here are some of the most helpful articles I read today about teaching music appreciation:

A Pedagogy of the Pedagogy of Music Appreciation, Edward Hafer

Music Appreciation, Robert K Beckwith

The Teaching of Music Appreciation, Hans Tischler

The Appreciation of Music, Jeanine Bamberger

The Teaching of Music Appreciation, James Bakst

Fundamentals of Music Appreciation, James Conely

Video Game Music Class: Contemplating Class Organization

The more I read and learn, the more I realize the importance of focusing in on exactly how I want to spend the 28 class sessions I have with the students.  28 hours.  Not much face to face time.  A lot of things I want to consider.  I'm thinking at some point, I'm just going to have to list everything I'd like to touch on and then prioritize, much in the same way game audio designers do with their limited resources.

One exciting piece of news is that I've reached out to a friend of mine who's working on an iOS game right now.  It'll be his first and his timeline is to have some portion of the game playable by the fall.  He's agreed to participate in an interview with the students and I'm thrilled.  He's the kind of insightful person who can be very theoretical if needed and very practical as well.  I think because he'll be learning the ropes of implementing audio into an iOS game for the first time, he'll be a perfect model for the students to see.  I'm also working to set up some interviews with experienced console composers as well.  What makes me excited about the one I've booked is that I think sometimes students learn the most from seeing someone who's not so far out of bounds from where they are-- someone they can identify with.  It's hard to imagine how to become Nobuo Uematsu, but manageable to think about creating audio for one game.  More will come on this...

Obviously, my class is an introductory one.  I remind myself of it this way: it's a general music course in that I want to consider historical information, build aural skills, and conceptualize about the theory of game music as well.  The creative aspect, using software to make game music, is definitely a huge plus not only because it's fun and easy to be creative, but also because it's practical for someone interested in studying this more seriously.  And frankly, there's nothing like actually doing something to teach you.  I'm feeling really excited about the creative aspect and the set up of the course.  I've already got that nailed down and it's going to be cutting edge Music Ed Technology for both my presentation as well as student interactions-- online forums and shared media (I do teach a course on Mus Ed Tech.....).  But as for the content: the long and short of it is that I've not eliminated any game audio consideration as a possible topic at this point, but I do want the focus to be on music.

The limiting factor is that the class focus is narrow on what music we examine: it's on game music.  Unlike classical music with hundreds of years of history, game music has a manageable fifty year or so history.  The aural skills I want to help the students develop aren't necessarily the same priorities that a classical musician should have.  For instance, identifying looping points in game music isn't even something that really exists in classical music, yet I'd contend that it's one of the most important first analytical skills for a game musician to develop and one of the most important theories for them to understand.  How and why do we move from loop to loop?  What's the function of music in a given situation?  Understanding differences in sampled sound versus MIDI is important to build as well.  And then what about phrase shape, musical structure, meter, rhythm, instrumentation, etc.  Surely these are some of the most critical areas where my classical background will make it easy for me to offer advise.

Mainly, I've been thinking about how to present the historical survey portion of the class as well.  Most music history classes (and probably most history classes altogether) are taught chronologically.  Music courses also tend to move from composer to composer.  However, one of my most vivid memories of a music history course was one that didn't move chronologically.  Instead, the teacher organized the composers by theme (nationalists, avant-garde, minimalists, etc).  Could a similar approach work in a game music class?  Perhaps here, though, the logical flow would be through game genres (RPGs, Platform, Sports, etc).  Is it also better with game music to create a flow from game to game instead of from composer to composer?  Or would be best organization be by console and the audio experience therein?  One benefit of game music is that it generally increases in aural complexity as one moves toward the present day.  That could be a strong argument in favor of a chronological presentation.

My main musical mentor used to tell me that he was just laying a foundation that he hoped would serve applicable to whatever music I encountered in my life-- including pieces that hadn't been written yet.  Interestingly for me, this genre of music is making me consider my own music education and what aspects of it are applicable as I consider teaching a class in a different music field.

Behind the Scenes: Video Game Music Class

Despite the fact that I've been working on this goal for over a year, I can hardly believe it's happening: I'm teaching a video game music course in the fall.  The course is going to be a sort of general music/music appreciation class, but through the lens of video game music instead of traditional classical or popular music slants.  (Is game music popular music?)  I'm really pleased with how I've set it up-- there's development of aural skills through listening, a historical aspect as we'll trace the evolution of game audio, and a composition component as well.  The best part is, with simple computer programs like GarageBand, etc, anyone can make their own music these days without even needing to read standard music notation.

Although I've spun the composition part as creating "game music" this lead me to think: what is game music?  Couldn't a person play acoustic guitar and sing, record themselves, and call this music "game music" for a certain scene in a game?  Sounds very similar to Red Dead Redemption to me.  And forget the singing along, how about guitar playing and some synthesized instruments supporting it?  Diablo Tristram theme.  At the most basic level, drop some garageband loops together and (perhaps) put a melody over it, and you've got something like quite a bit of FF XIII.  Or make something heady-- maybe something like granular synthesis??-- that might be similar to some moments in the Twilight realm of Twilight Princess.  More atonal/synthesized compositions?  We're far away from home, earth, normal.  More traditional audio sounds?  More life like, perhaps depicting concerts, sporting events, etc.  Basically, the composition of game music is just a chance to be creative.

In lieu of formal written papers, I'm going to create a listening blog for the students to post and react to game audio and class readings of their choice.  That's very 21st century music education!  One of the things I anticipate loving about teaching game music is that I can give students a wide latitude with their readings and still get good comprehension.  One thing I've already learned from working on this blog and reading game music literature is that it's less important that the reader of most scholarly articles is experienced with music and more important they've been exposed to the game music that the article is discussing.  I supposed the same is true in the classical area, but I think about it less because many of the examples I read about are so standard they come to mind immediately.  So while I was a little lost a few months ago reading about race in the radio of Grand Theft Auto, a person who's played that game and knows the audio wouldn't have much trouble digesting that reading.  So as long as I can present students with a wide variety of readings that deal with a wide variety of games, it'll be win-win.

This class is going to be a blast...  But for now, I'm watching the enrollment and hoping to get students hooked!    

On a blog related note, I'm going to be reviving the "Playing Games" heading that I used occasionally early on in the blog to represent quick snippets of thought I have when I'm currently playing a game-- as opposed to the more researched "Analysis" segments.  Also, Video Game Music Class will become a regular series where I muse about where I am in the process of creating the course.