Game Scoring: Towards a Broader Theory

“Game scoring,” that is, the act of composing music for and through gaming, is distinct from other types of scoring. To begin with, unlike other scoring activities, game scoring depends on — in fact, it arguably is — software programming. The game scorer’s choices are thus first-and-foremost limited by available gaming technology, and the “programmability” of their musical ideas given that technology, at any given historical moment. Moreover, game scores are unique in that they must allow for an unprecedented level of musical flexibility, given the high degree of user interactivity the video game medium enables and encourages. As such, game scoring necessarily constitutes an at least partially aleatoric compositional activity, the final score being determined as much through gameplay as traditional composition. This thesis demonstrates this through case studies of the Nintendo Entertainment System sound hardware configuration, and game scores, including the canonic score for Super Mario Bros. (1985)

Automatic Generation of Dynamic Musical Transitions in Computer Games

In video games, music must often change quickly from one piece to another due to player interaction, such as when moving between different areas. This quick change in music can often sound jarring if the two pieces are very different from each other. Several transition techniques have been used in industry such as the abrupt cut transition, crossfading, horizontal resequencing and vertical reorchestration among others. However, while several claims are made about their effectiveness (or lack thereof), none of these have been experimentally tested. To investigate how effective each transition technique is, this dissertation empirically evaluates each technique in a study informed by music psychology. This is done based on several features identified as being important for successful transitions. The obtained results led to a novel approach to musical transitions in video games by investigating the use of a multiple viewpoint system, with viewpoints being modelled using Markov models. This algorithm allowed the seamless generation of music that could serve as a transition between two composed pieces of music. While transitions in games normally occur over a zone boundary, the algorithm presented in this dissertation takes place over a transition region, giving the generated music enough time to transition. This novel approach was evaluated in a bespoke video game environment, where participants navigated through several pairs of different game environments and rated the resulting musical transitions. The results indicate that the generated transitions perform as well as crossfading, a technique commonly used in the industry. Since crossfading is not always appropriate, being able to use generated transitions gives composers another tool in their toolbox. Furthermore, the principled approach taken opens up avenues for further research

Criação de música baseada na proporção áurea: abordagem teórica e prática à escala de 34 tons de igual temperamento

The sensory phenomena of music perception are considered to be highly non-linear. The golden ratio plays a key role in nonlinear dynamic systems and has been recognized as an aesthetic element in many places over time. This research develops the 34-note equal tempered scale (34-TET). A microtonal model based on the golden ratio, containing the harmonic musical intervals, and permitting a consistent approach that embraces the different temperaments throughout history, as well as other music cultures. These theoretical properties are practically exposed in two portfolios, including compositional samples of art music with European roots (from the Renaissance to the twentieth century), popular music (bossa nova, tango, swing), maqãm, and Indian music. The second portfolio, created within the scope of this thesis, contains the artistic work “The Asian Garden” combining the equal tempered scales of 34 and 12 notes (12-TET), and provides additional cultural references from China and Japan. The 34-TET scale offers an overall approach to just intonation scale more than twice as good as that of 12-TET, with all consonant intervals well below the differential threshold. If a maximum impurity value was accepted, not appreciably different from that agreed upon when the equal-tempered 12- tone scale was standardized (17.65 cents vs. 15.67 cents), then the 34-TET scale would become, additionally, a useful tool for approaching different cultures.Os fenómenos sensoriais de perceção musical são considerados substancialmente não lineares. A proporção áurea desempenha um papel fundamental em sistemas dinâmicos não lineares e tem sido reconhecida como um elemento estético em vários contextos ao longo do tempo. Esta investigação desenvolve a escala de 34 notas de temperamento igual (34- TET). Trata-se de um modelo microtonal baseado na proporção áurea, contendo os intervalos harmónicos musicais, e permitindo uma abordagem consistente que abrange os distintos temperamentos ao longo da história, assim como outras culturas musicais. Estas propriedades teóricas estão praticamente expostas em dois portefólios, incluindo exemplos de composição erudita com raízes europeias (desde o Renascimento ao século XX), música popular (bossa nova, tango, swing), maqãm e música indiana. O segundo portefólio contém o trabalho artístico “The Asian Garden,” criado no âmbito desta tese, que combina escalas de temperamento igual de 34 e de 12 notas (12-TET), e fornece referências culturais adicionais da China e Japão. A escala 34-TET oferece uma abordagem global à escala de entonação justa que é mais de duas vezes melhor do que a da escala 12-TET, com todos os intervalos consonantes consideravelmente abaixo do limiar diferencial. Se fosse aceite um valor máximo de impureza não muito diferente do valor acordado quando a escala de 12 tons igualmente temperados foi padronizada (17,65 cents em vez de 15,67 cents), a escala 34-TET tornar-se-ia, adicionalmente, uma ferramenta útil para a aproximação de culturas diferentes.Programa Doutoral em Músic

Understanding Game Scoring: Software Programming, Aleatoric Composition and Mimetic Music Technology

Game scoring, that is, the act of composing music for and through gaming, is distinct from other types of scoring. To begin with, unlike other scoring activities, game scoring depends on — in fact, it arguably is — software programming. The game scorer‘s choices are thus first-and-foremost limited by available gaming technology, and the programmability of their musical ideas given that technology, at any given historical moment. Moreover, game scores are unique in that they must allow for an unprecedented level of musical flexibility, given the high degree of user interactivity the video game medium enables and encourages. As such, game scoring necessarily constitutes an at least partially aleatoric compositional activity, the final score being determined as much through gameplay as traditional composition. This dissertation demonstrates how game scoring is software programming that is structured by gaming technology, and that constitutes a unique kind of aleatoric composition, through case studies of the Nintendo Entertainment System sound hardware configuration, and game scores, including the canonic score for Super Mario Bros. (1985)