{"id":14985,"date":"2020-12-01T15:34:55","date_gmt":"2020-12-01T20:34:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/takenote\/?p=14985"},"modified":"2025-10-29T11:28:00","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T16:28:00","slug":"scoring-for-games-top-techniques-for-composing-music-for-interactive-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/takenote\/scoring-for-games-top-techniques-for-composing-music-for-interactive-media\/","title":{"rendered":"Scoring for Games: Composing Music for Interactive Media"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How Interactive Music Responds to Player Choices in Real Time<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The following information on composing music for interactive media is excerpted from the Berklee Online course Interactive Scoring for Games<\/a><\/em>, written by Michael Sweet<\/a>, and currently enrolling.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Using interactive music in a game setting can create a score that is unique, constantly evolving, and able to move the storyline and emotional context forward. This style of musical score is contrary to the traditional linear film-scoring method of music composition. Scoring for games organizes musical events in relationship to gameplay events that are occurring in real time through choices of the player, as opposed to a pre-sequenced order. Because of this significant difference, we create scores by using several varied compositional techniques.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The interactive music techniques that I\u2019ll describe here take longer to compose than a linear cue for a movie or television show. When scoring for games, the composer must build variability into the composition itself, so that when it\u2019s integrated into a game, the music will change based on the player\u2019s decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is difficult to test every possible outcome a player might encounter and
every possible music combination within a game. Video game composers need to be cognizant of the limitless possibilities and also be open to allowing their music to playback differently on each playthrough based on the players\u2019 decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each interactive compositional technique has various advantages and
disadvantages to why you might want to choose one over another when you are scoring for games, depending on what type of game it is. In addition, many of these fundamental techniques can be combined and used together. Let\u2019s explore some common interactive composing techniques that composers utilize in video games:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Horizontal Re-sequencing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Horizontal re-sequencing refers to the ability for the music to respond to
a game event by switching from one musical cue to another. The composer
can sometimes customize the way that the engine switches from one cue to
another. Some examples might include crossfading between the cues, waiting until the next downbeat or musical phrase to end before playing the next cue, or playing a musical transition to bridge the two cues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The term horizontal re-sequencing is derived from how composers typically
look at the horizontal axis in a DAW (Pro Tools, Cubase, etc.), which represents time. Since one cue can follow another cue based on a game event, we are re-sequencing the order of the playback of those cues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Probably the most common horizontal re-sequencing technique used in scoring for games is looping. Looping refers to the ability for a music cue to repeat itself without the player hearing any loop point. In gameplay, it allows for the music to be extended for players that may take longer to get through a level or spend more time in an area than the designers had originally intended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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