Video Game Composition

• Description & Objectives

  Description:
  Students will capture one-shot action sounds, write background music, and add ambient sounds to accompany gameplay footage.

  Musical Objectives:
  Write music to create a specific mood.
  Experiment with cinematic textures and techniques.

  Technical Objectives:
  Record and edit one-shot sounds.
  Use Soundtrap’s Sampler to trigger one-shot sounds.
  Learn about action and timeline assets.

• Teacher Prep & Materials

  Prep:
  If you are unfamiliar with video game music, or if you want to learn more, check out this article on video game music history. Play a video game from your past and listen for the different types of assets. Take note of how the volumes of the timeline assets change depending on the gameplay. Since this project uses a few new tools like Soundtrap’s sampler and the gameplay audio mixer, it would help to complete it by yourself before introducing it to the class. This way, you can anticipate potential problems that your students might have in the process. Finally, try the Scratch activity! It’s fun to get into the code of a game like Mario and make simple changes that alter the gameplay of a classic.

  Materials:
  Video Game Composition Rubric

• Cross Curricular Articulation

  This assignment has many opportunities for cross-curricular articulation with engineering and computer science. Reach out to faculty members who either teach these classes or have experience in the field. They will be able to add depth and connection to the possible coding connections that this project has to offer. You can also reach out to parents and see if any are coders.

• Procedure

  As a Class:

  • Watch the top video and discuss the three different types of assets.

  • Complete some of the connection activities to build confidence and understanding of the material.

  • Watch the step videos, choose a gameplay scene, create action/timeline assets, upload them to the player, and mix them during gameplay as a class.

  Individual:

  • Have students work in partners to choose a gameplay scene, create action/timeline assets, upload them to the player, and mix them during gameplay.

  • Partner groups should regularly share their assets with each other to gather feedback.

• Assessment

  Informal Assessment:

  • Check for understanding of the different asset types, the process used to capture and edit live sound, the mechanics of working with the template files, and best practice for downloading audio files onto student devices while working on the project as a class.

  • Walk around the room while students are completing the individual portion of their projects and check to see if students are getting clean audio recordings with a good signal-to-noise ratio, trimming their recordings properly, and working with the templates correctly.

  Formal Assessment:

  • The completed projects can be graded by the instructor against the rubric. Students can also create screen capture videos of their gameplay footage and post them on a school-safe platform to share with friends and family.

• Connection Activities

  Asset Logging:
  Instruct students to get into small groups and either play or watch gameplay footage of a game that they like. While interacting with the game, they should log the action, ambient, and music assets. They should also describe the objective of the assets related to the gameplay. Have the groups present their findings to each other and discuss any patterns they see between games.

  Video Game Composer Profile:
  Choose a current or past video game composer and listen to their music together. Watch gameplay footage and/or play games that the composer has worked on. How does the composer’s music immerse the audience? Do they use cinematic textures or pop music? If the composer worked on older games, what limitations did the composer have when composing the music and/or sounds for the game? Here is a list of famous video game composers to check out.

  OST Sharing:
  Have students share their favorite OSTs (original soundtracks) from video games.

  Scratch Remix:
  Create an account for Scratch. Find a game as a class like this Mario remake. Click the Remix button to save a copy of it to your account. Go to the sounds panel and view the action and background music sounds. Select one of the sounds to change as a class. Upload audio that has been created in Soundtrap or record audio directly into Scratch to create a new sound. Navigate to the code panel and find the block that contains a drop-down menu with the original sound file chosen. Ex. Overworld is the main Mario theme. It is fairly close to the top of the code. Select the new sound that you would like to replace the old one with from the drop-down menu. When you have completed your choice, see how the new sound functions in gameplay by auditioning the level by pressing spacebar in the right-hand corner of the screen. Repeat this process for different action sounds to change the gameplay. This activity can be done as a class or in small groups.

• Differentiation

  Enrichment: The boss battle scene has the most action assets. It will take the most time to complete. Students can also record their own ambient sounds by using a built-in or external microphone.

  Remediation: Students can use pre-recorded loops to assist in creating the background music. The instructor can work with a group of students that need more assistance and record a pool of action sounds together. These sounds can then be uploaded to the class’s page on their LMS for students to easily drag and drop into their Soundtrap templates.

• Notes

  You will find that there is a great deal of interest in video game composition in your classes. You can focus their enthusiasm to dive deeper into cinematic composition, audio recording, and/or coding. Gauge the interest and background of the class in addition to your background in these areas to help make this choice.

  To make it easy to record audio for students, find a few spaces that offer some acoustic isolation from the rest of the class. You can treat these spaces by hanging blankets or sound panels to remove unwanted reflections. While it is best to have students use external microphones for recording, internal microphones can get a good sound as long as the sound source is close enough to the device to get an isolated signal. Encourage students to experiment with different mic placements when recording audio to get the best sound and have them record multiple takes. Always have students wear headphones when recording audio and turn Soundtrap’s monitoring off to make it easy for students to stay in time.

• Standards & Pathways

  Core Arts Standards

  1. Creating:

     • Anchor Standard 1 (Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work): Conceptualize and capture one-shot action sounds, write background music, and add ambient sounds to accompany gameplay footage.

     • Anchor Standard 2 (Organize and develop artistic ideas and work): Organize and develop musical ideas to create a specific mood using cinematic textures and techniques.

     • Anchor Standard 3 (Refine and complete artistic work): Refine and complete the music and sounds by recording, editing, and using Soundtrap’s Sampler to trigger one-shot sounds.

  2. Performing:

     • Anchor Standard 4 (Select, analyze, and interpret artistic work for presentation): Select and create action/timeline assets, upload them to the player, and mix them during gameplay.

  3. Responding:

     • Anchor Standard 7 (Perceive and analyze artistic work): Analyze and understand the different types of assets and their roles in video game music.

     • Anchor Standard 8 (Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work): Present and discuss their musical creations, explaining the choices made in capturing and editing sounds to fit the gameplay.

  4. Connecting:

     • Anchor Standard 11 (Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical context to deepen understanding): Connect their video game music compositions to broader musical contexts, understanding the role of music in enhancing gameplay experiences.

  Technology Literacy Standards

  1. Empowered Learner (ISTE Standard 1):

     • Use digital tools to capture, edit, and organize musical elements, track progress, and reflect on their work.

  2. Creative Communicator (ISTE Standard 6):

     • Experiment with creating and editing musical elements and effectively communicate their musical concepts through their projects.

  Career Readiness

  • Music Production: Skills in creating, recording, and organizing musical elements for video games.

  • Sound Engineering: Technical knowledge of recording and editing one-shot sounds and creating a balanced mix.

  • Game Design and Development: Understanding how music and sound effects enhance the gaming experience.

  • Multimedia Production: Integrating musical elements into various multimedia projects to create immersive and engaging content.