"Good music in a game can augment every sense the game
developer wants the game player to feel. Good music can
make the game player feel threatened and afraid,
powerful and invincible, like a total loser and like a
world champion. Good music will also ‘play’ in the mind
of game players even when they’re not playing the game."
Or so says Four Bars Intertainment’s Bob Rice, an
agent and manager for composers. "Good music can’t make
a bad game good," Rice continues, "but it can make good
games better."
Certainly, music for games is garnering attention
outside the industry more than ever. Game soundtracks
are now eligible for Grammies, and Rolling Stone is
reportedly introducing its first gaming awards
with categories said to include Best Game
Soundtrack/Music for both PC and console divisions.
Video-game music remixes have also entered the lofty
ranks of Net subculture as recently explored in the
Salon article,
Hot salsa Tetris by Katharine Mieszkowski. Remixers
take game music and reorganize it for their own purposes
and upload to sites like
www.Vgmix.com. As reported in the article, remixers
tend to be young guys, in their teens or early 20s,
lifelong gamers who "grew up with this stuff" and credit
much of their exposure to music from these video games.
The article also discusses the popularity of game
soundtracks in Japan where they hit the pop charts, just
like blockbuster movie soundtracks, and where game
composers like Final Fantasy's Uematsu and the Legend of
Zelda’s Koji Kondo have devoted fan followings.
With all the buzz about music and games, you would
think information on how to get into this area of the
industry would be common knowledge, but if the emails
GIGnews receives on a regular basis are any indication,
breaking your music into games remains something of a
mystery. Easily the most common question we receive is
"how do I get my music in games?" The questions come
from students, composers in other disciplines, and
frustrated band managers. With the
South by
Southwest (SXSW) music conference and the
Game
Developers Conference (GDC) conveniently back to
back this year, we set out to learn about music and games.
Networking and working for free
"As a kid I loved playing video games but, perhaps
more importantly, I loved the sound and music," says
Jamie Lendino, principal composer for
Soundforgames.com. "Even the ‘bleeps’ and silly
songs from the early 80s had such a unique quality,
right on through to the full orchestral and electronic
scores we hear today."
When it became clear to Lendino that he wanted to
write music and make sound effects for games as a
living, he began attending conferences such as GDC and
the International Music Conference just to start meeting
people. He attended electronic music concerts and "lots"
of classes at these conferences.
David Lipes of the Montreal-based
Wave Generation echoes the importance of getting out
there and meeting people. "The key is increased
visibility through networking," says Lipes. "We have
sponsored and participated in many IGDA events here in
Montreal. The Montreal chapter is thriving and has
helped us meet many people in the industry." Lipes also
credits Wave Generation’s involvement with Alliance
NumeriQC, a coalition of multimedia companies that meet
at a variety of networking events, as a great source of
contacts.
"As I said before," Lipes emphasizes, "visibility
through networking is the key.
When Sean Kolton, President of
Clockwork Productions, decided to become involved in
the industry, he researched the subject and compiled a
database of companies. From there he began contacting
and sending out demo CDs.
Marc Mencher, frequent contributor of career articles
and author of the upcoming book,
Career Management for Game Programmers and Artists,
has long advocated the use of a database for compiling
company names and contacts. "Searching and networking
are really about getting yourself noticed," says Mencher.
"You must do this in an organized and formal process so
that you maintain control. Purchase a simple database
program like GoldMine or Act!. These products allow you
to pull together both contact information and the use of
that information."
Using the information in his database, Kolton then
approaches both publishers and developer via email to
find out who in the company is responsible for
soliciting music. "Once I make the contact," he says,
"the sales pitch begins, as I convince them why they
should hire me."
"It is much more difficult for an independent
composer or band to break into the gaming industry,"
says Mike Verrette, composer and sound designer for
Wicked Noise. "Just like the music business, a lot
of it is based on who you know. The first question you
will get asked is ‘What games have you worked on.’ My
advice for those looking to break into the industry is
to make contacts and get involved. Find groups that are
doing MODs for a game – usually volunteer projects – and
offer to write some music for the game. Build up a reel
in that genre."
Kolton agrees, "Hard work and perseverance are key.
It’s good to do some free jobs to gain contacts and get
hands on experience."
Who is the decision-maker? The Developer? The
Publisher? Time?
In the beginning, Lendino found it easier to
approach developers who were often friendly and excited
about their game, and developers were also easier to
find via newsgroups and websites. He soon learned,
however, that the publishers are the ones with the power
to make decisions. Lendino recounts working "very hard"
on the score and sound effects for a game over a period
of several months. The head developer had asked him to
use MIDI for the score as the game was to be distributed
as shareware and he wanted to minimize download times.
Lendino delivered his music in MIDI, only to learn that
the publisher who had been secured for the project
didn’t like MIDI and thought the game would be better
off without the MIDI soundtrack. "The final version of
the game would have had no music!" exclaims Lendino.
Luckily, in the end, he says, a new publisher was
secured and "the music was saved." And the moral of the
story? "It is easier to approach and begin working with
developers, but be sure to stay in constant
communication with the publisher and make sure that they
are happy. The person with the distribution and
marketing muscle makes many of the final decisions."
Ultimately, your ability to get on a project may come
down to timing. "There are plenty of developers and
publishers out there," says Verrette, "but once they get
active on a project and have established their audio
team, they are not going to be looking for additional
audio services until their next project. This could be
anywhere from eight months to a year. Timing is really a
key factor. You need to stay in tune with which
publishers and developers are ramping up to produce a
new title, and then try and get your foot in the door."
Staying in tune means keeping current on game
development news. Information on what publishers and
developers are up to can be found on a variety of sites
including GIGnews.com, Gamedev.net,
Gamasutra.com, and many others. Read the press
releases and drop in on newsgroups such as
comp.games.development.industry and
comp.games.development.audio.
A site devoted specifically to music for games, and
named conveniently enough,
Music4Games.net, also features a directory
"developed to become a who’s who of the game music
sector."
