The Big Index 2023: Articles for Game Music Composers

By Winifred Phillips | Contact | Follow

Welcome! I’m game music composer Winifred Phillips, and just before the holidays, I was ecstatic to learn that my music for the Jurassic World Primal Ops video game was nominated for a Society of Composers & Lyricists Award! In all the excitement following the announcement of the SCL Awards nominees, many budding game composers reached out to me for advice regarding their own career trajectories. I found myself referring many of them to articles I’ve written in this space over the years – articles covering the widely diverse topics that interest us as game composers.

Since 2014, this series of articles has explored the evolving state of our industry and the tools and techniques that can help us make great game music. Over time, these articles have become a fairly deep repository of information. After referring so many budding composers to articles in this lengthy series, it has occurred to me that this sizable collection has become quite difficult to navigate – partially due to the many topics that have been explored over the years.

Discussions have included many of the creative challenges that make our profession unique. Through an examination of the structure of interactive music systems, numerous dynamic composition techniques have been investigated. Along the way, we’ve pondered how game music composition has been accomplished in the past, and where it might be going in the future. A profusion of resources have been collated in these articles – including the best methods to find gigs, and awesome networking opportunities that can benefit a game composer’s career. There have also been examinations of resources that can keep us inspired and creatively energized.

Together, these articles constitute a living document about game music composition. However, they definitely need an index at this point. With that in mind, I’m offering this ‘big index’ of articles I’ve shared over the years, organized by subject matter.

Dynamic Music in Games

This is one of the most-discussed topics among experts in the game composer community: dynamic music. These articles explore the various systems for dynamic music construction and implementation. We’ll also find discussions of the relationship between game music and game players, including ways in which gamers influence the music as they play. There are also a collection of case studies with real-world examples for discussion and analysis.

Dynamic Music Case Studies

• Horizontal Resequencing & Song Structure for Composers (From Spyder to Sackboy: GDC 2021)
• Horizontal resequencing and dynamic transitions for game music composers
• Pure vertical layering for game music composers (From Spyder to Sackboy: GDC 2021)
• Hybrid horizontal-vertical structure for composers (From Spyder to Sackboy: GDC 2021)
• Hybrid Dynamic-Diegetic Music for Game Music Composers (From Spyder to Sackboy: GDC 2021)
• Hybrid Linear-Dynamic Music for Game Composers (From Spyder to Sackboy: GDC 2021)
• Interactive Game Music of LittleBigPlanet 3 (Concepts from the GDC Talk)
• Video Game Music Composer: The Interactive Music of SPYDER
• Video Game Music Composer: The Interactive Music of SPYDER (Part 2)

Dynamic Music General Concepts

• Music Game Plan: Tactics for the Video Game Composer (Part One)
• Music Game Plan: Tactics for the Video Game Composer (Part Two)
• Music Game Plan: Tactics for the Video Game Composer (Part Three)
• Music Game Plan: Tactics for the Video Game Composer (Part Four)
• Simultaneous Genres in Dynamic Game Music
• Interactive Music for the Video Game Composer
• Are All Gamers Musicians? Aleatoricism and the Everygamer
• Power to the Players: Music for User-Created Levels

Dynamic Systems

• Arrangement for Vertical Layers Pt. 1
• Arrangement for Vertical Layers Pt. 2
• Arrangement for Vertical Layers Pt. 3
• Video game music systems at GDC 2017: pros and cons for composers
• Video game music systems at GDC 2017: tools and tips for composers
• Video Game Music Composers: The Timed Challenge (Pt. 1)
• Video Game Music Composers: The Timed Challenge (Pt. 2)

Game Music Business

When we’re not considering the creative and technical aspects of our work as game composers, we’re consumed with the demands of maintaining our business and finding work. These articles focus on tips for keeping our business lives running smoothly.

Career Development

• Communication Tips for the Video Game Music Composer
• More Business Advice for the Video Game Music Composer
• Video Game Music Composer: How To Break Into the Business (2016)
• Video game music composer: Getting your big break (2019)
• Video game music composer: Getting your big break (2020 edition)
• Getting your big break – 2021 edition (Video game music composer)

Resources

• Resources for Video Game Music Composers (2017)
• Resources for Video Game Music Composers: The Big List (2018)
• Resource for Video Game Music Composers: The Big List 2020
• The Big List 2021: Resources for Game Music Composers

Game Music and Cognition

One of the most intriguing topics of discussion has been the influence of game music on the psychology and intellectual performance of gamers. These are the articles that investigated the relationship between game music and a gamer’s psyche.

Mental Processing

• Video game composers can make you smarter! (The music of Dragon Front) Part 1
• Video game composers can make you smarter! (The music of Dragon Front) Part 2
• Video game composers can make you smarter! (The music of Dragon Front) Part 3
• “Sound is Magic” – Insights for the Game Music Composer

Virtual Presence

• Game Music & the Theory of Flow: How Composers Can Enhance Virtual Presence (Pt. 1)
• Game Music & Psychological Attachment: How Composers Can Enhance Virtual Presence (Pt. 2)
• Game Music & Empathy: How Composers Can Enhance Virtual Presence (Pt. 3)
• Game Music & Mood Attenuation: How Composers Can Enhance Virtual Presence (Pt. 4)

Game Music Composition & Production

These are the articles directly relating to the nuts-and-bolts of our profession: the process of music composition. Topics range from expressing a musical style, to creating a memorable theme, to effective production and implementation.

Music Composition: Themes and Variation

• From the music of EA’s Spore Hero to Avengers Endgame: Composing the Hero Theme
• Composing Iconic Theme Music for The Dark Eye video game
• Video Game Composers: The Importance of Themes (GDC 2020)
• Game Composers & the Importance of Themes: The Hook in Game Music (Pt. 1)
• Game Composers & the Importance of Themes: Repetition in Game Music (Pt. 2)
• Variation & Fragmentation in Game Music: Composers & the Importance of Themes (Pt. 3)
• Recurrence & Rationale in Game Music: Composers & the Importance of Themes (Pt. 4)
• Game Composers & the Importance of Themes: Interactivity in Game Music (Pt. 5)
• Variation for the video game composer: the music of Little Lords of Twilight
• Video Game Composers: Thematic Approaches to Game Music (GDC 2022)

Music Composition: Thoughts on Style

• How Music Can Intensify Video Games: Part One
• How Music Can Intensify Video Games, Part Two
• Narrative in trailers, cutscenes and cinematics
• Identity in trailers, cutscenes and cinematics
• Information in trailers, cutscenes and cinematics
• Characterization in trailers, cutscenes and cinematics
• GDC 2017: How video game composers can use music to build suspense
• Composing video game music to build suspense, part 1: ominous ambience
• Composing video game music to build suspense, part 2: jarring jolts
• Composing video game music to build suspense, part 3: creepy clusters
• Composing video game music to build suspense, part 4: drones of dread
• Composing video game music to build suspense, part 5: semi silence
• Comedic Sound for the Game Music Composer
• Under the Covers: Why Game Melodies Won’t Let Go

Music Composition: Research and Technical

• Video Game Composers & the Importance of Research: The Music of Sports Scramble
• Video Game Music Production Tips from GDC 2016
• Diegetic sound and music for the video game composer (GDC 2021)
• Structure for Modular Game Music (Composing for Lineage M: GDC 2022)
• Stemming for Modular Game Music (Composing for Lineage M: GDC 2022)
• Segmentation for Modular Game Music (Composing for Lineage M: GDC 2022)
• Utility for Modular Game Music (Composing for Lineage M: GDC 2022)
• The Relationship Between Game Music and Live Performance
• Strategies in Audio and Music for Portable Games
• From Total War to Assassin’s Creed: Music from my GDC Talk

Game Music Events and Interviews

Live events featuring game music have proliferated over the years – from popular conferences and conventions, to famous concert tours. In this section, we’ll find guides and overviews for in-person game audio gatherings. This section also includes transcripts from interviews that took place during these events.

Events

• Video Game Music Concerts in 2021
• Video Game Music Concert Tours
• AES Convention: What’s New on the Show Floor
• Guide to Upcoming VR Events (for the Game Composer & Sound Designer)
• Video game music composer gives lecture at the Library of Congress
• Video: The first Library of Congress lecture given by a video game music composer

Interviews

• North American Conference on Game Music: Q&A with Keynote Speaker Winifred Phillips
• First Look: Beep Documentary Interview with Game Music Composer Winifred Phillips
• Winifred Phillips answers Reddit’s questions Ask-Me-Anything about video game music
• Composer Interview: Examining the Craft of Video Game Music Composition
• Composer Interview: GDC Showcase Game Music Q&A
• Game Developers Conference: Ask Me Anything about being a game music composer

Game Music in Virtual Reality

Virtual reality profoundly impacted our work as game audio professionals. VR revitalized the disciplines of ambisonics and binaural sound. In the process, VR became a wonderful opportunity for us to change our thinking about what game audio can accomplish, and how ambitious we can be in our work as game composers. These are the articles that focused on Virtual Reality and its impact on our work in game audio and music.

VR Headphones

• Music Composers and Sound Designers in VR: The Headphones Problem
• Music and Sound in VR Headphones (Part One)
• Music and Sound in VR Headphones (Part Two)
• Video Game Music Composers: New VR Headphones
• VR Headphones Update: Video Game Music Composers
• VR Headphones Update 2018: Video Game Music Composers
• Video Game Music Composers: New VR Headphones Tech (2018)

VR Physiology and Perception

• The Virtual Reality Game Music Composer
• Virtual Reality in the Uncanny Aural Valley
• Can Game Music and Sound Combat VR Sickness
• Composing video game music for Virtual Reality: The role of music in VR
• Composing video game music for Virtual Reality: 3D versus 2D
• Composing video game music for Virtual Reality: Diegetic versus Non-diegetic
• Composing video game music for Virtual Reality: Comfort versus performance
• Video Game Composers: How Music Enhances Virtual Presence (GDC 2019)

VR Technology and Resources

• Audio and Music Tech for VR: New Developments
• Past, Present and Future of Music and Audio in VR
• VRDC 2017 takeaways: VR music for the game composer
• Understanding Audio in VR – A Game Music Composer’s Resource Guide
• VR for the Game Music Composer: Audio for VR Platforms
• Tips, Tools and Guidance: VR Assets for the Game Music Composer
• VR Arcades for the Game Music Composer

VR Workflow

• VR for the Game Music Composer – Artistry and Workflow
• VR Game Composer: Music in the Air
• VR Game Composer: Music Inside the Machine
• VR Game Composer: Music Beyond the Virtual
• Video Game Composers: The Art of Music in Virtual Reality (GDC 2018)
• Video Game Composers: The Tech of Music in Virtual Reality (GDC 2018)

Further Reading

I wrote the book A Composer’s Guide to Game Music to explore the creative and technical issues facing video game composers, and this book remains a resource for more detailed discussions of many of the topics from the above index. The book is published by The MIT Press. It’s available in many university and public libraries, and is also available here.

Conclusion

That concludes this big index of articles! I hope you’ll find it helpful! Thanks so much for joining me as we explore the fascinating world of game music composition!

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Winifred Phillips is a BAFTA-nominated video game composer. The music she composed for her latest video game project Jurassic World Primal Ops is nominated for a Society of Composers & Lyricists Award for Outstanding Score for Interactive Media. Other recent releases include the hit PlayStation 5 launch title Sackboy: A Big Adventure (soundtrack album now available). Popular music from Phillips’ award-winning Assassin’s Creed Liberation score was featured in the performance repertoire of the Assassin’s Creed Symphony World Tour, which made its Paris debut in 2019 with an 80-piece orchestra and choir. As an accomplished video game composer, Phillips is best known for composing music for games in many of the most famous and popular franchises in gaming: the list includes Assassin’s Creed, God of War, Total War, The Sims, and Sackboy / LittleBigPlanet. Phillips’ has received numerous awards, including an Interactive Achievement Award / D.I.C.E. Award from the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, six Game Audio Network Guild Awards (including Music of the Year), and three Hollywood Music in Media Awards. She is the author of the award-winning bestseller A COMPOSER’S GUIDE TO GAME MUSIC, published by the MIT Press. As one of the foremost authorities on music for interactive entertainment, Winifred Phillips has given lectures at the Library of Congress in Washington DC, the Society of Composers and Lyricists, the Game Developers Conference, the Audio Engineering Society, and many more. Phillips’ enthusiastic fans showered her with questions during a Reddit Ask-Me-Anything session that went viral, hit the Reddit front page, received 14.9 thousand upvotes, and became one of the most popular gaming AMAs ever hosted on Reddit. An interview with her has been published as a part of the Routledge text, Women’s Music for the Screen: Diverse Narratives in Sound, which collects the viewpoints of the most esteemed female composers in film, television, and games. Follow her on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.