I'm new to gamedev and have been poking around the site for a couple of days because I'm a musician and composer and have been told by my good friend--gamer to the core--that a lot of my music would fit quite well in the genre. I used to spend a great deal of time gaming but in recent years have gotten away from it. I certainly do not underestimate the craft nor do I think it's something to pursue because it's "easy". I have experience composing for modern dance and theater and enjoy creating music for the visual arts. So, finally to my question, do developers look for a die hard gamer in their composers for creative and technical reasons? Any thoughts would be appreciated!! DM

Hello dmartineau. I say they look for a good musician. If you have the music style that they need for a particular game, and the portfolio to back it, then that should be it. I don't see why you would need to be a die hard gamer to make music.

Quote: Original post by dmartineau
So, finally to my question, do developers look for a die hard gamer in their composers for creative and technical reasons?

No, but, if you don't play games there's a good chance that you will be less ready to deal with the technical and design issues as someone who does. You don't have to be a hardcore player, but game music often differs from other music in the way it is presented and used.

Example of a couple of things you might not realise can be involved if you haven't spent some time listening to the music as you play games:
The Music of Anarchy Online
Design With Music In Mind: A Guide to Adaptive Audio for Game Designers

Technical limitations aside, it helps to be a gamer because you'll be more acquainted with the media you're supporting. I'm sure you understand that certain musical elements match up better to certain situations in theater. It's very much the same way in video games.

If you never play video games, then you're not as familiar with the culture, history and expectations of most gamers. You're also less likely to know where video game music has been, what its doing right now and where it's likely to be headed.

The major difference from modern dance or theater music is that video game music is interactive and much accommodate the player's actions. Theater and dance usually has one set routine and script that keeps things mostly on the mark and more consistent than a purely 100% interactive experience. So, can you make your music dynamic? Does your music loop? Can you fit within technical limitations of various audio engines (like sampling rate, format, MIDI and/or audio, voice, etc).

I hope that helps,

Nate

Thanks everyone for the responses and insights. One of the reasons I love music so much is the never ending challenge of it and it looks like this would definitely be a challenge for me!!

Nate - I was thinking that culturally/technically it would be difficult. If I were in their position, I would definitely want a gamer. I'll be reading a lot and hopefully playing more. I have seen some books on the subject but would have you-or anyone here-have any suggestions?

I found this site to have a lot of good information and intelligent conversation so I look forward to exploring it more and FYI, I do have some engineering and recording experience so hopefully I can be of some help to someone here and return the favor.


DM
donmartineau.com