The Game Music Handbook

Do you want to learn everything you need to know to be a fantastic video game music composer? The Game Music Handbook is for you. This book takes readers on a journey through many of the greatest video game soundscapes to date, discussing key concepts and technical practices for how to create top-level game scores. It organizes game scoring techniques into an applicable methodology that gives readers a clear picture of how to design interactive elements, conceive and create a score, and implement it into the game. Readers will gain a solid understanding of the core techniques for composing video game music, the conceptual differences that separate it from other compositional fields, as well as many advanced techniques and topics essential to excellent game music scoring. These topics include using music to design emotional arc for nonlinear timelines, the relationship between music and sound design, music and immersion, discussion of the player's interaction with audio, and more. For beginning composers, this book makes the learning process as clear as possible. However, it also offers invaluable information for intermediate to advanced readers. It includes discussion of game state and its effect on player interaction, a composer-centric lesson on programming, as well as information on how to work with version control, visual programming languages, procedural audio, and more. It also offers indispensable knowledge about advanced reactive music concepts, scoring for emergent games, music for VR, and other important topics. Overall, this book explores the practical application of player and music interaction through the examination of various techniques employed in games throughout video game history to enhance immersion, emphasize emotion, and create compelling interactive experiences.

Noah Kellman is a composer for video games, film and multimedia based in New York, NY. He is the 2017 recipient of the ASCAP Henry Mancini Fellowship, as well as the recipient of two ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Awards.

Section 1: Game Scoring Fundamentals
01. Creating Emotional Arcs For Nonlinear Experiences02. Fundamental Game Scoring Techniques03. What Is "Game Music?" - How VGM Came to Be
Section 2: Creating The Music Design
04. Player Immersion and Music05. Using Musical Codes to Enhance the Gaming Experience06. Exploring the Use of Musical Sound Effects in Games07. Music vs. Sound Design - Defining the Relationship in Your Game 08. Designing Interaction Between the Player and The Music
Section 3: Advanced Reactive Music Concepts
09. Emergence - Music's Role in Player Experimentation 10. Proceduralism - Using Game Data to Create a Real Time Score11. Advanced Algorithmic Music Systems12. Music in Virtual Reality
Section 4: Implementing the Score
13. Game Engines and Implementing Music in Unity14. Programming Crash Course for Composers15. Using Audio Middleware16. Essential Skills For Working With Developers: Version Control and Optimization
Epilogue 17 - Game Audio Contracts & Navigating the Business
Index