Brooke Spencer I November 25th, 2019 I 4 minute read
The book "A Composer’s Guide to Game Music" by Winifred Phillips addresses how, as a composer, to make a game score that's meaningful and engages the player. Phillips breaks the book down into different components that can be analyzed such as themes or leitmotifs, immersion, genre technology used, and production team. Phillips also uses some of her own scores to exemplify the use of some of these elements. For example, in "Chapter 4: The Importance of Themes" she uses the Assassins Creed III soundtrack to talk about an 'idée fixe' (a similar concept to a leitmotif). Other topics in the chapter included immersion, themes, genres (both musical and game genres), and the roles and functions of music in games.
A quote that stood out to me was the following: “In dramatic works such as films, television programs, or video games, music can communicate on both the purely emotional level and on a more intellectual level governed by associated concepts. For instance, a particular musical instrument can be connected with a character when first introduced, with an important object or location, or with a recurrent plot element that is a central issue of the overall storyline. This instrument can then serve as a mnemonic device, reminding the player of that character, object, or plot element (even when such things are not present). This sort of mnemonic association can also be accomplished with short melodies or melody fragments, which are sometimes called leitmotifs.” (pg. 51)
I found this quote interesting because I hadn't thought to connect emotions with specific musical ideas (leitmotifs) or concepts. I understand that there can be musical associations with characters, important objects, or location, as this is something that's discussed in ludomusicology; however, I feel the discussion doesn't focus or talk about how emotion interacts with these elements as much. Emotion of the player, or what's being evoked, is left behind, only for interpretation. Further, when talking about music in video games, there's an interactive element that is prominent, unlike other forms of media presented, so it's likely the audience will be more emotionally invested in the game.
How does this relate to nostalgia in video games you might ask? Nostalgia isn't commonly talked about in relation to video games, especially about how it is evoked or becomes present while playing. I look to a lot of research on how emotions become present in a gamer, or how emotions are activated when specific elements of music occur in a game, to find common strands of information that may relate specifically to nostalgia. This quote allows me to have a glimpse of what musical elements specifically can be identified as a prominent trigger for emotions, and potentially nostalgia as well.