Composing by parameter is not the only way to write music, but it is rewarding. What you do is listen into the texture for individual elements and develop sensativity to how they affect musical expression across time. There are no formulas, but as you develop sensativity you develop awarenesss and understanding.
 

•Register. What is the highest note? What is the lowest? Around which notes is activity clustered?
 
•Density. How many lines or notes play concurrently? Are there registral gaps?
 
•Linear motion. Is there fundamental linear or scalar activity? Does it go up, down, or across?
 
•Rhythmic activity. How many attack points are there per measure?
 
•Rate of cycling. How often does the music repeat? At what level? Is that rate increasing, decreasing, or remaining the same?
 
•Clarity of pulse. How hard is it to tell where the beat is?
 
•Clarity of harmony. How hard is it to tell what the root is?
 
•Dissonance level. Which intervals are featured? Dissonant, imperfect, or perfect intervals?
 
•Space. Are there silences or moments with no attack points? How long are they? How often do they occur?
 

It’s impossible for every element to have a definable shape in every passage. Sometimes, for example, you can’t say whether or not the bulk of rhythmic activity is clustered in a particular register. Don’t worry. Focus on a few parameters or maybe just one. You’ll be surprised at the power of subtle changes.
 
Speaking of surprise, you can play with the listener’s expectations by shifting which parameters are the nexus of contrast. For example, this passage is about varying rates of rhythmic activity while that passage is about varying levels of density.
 
One final point, regarding why this type of thinking may be especially helpful to a game composer. Look at those individual elements again. Wouldn’t it be fun if they were tied to game states? There’s no reason not to try.
 
This will be the focus of upcoming collaborations and articles.

Let me tell you the real story of Mario. It’s not the story of a beautiful princess captured by a scaly reptilian super villain. It’s not the story of a plucky plumber and his gangly sidekick who storm the reptilian’s castle only to discover they’ve been duped (seven times!) and confront the scaly super boss only on the eighth attempt.
 
No, the real story of Mario goes something like this.
 
When I was in Kindergarten we got the NES and the second video game we played was Super Mario Bros, right after Duck Hunt. My family gathered around our living room TV and played. My mom tried exactly once and when she died to the first Goomba never expressed an interest in video games again. My dad lost interest and to date the only game he plays (and still plays) is Tetris. My brother was older and got pretty good. I can’t remember if he beat Super Mario Bros but he got very far. I remember spending more time watching than playing. Eventually I gave up on the game as too hard.
 
The first video game I beat was Mickey Mousecapade, which we borrowed from our neighbors. It was incredibly easy, but because it was the first game I ever beat, it felt like a real accomplishment. When we got Mario All-Stars on Super NES I beat Mario Bros 2, also an easy game. I remember thinking how odd that game was compared to the others. Of course it was all a dream!
 
My fondest memories were playing A Link To The Past and Super Metroid. I played them again on emulator in college and after grad school and they still seem like masterpieces. The best stories were playing Super Mario Kart with my brother. Rainbow Road, we maintained, was a psychedelic experience. In the summer after eighth grade we borrowed someone’s Nintendo 64 for a week. I tried the Mario game on it… it was OK but also kind of weird. I couldn’t get into blocky 3D with awkward camera angles.
 
So that was the end of my interest in consoles. This was the era of Golden Eye and boy did I suck at that game. But I got into PC gaming and that means Brood War, which I still watch. When I play these old games today I’m impressed at how they teach you without you realizing you’re being taught.
 
So that’s the story of Mario, or at least, my story of Mario. I’m sure yours is different. The point is your game doesn’t need a narrative to have a story. Humans engaging with a system over time is the story. Always is. No one loses sleep over Princess Peach, but we’ll stay up all night to beat the boss.
 
So when composing think of the player’s emotional journey, not the character’s. Imagine the players playing the game and anticipate their feelings. The music writes itself. And while you’re at it, consider the role of session length and totals hours sunk into the game. As Mario demonstrates, your feelings towards a system change over time. Maybe the music should reflect that too?

In a previous post I suggested a framework for using the persuasion technique of pacing-and-leading in dynamic audio: first the sound reflects the player’s expectations. Later, the sound does something expected, which makes a successful prediction. Then the sound transforms the player’s perceptions as it diverges from the game.
 
Let’s sidestep the “everyone is different” discussion and work with generalities. What screen information informs a player’s aural expectations? To know we must understand the screen, so let’s take a closer look. As you consider each element, imagine its possible sonic representations.
 
In what kind of physical space does the game take place?
 
•Realistic
•Semi-realistic
•Surrealist
•Abstract
 
What actions does the game reward or punish?
 
•Defeating enemies, taking damage
•Gathering powerups
•Reaching a goal point, getting lost
•Solving a puzzle, trying a false combination
•Finding a hidden area
 
What can we expect from the game genre?
 
•RPG
•Puzzler
•Platformer
•RTS
•Action
•Adventure
 
What are the stages of the gameloop?
 
•Start screen, play, next stage / death
•Explore, fight, level up
•Navigate map, solve puzzles, unlock new map areas
•Harvest resources, build units, explore, conquer
 
Does the game fit a cinematic genre?
 
•Fantasy
•Sci-fi
•Detective / crime
•Soap Opera
•Costume Drama
•Romance
 
What is the color scheme?
 
•Light or dark
•Vivid or muted
•Crisp or muddled
•Simple or complex
•With or without a point of focus
 
What type of line predominates?
 
•Thick or thin
•Textured or plain
•As outline, as texture?
•Straight, angular, or curved
•Parallel or perpendicular
•Euclidean or non-euclidean
•With or without a horizon line
•Layered or flat
•Simple or complex
 
What shapes predominate?
 
•Open or closed polygons
•Number of sides
•Round or angular
•2D or 3D
•Euclidean or non-euclidean
 
What are the general patterns of motion?
 
•Fast or slow
•Constant or pulsing
•In one direction or back-and-forth
•Single, few, or many moving objects
•Layered or flat
•With or without a relationship to a horizon line
 
What off-screen informaton is vital to convey?
 
•Technology level
•Cultural signifiers
•Danger
•Theme
•Tone
 
What is the overall Information density? How much information must the player track at any given moment?
 
•Simple or complex
•Focused or dispersed
•Layered or flat
•Increasing or decreasing
 
What is the challenge level?
 
•Easy or hard
•Increasing or decreasing
•Predictable or unpredictable
 
Certainly this is a lot of information, so pare it down. Of the characteristics above, which are salient? What must be emphasized? What does not need to be emphasized? What is not important at all?
 
In the next step, as I alluded to earlier, music, sound effects, and ambience reflect the player’s expectations. This will be the subject of future posts, where I’ll examine past examples and unmined possibilities. We will consider the experience that visual and ludic materials are meant to portray, because this is the plane where design intersects sound. We will also see how focused design leads to expressive audio.