Christophe Kalkau, a composer from game developer Handygames, knows just how important sound is when arousing emotions in videogames. — dpa
Turn off the sound in a video game and suddenly that virtual world seems far more distant. That's because the music constantly gives you subtle hints as to what's happening in the game. One composer explains why scoring for games is so much harder than for films.
The music suddenly becomes bleak and threatening and the player knows immediately: Things are about to get dangerous.
Music in video games has narrative meaning, says composer Christophe Kalkau. "You just have to turn off the sound for a moment to notice how important it is," he says.
The music is used to arouse emotions in the player. Sometimes a character will have their own signature tune that plays whenever they appear.
The occupation of video game soundtrack composer is one that's quickly growing in reputation. Symphony orchestras will regularly perform the scores to blockbuster games, while big names like Paul McCartney and Hans Zimmer have already composed music for games.
Kalkau works in music and sound design for a game developer based in a southern German town called Giebelstadt. A team of 60 work for HandyGames on the site of a former barracks, developing games for mobile phones, consoles and computers as well as virtual reality games.
"Video game music is similar to film music, but goes much further," Kalkau says. In a game, the music changes according to how the player acts. It isn't linear but has to be able to jump back and forth between different rhythms.
Things get even more complicated when it comes to virtual reality (VR) games where the player wears a VR headset – here, the sound must follow the real life movements of the player.
For example, if the player turns their head towards a fictitious noise source the volume needs to change accordingly.
Digital games are no longer a niche product and thanks to smartphones everyone can immerse themselves in game worlds. The titles created by game producers like HandyGames will often be played across Europe, the United States and Asia.
And while though the language, trailers and packaging will vary across countries, one universal element remains the same everywhere: the music.
The titles vary between dramas, comedies, adventures, strategy games, role-playing games and casual games, and that means Kalkau has to produce a lot of variety in his musical compositions.
The 38-year-old could be doing the music and sound design for a family game set in clouds (pop), a story about resistance in the Third Reich (discreet strings), a medieval strategy game (folk with harps and lutes) or perhaps a chess game (just the sounds of the game).
The challenge is to create something that sounds familiar enough so that the player immediately associates an emotion with it. His own experience comes in useful here: "I used to game a bit." Today, though, he has no time for gaming.
He plays everything on a keyboard – all instruments, regardless of whether they're drums, guitars or harps. Digital technology means that every instrument can be realistically imitated.
For sound effects he uses a sound library or records them in the old-fashioned way, for example by going to a farm.
The sound can be reproduced in high quality within the game. "In the past everything had to fit on a soundtrack. Today a simple mobile phone can process an entire orchestra," he says. – dpa
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