Intensity and Compositional Prompts in Videogame Soundtracks

Abstract

Videogames are structured by a series of events that articulate various kinds of intensity arcs. These arcs can play a key role in scaffolding music composition and sound design for games, informing the ways sound designers and composers create content in response to pre-planned gameplay events. This thesis proposes two novel analysis techniques for capturing intensity shifts during gameplay – a Pixel Change Ratio (PCR) analysis that measures the rate of visual changes during gameplay, and an Actions-Per-Minute (APM) analysis that measures the rate of user generated input during gameplay. The Gameplay Intensity Framework developed in Chapter Four combines these new analyses with common videogame scoring practices. In Chapter Five, I discuss how this framework was used to compose the soundtrack for the challenge-based videogame Unsteady VR, submitted as the major creative work for this Master of Music (Composition) degree. This discussion highlights the compositional challenges and opportunities that emerge when composing against a range of prompts tied to intensity arcs.