A Composer's Guide to Game Music

Music in video games is often a sophisticated, complex composition that serves toengage the player, set the pace of play, and aid interactivity. Composers of video game music mustmaster an array of specialized skills not taught in the conservatory, including the creation oflinear loops, music chunks for horizontal resequencing, and compositional fragments for use within agenerative framework. In A Composer's Guide to Game Music, Winifred Phillips --herself an award-winning composer of video game music -- provides a comprehensive, practical guidethat leads an aspiring video game composer from acquiring the necessary creative skills tounderstanding the function of music in games to finding work in the field. Musicians and composersmay be drawn to game music composition because the game industry is a multibillion-dollar,employment-generating economic powerhouse, but, Phillips writes, the most important qualificationfor a musician who wants to become a game music composer is a love of video games. Phillips offersdetailed coverage of essential topics, including musicianship and composition experience; immersion;musical themes; music and game genres; workflow; working with a development team; linear music;interactive music, both rendered and generative; audio technology, from mixers and preamps tosoftware; and running a business. A Composer's Guide to Game Music offersindispensable guidance for musicians and composers who want to deploy their creativity in a dynamicand growing industry, protect their musical identities while working in a highly technical field,and create great music within the constraints of a new medium.

Winifred Phillips is an award-winning composer who has composed the music for such video games as Assassin's Creed III Liberation, The Da Vinci Code, God of War, Shrek the Third, Spore Hero, and many others.