{{Short description|Music that changes in response to specific events in a video game}} {{Redirect|Interactive music|interactive music albums|Interactive album|media that may feature an interactive musical component|Interactive media}} {{Redirect|Dynamic music|the general variation in loudness|Dynamics (music)}} {{More citations needed|date=November 2014}}
'''Adaptive music''' is music which changes in response to real-time events or user interactions, found most commonly in video games.<ref name="Redhead 2024"/> It may change in volume, arrangement, tempo, and more. Adaptive music is a staple within the role-playing game genre, often being used to change the tone and intensity of music when the player enters and leaves combat.<ref name="Sporka 2017"/> Music video games, in which a core gameplay element involves player interaction with music, also have fundamentally adaptive soundtracks.
==History== The first example of adaptive music is generally said to have been in ''Space Invaders'' by Taito in 1978. The game's simple background music, a four-note ostinato which repeats continuously throughout gameplay, increases in tempo as time goes on and the aliens descend upon the player.<ref name="Fritsch 2021"/> However, this music could also be considered sound effects for the aliens' movement, so some argue this is not an example of adaptive music.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}
Other early examples of adaptive music include ''Frogger'' by Konami from 1981, where the music abruptly switches once the player reaches a safe point in the game, and ''Sheriff'' by Nintendo from 1979, where different pieces of music play in response to events such as a condor flying overhead or bandits approaching the player.
George Lucas' video game development group LucasArts (before becoming Lucasfilm Games) created and patented the iMUSE interactive music system in the early 1990s, which was used to synchronise video game music with game events.<ref name="Sweet 2012"/><ref name="Collins 2008"/> The first game to make use of this system was ''Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge'' in 1991.
==Techniques==
=== Vertical orchestration === Vertical orchestration is the technique in which the music's arrangement is changed. Musical layers are added and removed in response to game events to affect the music's texture, intensity, and emotional feel without interrupting the flow of music.<ref name="Redhead 2024"/> Layers are generally faded in and out for smoother transitions.
In video games, this technique may be used for more subtle game events than horizontal re-sequencing, such as an increase or decrease in intensity during a battle.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}
In ''Dead Space 2'', the background music appears to be arranged into four layers, each a stereo track corresponding with a specific level of "fear". Each of these layers is then either individually or collectively mixed during gameplay depending on a variety of game variables, such as the distance the player is from enemies.<ref name="Kamp et al. 2016"/>
=== Horizontal re-sequencing === Horizontal re-sequencing is the technique in which different pieces of music are transitioned between. Musical pieces in a “branching” sequence are transitioned between in response to game events. The most simple kind of transition is a crossfade; when triggered by an event, the old piece is faded out while the new piece fades in.<ref name="Redhead 2024" /> Another kind is phrase branching; in this case, the change to the next segment starts when the current musical phrase has ended.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sweet |first=Michael |date=13 June 2016 |title=Top 6 Adaptive Music Techniques in Games - Pros and Cons - Designing Music NOW |url=https://www.designingmusicnow.com/2016/06/13/advantages-disadvantages-common-interactive-music-techniques-used-video-games/ |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181113210932/https://www.designingmusicnow.com/2016/06/13/advantages-disadvantages-common-interactive-music-techniques-used-video-games/ |archive-date=13 November 2018 |access-date=13 November 2018 |website=Designing Music Now}}</ref> Another kind involves using dedicated "bridge" transitions, which are sections of music composed to join the two pieces of music together.<ref name="Redhead 2024" />
In video games, this technique may be used for more significant game events, such as a change in location, beginning of a battle, or opening of a menu, as it generally draws more attention and makes a greater impact than vertical orchestration.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}
=== Algorithmic generation === {{See also|Generative music|Algorithmic composition}} Some video games generate musical content live using algorithms instead of relying solely on pre-made musical pieces (such as in horizontal re-sequencing and vertical orchestration).{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}
''Spore'' uses an embedded version of the music software Pure Data to generate music according to certain game events such as the phase of gameplay, the player's actions in the "creature editor", and the duration of the gameplay session.<ref>{{cite web |last=Kosak |first=Dave |date=20 February 2008 |title=The Beat Goes on: Dynamic Music in Spore |url=http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/spore/853810p1.html |work=GameSpy |publisher=IGN Entertainment, Inc}}</ref> In addition, ''Ape Out'' features a procedurally generated jazz soundtrack which changes based on the intensity of gameplay and the players inputs.<ref>{{cite web |last=Wright |first=Steven |date=27 February 2019 |title=How 'Ape Out' Creates a Soundscape Worthy of Smashing |url=https://variety.com/2019/gaming/columns/how-ape-out-creates-a-soundscape-worthy-of-smashing-1203150773/ |work=Variety |publisher=Variety Media}}</ref>
==Blending music and sound effects== {{Importance section|date=November 2024}} Some video games, such as ''Rez'' and ''Extase'', synchronise their sound effects with the background music to blend them together. This is done by delaying playback of the sound effects after they're triggered by the player.<ref name="Kamp et al. 2016"/>
==Uses== {{Expand section|more uses for adaptive music|date=November 2024}}
=== As goal or reward === The music game ''Sound Shapes'' uses an adaptive soundtrack to reward the player. As the player improves at the game and collects more "coins", the soundtrack, which is entirely composed of the melodies and beats created by these "coins", intensifies.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}
==See also== * Ludomusicology * FMOD * Wwise
==References== <references> <ref name="Collins 2008">{{cite book |first=Karen |last=Collins|date=August 8, 2008 |title=Game Sound: An Introduction to the History, Theory, and Practice of Video |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gnw0Zb4St-wC |publisher=The MIT Press |pages=102, 146 |isbn=978-0262033787 }}</ref>
<ref name="Sweet 2012">{{cite book |last= Sweet|first=Michael |date=October 2, 2014 |title=Writing Interactive Music for Video Games: A Composer's Guide |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CQqSBAAAQBAJ |publisher=Addison-Wesley Professional |page=99 |isbn=978-0321961587 |quote=Frustrated with the state of music in games at the time, two composers at LucasArts Peter MccConnell and Michal Land created one of the first adaptive music systems, called iMuse. iMuse (Interactive MUsic Streaming Engine) let composers insert branch and loop markers into a sequence that would allow the music to change based on the decisions of the player. The iMuse engine was one of the first significant contributions to interactive music for video games. Its importance in shaping many of the techniques that you see in video games today cannot be overemphasized. (...) Other excellent iMuse titles includes ''Grim Fandango'' (1998), which features an incredible jazz-based soundtrack composed by Peter McConnell. (...)}}</ref>
<ref name="Sporka 2017">{{cite journal |last1=Sporka |first1=Adam |last2=Valta |first2=Jan |date=2 October 2017 |title=Design and implementation of a non-linear symphonic soundtrack of a video game |journal=New Review of Hypermedia and Multimedia |volume=23 |issue=4 |pages=229–246 |bibcode=2017NRvHM..23..229S |doi=10.1080/13614568.2017.1416682 |s2cid=46835283}}</ref>
<ref name="Kamp et al. 2016">Kamp, Michiel; Summers, Tim; Sweeney, Mark eds (2016) ''Ludomusicology : Approaches to Video Game Music.'' Sheffield: Equinox. pp 188-189. ISBN 9781781791974</ref>
<ref name="Redhead 2024">{{Cite book |last=Redhead |first=Tracy |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781003273554 |title=Interactive Technologies and Music Making: Transmutable Music |date=2024-07-04 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-003-27355-4 |edition=1 |location=London |language=en |doi=10.4324/9781003273554}}</ref>
<ref name="Fritsch 2021">{{Cite book |last=Fritsch |first=Melanie |title=The Cambridge companion to video game music |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2021 |isbn=978-1-108-60919-7 |editor-last=Summers |editor-first=Tim |series=Cambridge companions to music |location=Cambridge, United Kingdom |language=en}}</ref> </references>
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Category:Video game design Category:Video game music technology