How to adapt the music to specific situations of the game is a key element of the research, as well as considering all possible scenarios in order to succeed in supporting every possible situation. In this paper there will be an explanation of the current process, from scene and emotional description to the mapping of adaptive needs and the subsequent changes in the music. This methods are tailored for Mechanical God Saga’s game but can also be applied to other games with similar nature.
Firstly we are gonna analyze the scenes of the game’s first episode, which includes Iridir Forest and Iridir Prison. Story telling should be part of the music as well or support the narrative, therefore it is very relevant to understand what is happening in each of the scenes.
Iridir Forest
- Scene Description
This is the first scene of the game where the player has to infiltrate the prison to “set god free” or in other words, execute him. In this scene we encounter ourselves in a forest with a lake. The atmosphere is calm and peaceful until the soldiers appear for a first fight.
- Story and Gameplay
Our character has the possibility to wander freely in the forest until he is approached by three soldiers who claim that he killed various soldiers of their squad. He had swore allegiance to them at the time, they are part of the “empire”. Then there is the first fight against them. After the battle there will be more soldiers walking around, and there is always the possibility to fight them individually (although sometimes then there appear more soldiers in the fight) if the player chooses to, earning points and getting stronger in case of winning. Later there will be another fight with a so called “beast”, which is stronger than the common soldiers.
- Music Soundtrack
For this scene I thought appropriate to have two musical pieces, excluding the fighting music, so that the player doesn’t stay on each one for too much time as it can take some time to trigger the next piece.
What should the music portray?
First Song (forest wandering): Peacefulness; sense of having to conquer something; the start of a new journey; fantasy.
Second Song (after winning the fight): Relief; sense of victory; positive feeling;
- Triggers
First Song
- When the first three soldiers appear. Add tension.
Second Song
1. Transitioning to the prison side. Subtle hint of progress, add instrumentation.
2. Getting to the “rug” that leads to the prison, when the first beast figure appears. It should get more tense. But be careful as there seems to exist a possibility of leaving.
3. In case of winning the battle, get back to a less tense and more relaxed version. This segment will end quickly as we transition to the next scene inside the prison.
Iridir Prison
- Scene Description
The goal of this location is to rescue an old friend who is inprisioned. It is an underground location, illuminated by old fire lamps. There should be an eerie sense of danger and challenge as it is a location controlled by the empire and anything can happen at any moment. Metal is a relevant element that might be used in the composition as it represents the jails.
- Story and Gameplay
The inprisioned friend was caught robbing the city’s medicine cabinet to save his mother. He was also being watched as it was claimed that he started a union of workers and incited strikes, which is true.
At first, when entering the prison, there is the possibility to read a book called “Destructionism and the will to live”, which claims that demons are “man-made” and it reflects on their will to live. Then the prisoner can be found in the next room, and to release him the player has to find a switch in the room to unlock the prison, by solving a small “puzzle”. After this, the prison lock opens and two beasts appear to fight shortly after. This fight is more advanced in terms of strategy, there is more complexity and use of nature elements.
After the fight there is the possibility of carrying on to other zones, with several more enemies to possibly fight and treasure chests with important items to be collected. There are 5 different zones, and from the last one it is possible to get to the Warden Chambers, where the final beast will be. Here there will be the final “boss” fight of this scene and the music should be different, more complex and perhaps using uncommon time measures. The battle can take until approximately 10 minutes. After the fight there will be another music piece and it should become very triumphant when using the travel circle at the end!
- Music Soundtrack
For this scene there will be two musical pieces, excluding the fighting music. The first will accompany the player throughout the quest and the other one will represent the success of having accomplished the desired goals.
What should the music portray?
First Song: Eeriness, danger, challenge, use metallic elements to represent the jails.
Second Song: Sense of victory; triumphant, conclusion of an important chapter.
- Triggers
First song:
- Entering Iridir Prison F1 room, as a subtle sign of progress.
- Switching the switch that opens the prison. Friend is released. Coloration change, refreshment, higher frequencies.
- Beasts appearing after friend is released. More tension.
- Entering the second F1 zone. Various fights will happen here, transmit more tension.
- Entering Iridir F2, subtle sign of progress.
- Entering Iridir F3, subtle sign of progress.
- Entering Iridir F4, subtle sign of progress.
- Opening the golden chest, subtle sign of progress.
- Entering F5 zone, subtle sign of progress.
- Entering the Warden Chambers where the final beast is located. Peak of tension, epic.
Notes:
Getting back to previous zones is a necessary step in order to progress within this scene, so there shouldn’t be a musical regression when going back to a previous room. Second song is shorter and has no necessary triggers, aside the one to start it. It should be triggered when getting to the travel circle. Getting to the forest again represents the end of this first episode.
Adaptive Elements
The adaptive elements are triggered depending on control signals from the game. Typical controls signals are mentioned below.
- Position of the protagonist;
- Position or distance from the antagonist;
- Environment: weather/time of the day;
- Game status (tension/relaxation);
- Emotional state of the player;
- Health status of the protagonist;
- Interaction with Non Playable Characters (NPC’s).
For Mechanical God Saga, the most relevant musical adaptations are linked to the game status and player’s position. These aspects are crucial due to the game’s inherent contrast between tense battle scenes and more relaxed exploratory moments. The music will change as the player moves between different rooms, subtly guiding and marking progress. Additionally, the health status and success of the protagonist in battles will influence the musical adaptation during combat.
Musical elements such as structure, tempo, melodic contour, harmony, and loudness can convey a wide range of emotions to support various gameplay scenarios. To evoke tension, common techniques include increasing tempo, changing time signatures, adding low percussion elements, raising the cutoff frequency of filters, incorporating horn instruments, and using tremolo effects. For instance, Age of Empires enhances tension with low percussion and tremolo strings, while Corrupted Dungeons increases percussion and uses horns when enemies appear.
During battles, injury is often portrayed by a decrease in sensors, which can be represented by dulling the sound, typically using a low-pass filter to make audio elements less distinct. Enhanced breathing and heartbeat sounds can also indicate exhaustion, although these techniques are more effective in a 3D first-person environment and may not be suitable for Mechanical God Saga. Another interesting technique is the reduction of the stereo field as used in Nier: Automata, which will be tested in our game.
For technical implementation, control knobs are planned to adjust the music based on the scene’s tension and the protagonist’s position and also health or success rate during battles. The specific implementation details will be explored in the technical chapter.
Regarding battle outcomes, different musical endings will be triggered depending on whether the player wins or loses. Drawing inspiration from Final Fantasy VII, a victory will be marked by an energetic and triumphant arrangement, while a loss will have a dramatic tone that shifts to a hopeful piece, encouraging the player to try again. This principle will be integrated into our game, as players have the opportunity to instantly retry battles.
