From Pac-Man to pop music : interactive audio in games and new media

Digital interactive audio is the future of audio in media - most notably video games, but also web pages, theme parks, museums, art installations and theatrical events. Despite its importance to contemporary multimedia, this is the first book that provides a framework for understanding the history, issues and theories surrounding interactive audio. Karen Collins presents the work of academics, composers and sound programmers to introduce the topic from a variety of angles in order to provide a supplementary text for music and multimedia courses. The contributors cover practical and theoretical approaches, including historical perspectives, emerging theories, socio-cultural approaches to fandom, reception theory and case study analyses. The book offers a fresh perspective on media music, one that will complement film studies, but which will show the necessity of a unique approach when considering games music. Cover 1 Contents 6 List of figures 8 About the contributors 10 General Editor’s Preface 14 Preface 16 Introduction 18 PART 1 Industries and synergies 28 1 The new MTV? Electronic Arts and ‘playing’ music 30 2 Marketing music through computer games: the case of Poets of the Fall and Max Payne 2 44 PART 2 Ringtones and mobile phones 62 3 Could ringtones be more annoying? 64 4 Indeterminate adaptive digital audio for games on mobiles 72 PART 3 Instruments and interactions 90 5 Theoretical approaches to composing dynamic music for video games 92 6 Realizing groundbreaking adaptive music 110 7 The composition-instrument: emergence, improvisation and interaction in games and new media 120 PART 4 Techniques and technologies 142 8 Dynamic range: subtlety and silence in video game sound 144 9 An introduction to granular synthesis in video games 152 PART 5 Audio and audience 168 10 Chip music: low-tech data music sharing 170 11 Left in the dark: playing computer games with the sound turned off 180 12 Music theory in music games 194 Selected Annotated Bibliography 206 Bibliography 212 Index 220 Industries and Synergies. The new MTV? : electronic arts and playing music / Holly Tessler ; Marketing music through computer games : the case of Poets of the Fall and Max Payne 2 / Antti-Ville Kärjä Ringtones and mobile phones. Could ringtones be more annoying? / Peter Drescher ; Indeterminate adaptive digital audio for games on mobiles / Agnès Guerraz and Jacques Lemordant Instruments and interactions. Theoretical approaches to composing dynamic music for games / Jesper Kaae ; Realising groundbreaking adaptive music : Tim van Geelen ; The composition-instrument : emergence, improvisation, and interaction in games and new media / Norbert Herber Techniques and technologies. Dynamic range : subtlety and silence in video game sound / Rob Bridgett ; An introduction to granular synthesis in video games / Leonard Paul Audio and audience. Chip music : low tech data music sharing / Anders Carlsson ; Left in the dark : playing computer games with the sound turned off / Kristine Jørgensen ; Music theory in music games / Peter Shultz. Digital interactive audio is the future of audio in media. In this book, Karen Collins provides a framework for understanding the history, issues and theories surrounding interactive audio. She introduces the topic from a variety of angles in order to provide a supplementary text for music and multimedia courses