Here's a suggestion: The next time you're playing whatever's in your home console, open your ears a little wider. Really listen to what's happening beneath the clang of the sword or the roar of the engine. Yes, that's music you're hearing underneath all that racket. In many cases, soundtracks are too often one of the easiest parts of a game to ignore. This is especially true in the depressing miasma that is the world of licensed music in sports games.

　　That said, when done right, game music can be a revelation that dramatically improves the gameplay experience. That was one of the themes of today's GDC session "Painting an Interactive Musical Landscape". The event was hosted by Koji Kondo the legendary game composer responsible for the scores Nintendo series such as Mario, Zelda, and StarFox. This was Kondo's first appearance at GDC--indeed his first public appearnace in the United States--and, as a result, the room in the north hall of Moscone Center was packed both with Kondo fans and working sound designers looking to glean some knowledge from the master.

　　To Kondo's way of thinking, successful in-game music has three common elements: rhythm, balance, and interactivity. How each of these three attributes work together and enhance the game experience is what separates game soundtracks from that of more traditional media like film or television. Kondo used in-game examples from some of his previous masterpieces to illustrate examples of each of the three elements.

　　Rhythm

　　"If the music doesn't reflect the rhythm of the game, it becomes background music."

　　When it comes to rhythm in his compositions, Kondo believes that just as game characters and events move in time to "computer clocks" so too then should the music that accompanies them. His first example was the familiar main theme from the original Super Mario Bros. Kondo pointed out the syncopated rhythms between the theme's triplet-based high hat pattern and the eighth-note-based melody which helped to establish the driving feel to the on-screen action.

　　Balance

　　"Try to think of music as one piece for the entire game, not simply as a collection of separate pieces."

　　Balance is at the heart of Kondo's compositional philosophy. The balance between the sound effects and the music, the volume, the pitch, the left-right balance; all of these are elements music directors must take into consideration when composing for games, Kondo said. Moreso, however, Kondo challenged the composers in the crowd to think of their work in the context of the game as a compositional whole, not just select pieces existing independently of one another.

　　At one point, Kondo asked for a show of hands of the number of composers who played a game composition for their game director the moment it was finished. After a decent number of hands went up in the crowd, Kondo replied by saying he never does this--as he feels that introducing individual pieces one at a time upsets the balance of the compositional whole. Instead, Kondo waits to introduce his music in larger chunks to his directors, so that they can get a feel for how the music fits together, and how themes develop and evolve.

　　As an example, Kondo showed clips of the famous jaunty "invincibility" theme from the original Super Mario Bros. and Mario 64, to illustrate how the familiar game themes can stay consistent throughout entries in a series while staying fresh all the while.

　　Interactivity

　　"Showcasing sound ideas that showcase interactivity is the most important work in sound work."

　　The biggest difference between game music and traditional "linear" soundtracks is the interactivity between the character, player, world, and soundtrack. To illustrate, Kondo had several examples in mind. To illustrate the effectiveness of changes in instrumentation, Kondo showed a clip of Super Mario 64 that showed Mario on a beach, swimming underwater, and eventually finding an underwater cave. On land, a basic electric piano played the main theme; when Mario entered the water, the theme was augmented by strings; when he found the cave, a bass and drums entered the mix to heighten the excitement of the moment--all of this without changing the main theme.

　　Another example from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, brought the interactivity point home even further. The "field" theme was his example, played when Link leaves town and travels through the open world map. The theme changes not only to reflect Link's condition (such as when he enters combat) but also changes at random in order to keep the listener's ear engaged. Kondo intentionally composed this theme in eight-measure chunks that could be swapped at random yet still maintain a cohesive theme and feel to them.

　　Other examples of interactivity cited included the ever-building tempo changes as one neared the end of levels in Super Mario Bros., or batted energy balls back and forth with monsters in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. Then there were enemies in New Super Mario Bros. for DS that moved to the musical themes in the game, the interactive musicality of the castle town courtyard in Hyrule in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, and many others. Wrapping up, Kondo encouraged game composers to strive to work these elements into their work on videogames in order to further evolve the art of game composition.

　　In all, the session was a fascinating insight into an aspect of games that many of us (myself included) all too often take for granted. With Nintendo stalwarts like Super Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time finding new life on the Wii's virtual console, it's a great time to go back and re-experience these amazing games with fresh eyes… and ears.