Abstract
As with films, a thoughtfully composed video game soundtrack has the ability to dramatically enhance and elevate the experience for the audience or player. This article explores the potential issues and difficulties of composing for video game systems by studying the sound-producing hardware and music for two popular systems from one manufacturer. By comparing two of Nintendo’s Super Mario titles, which appeared on both 8-bit and 16-bit systems, through an analysis of the technology, audio, visual (audiovisual), music, and gameplay elements, it is shown that the musical composition was affected by the limitations of processing power. The discussion shows how the composer, Koji Kondo, overcame the issues of limited computing power by using layers of repetition while applying various functions of music for film to enhance player immersion. Kondo composed theme music that has become engrained in popular culture and is synonymous with one of Nintendo’s flagship franchises (Greening, 2014). By attempting to understand the method or approach behind the composition for earlier systems, it is possible to investigate and discuss the evolution of video game music while acknowledging and contributing to the study of music for games. A musical analysis of the Castle and Underwater themes on each system allows for a direct comparison of the compositional approach, while an audiovisual analysis reveals the presence of existing cinematic tropes and identifies potential influences on the creation of effective musical soundtracks for video games. Applying audiovisual theory to games will require the use of existing literature from Lissa (1965), Gorbman (1987), Chion (1994) and Tagg (2004), along with the work of Collins (2005; 2007a; 2007b; 2008a; 2008b), which adapts and applies audiovisual analysis to video games.
Highlights
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Nintendo and Sega, two of the world’s largest video game companies, jostled against each other for marketplace position, with Nintendo taking 90% of the United States’ video game sector by 1990 (Kelion, 2014; Miller, 1994). This time period coincided with the release of Super Mario Bros., a video game that appeared on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in 1985, and Super Mario World on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) in 1990
A harmonic and melodic analysis demonstrates how the composer deals with the various limitations of the hardware, and serves to identify the presence of cinematic tropes and audiovisual functions that were traditionally used in cinema to immerse audiences in the story (Chion, 1994)
A fairly strong F major tonality is achieved through several strong dominant-tonic resolutions that bolster the F major tonality after traversing some very colourful harmony, as seen in bb. 6–7 (Kondo, 1990b): F augmented leads to B flat major, on to B natural diminished before arriving at F major via G minor and C major. This harmonic language is again used to create interest and motion in much the same way as the chromatic alterations to the neighbouring harmony for the NES’s Underwater theme, suggesting that Kondo had found an ideal sound for these themes, which were perhaps only realised owing to the constraints of the system and similarities of the audiovisual elements and mise-en-scène. Concluding thoughts This exploration of a small portion of the musical output from the Super Mario franchise clearly shows that the limitations imposed by the technology did have an effect on the possibilities for musical composition, the scope of the musical narrative, and the degree of support provided to the ludological and narratological frameworks
Summary
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Nintendo and Sega, two of the world’s largest video game companies, jostled against each other for marketplace position, with Nintendo taking 90% of the United States’ video game sector by 1990 (Kelion, 2014; Miller, 1994). Creating music with functions that enhance immersion is a difficult task in itself, but Kondo had to compose with a technology that limited the possibilities offered to a composer, such as the number of instruments and the quality of the available sounds. These factors make the study of music for earlier video game systems a fascinating topic, as the composer had a very tight set of parameters to work within in order to create effective music
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