SotA Anthology 2015-16
and third beat of each
bar and sliding notes that
elongate the feeling of
rise in the melody before
it falls again at the end of
the phrase. In both scenes,
this music erupts as a
fighting sequence starts.
In his discussion of genre,
Brownigg (2003) suggests
that “the noble death, firing
squad sequence and mythic
choir, for example - emerge
to accompany moments
of triumph, heroism and
sacrifice” within the war film
genre, and Call of Duty 4:
Modern Warfare follows the
filmic uses of music.
Just as music and genre are
important in film for creating
an immersive experience,
the same can be said for
music and video games.
Whilst sound effects are
are largely dictated by the
game’s mechanics, the
music that occurs outside
of the game world is not
gameplay genre-based (e.g.
first-person shooter, roleplaying game) but is game
content based. For example,
in
Ubisoft’s Assassin’s
Creed III, an actionadventure
open
world
game, during the Bunker Hill
battle scene the music does
the same thing rhythmically
as in Call of Duty 4: Modern
Warfare with a repeating
semiquaver base accented
on the first and third beat
of each bar. The use of
shared musical reference is
important when considering
music and immersion in
video games because the
musical cues can evoke
an emotional response in
the player without needing
to explain with text what is
happening. The use of battle
music is a good example
of this, as the unwavering,
repetitive bass adds a
sense of urgency, and the
regimented rhythms mimic
that of soldiers, instantly
signifying that a battle is
about to commence.
Wingstedt (2005) suggests
in relation to film music
that we can categorise the
function of musical cues
into six classes: emotive,
informative,
descriptive,
guiding,
temporal
and
rhetorical. If we apply these
to video game music, it
becomes apparent how
much of a narrative tool
non-diegetic original music
can be. In film, these six
classes work together to
progress the linear narrative
forwards.
However,
in
open-world video games
where these filmic tropes
are most often employed,
the narrative is not entirely
linear. The player has
the option to explore side
quests, to ignore the main
narrative and to explore
the game’s environment.
Non-diegetic music has
to take on a further role in
open-world video games
as it needs to work to the
player’s narrative and not
just the main story plot.
Ermi & Mayra’s (2005)
theory of immersion taking
different forms applies here.
They suggest that there are
three types of immersion:
sensory, challenge-based,
and imaginative.
Wingstedt’s
classes
of
music slot into these three
categories of immersion
Whilst all of the six classes
are needed for each
immersive state, some
of the classes have a
greater effect depending on
immersion type. ‘Sensory
immersion’ needs music
that
encompasses
the
descriptive, informative and
guiding classes; ‘challengebased immersion’ relies
most on the informative,
guiding
and
temporal
classes; and ‘imaginative
immersion’ needs emotive,
descriptive and rhetorical
classes to be most effective.
For example, in Bethesda’s
Fallout 3, as the player
leaves Vault 101 and enters
into the wasteland, music is
used to help bridge the gap
between the closed, limited
world of the vault and the
vast open landscape of
the wasteland. If we apply
Ermi & Mayra’s theory, this
transition is attempting a
state of ‘sensory immersion’
as the player emerges from
the bunker into the new
world, therefore the music
needs to be descriptive,
informative and guide them
through new surroundings.
As the door opens onto the
wasteland a bright light fills
the screen and blurs the
image of the land. This is
ac