When Sound Tells the Story: Elevating Immersion through Narrative-Driven Music and Sound Design in Video Games

Rooted in a lifelong passion for video game music, this Artistic Research aims to investigate the relationship between music and sound design in video games, focusing on how these elements can be carefully calibrated to enhance the overall visual and narrative experience.The core of the investigation involves a comprehensive analysis of specific video game scenarios where every sonic element is perfectly integrated into the whole soundscape, sometimes becoming an integral part of the musical experience itself. I had the opportunity to work with a developer from the early stages of this study and that led me to eventually apply in an original video game all the music composition and sound design techniques I could find in my most reliable sources.The case studies used were two video games I recognise as the most sonically important over the past decade: Transistor (2014) and NieR: Automata (2017). The theoretical background has been found in interviews I had with video game music professionals and researchers, in addition to a selection of theses, articles, online musical analysis and even impressions gathered from gamers. keywords: video game music, video game score, video games, video game audio, interactive music, interactive multimedia, interactive media, adaptive music, dynamic music, Sound Design, horizontal re-sequencing, vertical layering, Keiichi Okabe, Darren Korb