Interactive Music

[pgrmdave]

I'm interested in video game music, and ways to make it more interactive with the player, to feel more like an interactive movie, with a score fitting all the parts. Is there any way to teach a computer how to compose tonally and have the computer actually create the music, so as to get a different experiance every time, but one that fit the situation?

[Fishteacher73]

I think it would vary on the type of game...
You could put various parameters that depended on variables in the game(the speed of action could influence the tempo or the characters health could affect chord structure or key, etc.). I believe there are a few programs that can create "music" (There has been some debate on if this qualifies) based on a series of random inputs. These could probably be tweaked to the specifics of a game though.

Generally I turn the music off on a game and listen to my stereo... I find very few of the games have music that either does not get repteatative or is just plain boring. Perhaps makinging more dependant upon the game it could add to the experience.

[orbsycli]

one game with great music, i think, is zelda. it would be amazing to see the tempo and dynamics rise with some shooting action or something. for a computer to "Create" on the spot, to improvise, probably won't happen any time soon. but the parameters as fishteacher just said sound doable, and is something i'm REALLy looking forward to hearing.

[pgrmdave]

What I'm thinking about is something like the music in BG2 - where there are transitions between all the different themes, but with more autonomy - a computer that could create a melody, and harmony to go with it. One that could maybe anticipate player's actions, and transition seamlessly from 'overworld' to 'battle' music.

[orbsycli]

yeah tha twould be so awesome.
the first thing we see before that though is just, a vast range of music with dynamics and tempo changes that occur with the changes in the game.
to see a computer actually compose on the spot, choose the instrument, the key, the tempo, the everything, will be really...reallly strange.
it makes me wonder...will robots have groove? they will probably be programmed to have groove when they play instruments. imagine robots getting record contracts.
sorry if i'm getting off the subject, but the future is intense.

[pgrmdave]

Well, I found it interesting in my music theory class that music can be mathematical. Given a melody, it is relatively simple to come up with a harmonic sequence, and from that, the 'rules' of voice leading are applied. It wouldn't be able to come up with complex jazz structures, but simple classical, or baroque structured music. The problems come with transitions, and with melodic creation.

[Fishteacher73]

You can do a simple google search on random music gererator. There are some that work off fractal gererators and other alogorithms.