In semester two Notation and Orchestration tutorial classes, there were a variety of presentations that have helped me improve as a composer. One presentation that I found particularly interesting was Ethan’s presentation on their videogame ‘Elsaden’. As a composer who aspires to write music for modern media and has a passion for indie video games and their soundtracks, I found the content of Ethan’s presentation very engaging.

 

Ethan began their presentation by talking about what the game ‘Elsaden’ is. They first mentioned how the game was based on a story that their friend had written, and how the game would be a ‘music-based’ video game. The game tells the story of a girl who was separated from her mother, she must travel through the forests and use the powers of her magical flute to find her mother.

 

In video games, music is commonly known for being in the background and setting the mood. However, Ethan had planned to incorporate music in the foreground in a variety of ways. Music is used to set the background tone for the game; however, the music of the game constantly changes in response to whatever is happening on screen. For example, when the player progresses deeper into the forest the music will also progress and change over time. Musical ideas are constantly used throughout the game through the player's magical flute, which they must use for some puzzles. For example, one puzzle involves the player being unable to pass until they play the melody used in the background music, the player must use the controls to play the exact notes on the flute which will unlock the door and allow the player to progress. I found this to be an interesting and unique way to incorporate music into a video game.

 

 

 

Next, they began discussing their history in music. Next, Ethan mentioned that rather than simply composing music for their WAAPA recital, they were creating a whole video game, including the entire soundtrack for it. Ethan explained that creating their own video game would entail not only doing the coding for it but also a multitude of other activities, such as:

 

• Creating the art for the game, including sprites and terrain

• Creating animations, including animations such as character movement animation, terrain animation (like a light changing color), and background terrain

• Sound design, is like creating sounds when the player interacts with an object or sounds in the background.

• Design levels

• Create fun and engaging gameplay.

 

When Ethan discussed all the different aspects of creating a game that they had to manage, I felt that I had gained a lot of insight into what it is required to either make a video game myself or work on a video game-related project.

 

Ethan next gave insight into their process of creating a video game. An important factor of Ethan’s game was that it would appeal to their target audience, the public that would come to their recital. This means that Ethan had to create a game that would be playable by people from a multitude of different backgrounds.  Ethan shared their insight into how they would overcome this issue with a variety of methods. A few issues that Ethan discussed that they overcame included:

 

• The audience not being able to figure out the in-game puzzles that regularly appear. Ethan dealt with this by making the puzzles somewhat easy to complete. To ensure that players who cannot figure out the puzzles can still enjoy the game and progress. Ethan decided to create a system that progressively gives the player hints as time passes. If the player still cannot pass the puzzle the game will eventually let them pass on their own.

• The audience is unable to figure out the controls or use the controls with enough skill to progress in the game. Ethan showed us that the game begins with giving a tutorial on what the controls are, and how to use them. The game was also created in a way that meant having great use of the controls won't greatly change the progression of the game, as it is the players thinking skills when solving puzzles that will allow them to progress.

• The audience not being able to complete in-game tasks that require motor skills, like being able to jump between platforms. To fix this, Ethan mentioned that they used the same solution as the one for puzzle completion, being to eventually let the player pass if they’re unable to make the jump.

 

These game problems and solutions helped me to understand what problems I might run into myself, regarding video game accessibility.

 

Ethan also discussed their artistic process for the game. Indie video games are known for having creative freedom in the way they are created, meaning there is a more leeway to experiment with artistic choices. For Ethan’s game, they decided to create the art themselves (despite not having any previous art experience) in a hand-drawn style. They explained that this was an intentional choice, as the ‘natural’, imperfections of the drawing go nicely with the natural setting of the forest. The messiness of the drawing is also alike to the messiness of a child’s drawing – which works given that the main character is a young girl. The animations of the game also align well with the hand-drawn style. Ethan explained how for most of the objects and characters, they are constantly animated (even while idle) by having multiple drawings of the same pose with slight differences constantly switch between frames, creating a ‘scribble’ effect that enhances the ‘messy’ style.

 

Overall, Ethan’s presentation was both engaging and helpful to my own composition work. I learnt a variety of things about video game development, and music’s relationship with video games. I hope to apply my newfound knowledge from this presentation in my own work!