What's up with games?

[elser]

I've got a possible opportunity to write some music for a gaming company but I know nothing about how payment is handled and what I should reasonably ask for. Can anyone point me to some articles or just fill me in with some details?

Tanks

[mazz]

The book "Game Audio" by Aaron Marks has some very good articles on the business.

For games it seems that composers are paid by the finished linear minute of music. Since games are non-linear by nature, usually a composer will write music that can be "stemmed" so that it can be adapted to respond to certain actions that the player may take. For instance you might write a complex orchestral cue and then break it out to smaller groups of elements that accompany parts of the game play that don't require the full mix. But the piece you composed might be a 5 minute cue if it was played in it's entirety once. That is what I believe they mean by linear. From what I've heard the prices can range from 500.00 on up to over 3,000/minute for the very top guys.

Game music is work for hire which means that the game developer owns the music, but I have heard that there can be negotiations for soundtrack albums, library usage outside of the game, etc.

There is no "back end" for games, typically, unless the composer has some clout and can negotiate a percentage of the profits. Otherwise, the composer gets a creative fee and that's the end of it for the most part.

With film projects, often the composer gets a certain percentage of the fee up front and then when certain milestones are reached, more of the fee is paid. Often it's 50% up front and the rest when the masters are delivered. In games, since the projects take much longer than film and the composer is often involved earlier, there are probably more milestones involved so the fee payment structure might be different. That can all be worked out in negotiations.

If they want a group of live players, make sure that, if at all possible, there is a budget over and above your fee to cover those costs.

I strongly recommend you read the Game Audio book, it is very real world and the latest edition (2nd edition, I believe) is pretty much up to date.

Good luck!


Mazz

PS: Often composers are called upon to be sound designers as well. In fact, some composers also bill themselves as sound designers. Make sure it's clear up front what the extent of your work is going to be. If you go in thinking you're only doing music and end up editing footsteps, that could be a drag, or not, depending on what you find out up front. Be vigilant!!

[guitaroboe]

Wise words from a the wisest of men!!!

Hey Mazz,

did you start work on any game(s) yet? I look forward to hearing your stuff.
A.

[elser]

Thanks Mazz, very helpful.

I suspected that they would want stems for the different possible story scenarios. I actually got hired to play guitar for some of the tracks they're working on right now so the budget is clearly already there for live players. In my audition the CEO said I 'blew him away' and we hit it off once we started talking and he mentioned they weren't real happy with their current crop of composers so I pointed him to my webpage.

He seems very fair, the sessions pay well but I'd like to learn as much about the business beforehand in case I get a shot at it. I'm thinking I should probably get a game or 2 to see how the music works in context and get a feel for it. They want big rock guitar music, I wonder if anyone here can recommend any games to check out?

Thanks for the tip on the book, next stop Amazon.

[mazz]

Wise words from a the wisest of men!!!

Hey Mazz,

did you start work on any game(s) yet? I look forward to hearing your stuff.
A.

Nothing yet! Still networking and writing for other projects too.

Thanks!


Good luck Elser! Sounds like great fun!! Let me know if you need any big orchestral extravaganzas!!

[elser]

[
Good luck Elser! Sounds like great fun!! Let me know if you need any big orchestral extravaganzas!!

I will

[Cruciform]

They want big rock guitar music, I wonder if anyone here can recommend any games to check out?

Depends what kind of game. For example, Nine Inch Nails composed industrial ambient stuff for Quake. On the other hand, the recent "God of War III" soundtrack is all tracks by well known metal bands.

[elser]

They want big rock guitar music, I wonder if anyone here can recommend any games to check out?

Depends what kind of game. For example, Nine Inch Nails composed industrial ambient stuff for Quake. On the other hand, the recent "God of War III" soundtrack is all tracks by well known metal bands.

Thanks, right now they're talking about big anthemic rock guitar stuff, I don't think Nine Inch Nails is what they have in mind, they mentioned Bon Jovi. This is one of the companies involved with the development of Rock Band, I think they want a more classic rock approach right now. Can you think of any games that sound something like that? I'll check out God of War, maybe there's a demo.

[llama]

Hey Elser, As far as games using classic rock soundtracks the ones that come to my mind are Cars and the FIFA soccer series....though in both cases classic rock is mixed in with alt rock and they are mostly songs as opposed to instrumentals.
To hear soundtracks to various games Youtube I've found is a good resource.
For more info on the business side of music in games you might want to check out the G.A.N.G. website. Some great info there. As well as the fantastic book that Mazz mentioned. HTH.

Derek

[Cruciform]

The GT series of games for Playstation use rock, but not anthemic stuff. Still might be worth a listen.

Rob O.