Gone are the days when video games were dull and provided little to no engagement. Music has, indeed, revolutionized the video game industry, changing the traditionally flat games into a multi-sensory experience inspired over several generations. The global gaming business is vast and peaked at over $159B U.S. dollars in 2020. The field once regarded as the domain of rejected nerds is now among the top booming industries worldwide. The good news is that it is thriving by itself and helping the custom music for video games make strides.
Getting a custom soundtrack for your video game is not a walk in the path. But, it is the key to meeting the high expectations of modern games and trends in the industry. Music is now a core part of video game development. Further, effective music branding will make a vast difference between a definite gold mine and an actual flop.
Music requires two separate licenses to get and use your custom music. The first is the sync license that enables you to use music drafts for your visual work, and the second is the master-use license that allows you to record music. It can be tough to get music licenses when you need them for multiple sources. At 4th Quarter Music, we’ll introduce you to all the fundamentals you need to get a sync and master-use license with customizable packages.
Read on to get the different aspects of game soundtracks and their licensing details.
How Video Developers Produce Music for Video Games
Many video game enthusiasts think of the iconic soundtracks found in games like Street Fighter II, Tetris, etc. In fact, music has immense convincing power to attract consumers. According to studies, 40% of gamers became loyal buyers after hearing the game song related to their feelings.
With the rapid advancements in technology, it is, indeed, possible to develop games efficiently as soundtracks have changed and gaming music is drastically evolving.
Various Types of Game Music
Music is incorporated into human life in many ways. It gives life to your games for a high recreational impact. Music adds an emotional touch to the game ecosystem. Therefore, to define the different types of music used for video games, it would be best to focus on their functions.
The main types of game music are:
- Non-Diegetic sounds: These are sounds like a voiceover or soundtrack music.
- Background sounds (Ambient sounds): These are the sounds that embellish the feel of the scene.
- Sound effects: Includes non-verbal sounds whose sources are clear to the audience.
Equally important, you can make your games unique and attractive by customizing them with requirements in mind.
Before conceptualizing the process of music composition, the game development team work hand in hand with the music designer. They’ll focus on the functional and stylistic goals and design the process.
The Process of Getting Custom Music for Your Video Games
Designers follow no standardized process as the process will be unique to the game objectives. The following tips should help you make a customized soundtrack for your game.
1. Gather and Process Materials
The first step is to get all the necessary game materials to develop a game, such as prototypes, design docs, scripts, art assets, and any notes. If you lack these materials at the beginning, you can start but adjust later to ensure the success of your process.
2. Prioritize Primary Game Objectives
Every game has unique objectives that developers follow. They could be aspects of the game, strategy elements, a general story, or a particular character. A solid decision will then steer you towards the right decisions for optimal music production.
3. Create a Music Asset List
Ensure you have the correct music list. It should work as a hint to give you the final outlook of the game. Your asset list will also contain details of the music themes you require.
4. Define Interactive Elements in Design
In this step, you can define the additional interactive music companies that enable real-time fluctuations.
5. Create an Audio Style Guide
A style guide is critical for designers to focus their direction on a creative game element. It also includes the compilation of contrasting scenarios that define the game’s direction.
6. Create an Audio Design Document
You should also compile a written form of the audio strategy and share it with your developers. They’ll use it to finalize the creative parts of your game.
These tips should help you develop a comprehensive plan to customize music for your video game. The soundtracks are licensed to game developers to give credit to the creator and predetermined purposes. Technically, more popular songs will cost more, so it is best to use royalty-free music.
Custom Music Production for Gaming Companies
Companies like 4th Quarter Music compose and produce royalty-free music that you can use for your gaming projects. When you need music to satisfy your gaming needs, consider the following two elements. They are the core to getting custom music production for video games.
Game Audio Budgeting
You must have a budget set aside for every game audio development project. You can define this percentage effectively by looking at the importance of audio in the success of your game. Designers will then decide what percentage chunks will be used for music, voiceover, and sound design categories.
For optimal results, developers may, indeed, need to retain complete control over the creative aspects of your customized audio.
Marketing Materials
You can have a separate budget for your marketing productions. Then, ensure the style and tone of the audio suit the game genre and your marketing project.
Get Your Custom Music for Video Games From 4th Quarter Music Today
The benefits of customary music are apparent. You don’t have to share your visual assets with competitors that may risk similar music and sound. The track you get will, indeed, genuinely narrate your game project’s story and enhance the emotional impact of your game.
At 4th Quarter Music, we are a premier professional music production and licensing company for various artists and digital content creators. Contact us to get custom music for your video game today.