Super Mario Bros

The role of music in platform gaming

History- the development of chiptune

Achiptune, also known aschip musicor8-bit music,

issynthesizedelectronic musicwhich is made forPSG (programmable Sound
Generator)sound chips used in vintagecomputers,consoles, andarcade
machines.

Cont.

The first video game to use a continuous background soundtrack was Tomohiro
Nishikado's 1978 releaseSpace Invaders, which had four
simplechromaticdescendingbass notesrepeating ina loop, though it was
dynamic and interacted with the player, increasing pace as the enemies
descended on the player.

The first video game to feature continuous melodicbackground

musicwasRally-X, an arcade game released byNamcoin 1980, featuring a
simple tune that repeats continuously duringgameplay.

What is a platform game?

a type of video game featuring two-dimensional graphics where the player

controls a character jumping or climbing between solid platforms at different
positions on the screen.

Different types of platformers

2D- Kid Icarus, Megaman, Metroid, Super Mario bros.

2.5 (a mix of 2D and 3D game play- Kirby dreamland, Little big planet, Sonic
unleashed.

3D- Crash bandicoot, Darksiders, Ratchet and Clank.

Mario

In 1985, Nintendo of America released what would become arguably the most influential console
game so far,Super Mario Brothers. The side-scrolling platform game would spawn several spinoffs through four generations of consoles and dozens of rip-offs inspired by Mario's success.

Composer- Koji Kondo

Koji Kondo is a Japanese video game composer and sound director who is
employed at Nintendo. He is best known for his involvement in numerous
titles in the Mario and The Legend of Zelda series of video games, among
other games produced by Nintendo.

Music

Complementing the motivational function of musical sounds, Kondo's

"Overworld Theme" reinforces the bright environment of the Mushroom
Kingdom. The theme has been described as a funk or jazz tune " with lots
energy pumped into each articulated note.

This sunny-sounding tune is heard only in areas of the gameworld (the

Mushroom Kingdom or "Overworld") where the level is above ground.

Analyse

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhscMsBhNhw

Transporting via tunnel to the underworld, one hears the "Underworld Theme"
which modulates to the key of G minor and has a hollow, eerie feel. Also,
though the key of the piece is scored at G minor, the melody lacks a tonal
centre (i.e., it never comes to rest on the tonic, G) and relies on tense
chromatic passages.

These chromatic tone clusters contribute to the feeling of enclosed

claustrophobic space of the underworld, and the lack of tonal centre conveys
the disorientation appropriate for underground spaces.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ox2Fjp9oeAI

Other areas of the gameworld have their own musical signature as well. The
musical accompaniment for the underwater stages is a lilting, peaceful waltz.
Certain reasonably predictable associations with different types of music
allow the game designers to use the music to enhance our belief in the
consistency of a particular emulated world.

Tempo variation

Each world has its own theme which characterizes the environment, and the
theme loops to indicate a static consistency. When the theme's tempo
increases, however, the music provides a signal that the time limit is
approaching and the player must make extra effort to complete the level in
time

The music remains in the same key, but doubles its tempo, adding a sense of
urgency to the specific mood of the game space. This cue acts as a
motivational device, and it breaks the lull of immersion encouraged by the
repeating. The music is, therefore, shifting into a mode of engaging a player's
response by calling her to a faster or more skillful interaction with the game.

Each world ends with the ominous fourth level where music acts as a
motivational cue similar to the tempo increase at the end of each individual
level. These "castle" levels build up to an ultimate battle with a boss
character, a subordinate manifestation of Bowser. This music is similar to the
Underworld theme in its lack of tonal centre and reliance on chromatics.
Here, the confined space afforded to the player (Figure 6a) is mirrored in the
dense cluster of notes that carry the theme (Figure 6b)

Musical effects and gestures

Super Mario Brothersprovides a ready example of musical functions borrowed

from animation at an early stage in videogames' development. Specifically,
Mario's (or Luigi's) movement on the screen is accompanied by a musical
mickey mousing gesture.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCZPzHg0h80

In line with Koji Kondo's peppy theme music, Mario's "jump" is accompanied by
an ascending chromatic glissando or slide think of a "boing" sound.

Mario's leap has a pleasant sound (i.e., it does not use minor or diminished
intervals), not only because we are supposed to identify favourably with
Mario, but also because a typical game player will likely hear the same sound
repeated hundreds of times in a dedicated period of gameplay.

The mickey mousing effect is also intended to emphasize the physicality of

Mario and his kinesthetic involvement with his environment.

Other movements and collisions in the game respond to Mario in a way that
enhances the impact of the represented on-screen events. In this case, the
musical mickey mousing is in tune with the creation of a believable
gameworld, one which is fully characterized by the non-diegetic theme
music.

Similarly, music and sound effects function in encouraging successful game

play by providing positive reinforcement as consequences for actions in the
game. "Dying" inSuper Mario Brothers(Figure 5) produces a staccato pulse
followed by a conciliatory musical cadence

The music is a descending figure, mimicking Mario's ejection from the playing
field. The music is a coded message of failure reinforcing the consequence of
having to replay the level one more time

Similar messages of success reinforce the successful completion of levels in

the game. Also, at a smaller level, the satisfying "ching" of collecting gold
coins reinforces that behaviour which is strategically advantageous to
advancing in the game.

Considering an entire level as musical composition, "death" or "success"

musical messages serve as cadences to that world's musical structure.

In these ways, music works across a game's structure to encourage the user's
continued play. The game's sequence is dependent on user input, so music
that engages further participation can be said to function toward the
continuity of the game play experience.

Musical changes

In the case ofSuper Mario Brothers, there are two types of musical changes
that involve the player in the gameworld.

First, the composer and game designers match appropriate music to specific
game environments. This type of music functions to draw the player into the
fictional world of the game by making the environment more believable.

Second, musical shifts in tempo or character motivate the player to perform

the actions that connect the sequence of the game experience by rewarding
successful behaviour and punish failure. The second, motivational function
takes the form of punctuating cadences and audible shifts from a "safety
state" to a "danger state."