This bachelor thesis discusses the way nostalgia correlates with video game music and how the emotion of nostalgia is achieved in the different soundtracks discussed. A large part of the bachelor thesis discusses leitmotifs and their role in video game music when attempting to create a sense of familiarity and an emotionally memorable soundtrack. The study approaches nostalgia from different perspectives to be able to identify what it is exactly in video game music that evokes the emotion.

The introduction of a game mechanic is an aspect of a game that - when done right - goes almost unnoticed by the player. When it is done incorrectly however, it can become a large point of frustration in the player. The goal of this study is to discover how to introduce a game mechanic that guides the player through the game's musical score. The research question asked was: "Based on player experiences, how should a non-diegetic musical guidance mechanic be introduced in a video game?" This study uses design science as a foundation and uses a survey to gain a broad overview of the general preferences given by participants. Two versions of a prototype were developed which was played by 11 participants who were then asked about their experience. In both versions, the player was tasked with finding the magic flutes scattered across a city by listening to the music. The flute was stereo panned to the left or right speaker, corresponding the direction of the flute in the game world. The versions contained two different methods of introduction and the participant was asked in a semi-structured interview afterwards whether they enjoyed the method they received. One version contained a detailed introduction that described how the guidance mechanic worked, the other version did not. The interviews were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis to extract common themes in the answers given. The results were varied, but the majority said that they preferred to learn by themselves, without a detail introduction. This method let the player think for themselves and led to a greater sense of accomplishment and satisfaction when figuring out what to do. For a game such as this where the objective is to somehow find something, they believed that it is better to not give the answer away too freely. Not many ethical concerns where found for this study, though the one that was found is important to acknowledge. Players with aural impairments cannot play this game the way it is intended, by listening to the musical score, since they have difficulties with sound. This is a flaw that should be studied and solved or mitigated in future studies.

Music is commonly applied in art and entertainment to enhance the emotional experience. In video-games and other non-linear mediums this task must be achieved dynamically at run-time, as the timeline of events is unknown in advance. Different techniques have been developed to solve this issue, but most commercial applications still rely on pre-rendered audio. In this study, I investigate using a Computer System for Expressive Music Performance (CSEMP) to dynamically shape a computer performance of a pre-composed track to a small platforming game. A prototype environment utilising the KTH Rule System was built and evaluated through semistructured interviews and observations with 7 participants. The results suggest that changes in the musical performance can successfully reflect smaller changes in the experience such as character movement, and are less effective for sound effects or more dramatic changes, such as when the player is engaging in combat or when the player loses. All participants preferred the interactive soundtrack over a non-interactive version of the same soundtrack. / Musik används ofta som ett komplement i konst och underhållning för att förstärka den känslomässiga upplevelse. I datorspel och andra icke-linjära medier måste musiken ta på sig denna rollen dynamiskt, eftersom det inte går att veta hur händelserna kommer utfalla sig i förväg. För att lösa detta problem har det utvecklats olika tekniker, men dom flesta är fortfarande baserade på digitala inspelningar. I denna studie utforskar jag användningen av ett "Computer Systen for Expressive Musig Performance" (CSEMP) för att dynamiskt forma datorns framträdande av en lineär komposition till ett enkelt plattformsspel. En prototyp baserat på systemet "KTH Rule System" utvecklades och utvärderades genom semistrukturerade intervjuer och observationer med 7 deltagare. Resultaten visar att förändringar i uppspelningen lyckades spegla mindre förändringar i spelet, såsom hur en spelkaraktär rör sig, och var mindre effekt som ljudeffekter och för större förändringar, såsom när spelaren är i fara eller spelet är över. Alla deltagare föredrog det interaktiva ljudspåret över en icke-interaktiv version i det samma ljudspåret.

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Embasado no processo artístico, este estudo reflete e descreve a preparação dos arranjos e de um recital de músicas de videogames como repertório de concerto. Os referenciais teóricos são discussões a respeito da música nos videogames, tecnologias de áudio referentes, discussões sobre pesquisa artística, textos sobre performance e sobre o concerto como evento. Os documentos desenvolvidos pelo autor durante o processo são partituras de arranjos autorais, cartazes e logomarcas que desenhei. Hoje em dia, as músicas de videogames não mais estão restritas aos jogos, constituem um repertorio que vem sendo interpretado por orquestras e solistas em diversos lugares do mundo. De um ruído que pretendia ilustrar o som da batida de uma bolinha no jogo Pong (1972) aos materiais sinfônicos presentes nos jogos de hoje, podemos perceber uma história de evoluções tecnológicas, demandas de mercado, práticas interpretativas e a possibilidade de uma nova janela a ser aberta no campo de estudos da música. Neste trabalho, apresento o relato sobre as diferentes etapas para a preparação de um concerto com músicas de videogame, envolvendo a escolha do repertório, preparação dos arranjos, realização dos cartazes para divulgação e as decisões interpretativas. / Based on the artistic process, this research reflects and describes the preparation of arrangements and a recital of music from videogames as a concert repertoire. The theoretical references are discussions about music in videogames, related audio technologies, discussions about artistic research, texts about performance and about the concert as an event. The documents developed by the author during the process are scores of arrangements, posters and logos that I drew. Nowadays, video game music is no longer restricted to games, it is a repertoire that has been played by orchestras and soloists in different parts of the world. From a noise that was intended to illustrate the sound of the beating ball in the Pong (1972) game to the symphonic materials present in the games of today, we can perceive a history of technological evolutions, market demands, interpretive practices and the possibility of a new window to be open in the field of music studies. In this work, I present the report on the different stages for the preparation of a concert with video game music, involving the choice of repertoire, preparation of the arrangements, realization of posters for dissemination and interpretative decisions.

Embasado no processo artístico, este estudo reflete e descreve a preparação dos arranjos e de um recital de músicas de videogames como repertório de concerto. Os referenciais teóricos são discussões a respeito da música nos videogames, tecnologias de áudio referentes, discussões sobre pesquisa artística, textos sobre performance e sobre o concerto como evento. Os documentos desenvolvidos pelo autor durante o processo são partituras de arranjos autorais, cartazes e logomarcas que desenhei. Hoje em dia, as músicas de videogames não mais estão restritas aos jogos, constituem um repertorio que vem sendo interpretado por orquestras e solistas em diversos lugares do mundo. De um ruído que pretendia ilustrar o som da batida de uma bolinha no jogo Pong (1972) aos materiais sinfônicos presentes nos jogos de hoje, podemos perceber uma história de evoluções tecnológicas, demandas de mercado, práticas interpretativas e a possibilidade de uma nova janela a ser aberta no campo de estudos da música. Neste trabalho, apresento o relato sobre as diferentes etapas para a preparação de um concerto com músicas de videogame, envolvendo a escolha do repertório, preparação dos arranjos, realização dos cartazes para divulgação e as decisões interpretativas. / Based on the artistic process, this research reflects and describes the preparation of arrangements and a recital of music from videogames as a concert repertoire. The theoretical references are discussions about music in videogames, related audio technologies, discussions about artistic research, texts about performance and about the concert as an event. The documents developed by the author during the process are scores of arrangements, posters and logos that I drew. Nowadays, video game music is no longer restricted to games, it is a repertoire that has been played by orchestras and soloists in different parts of the world. From a noise that was intended to illustrate the sound of the beating ball in the Pong (1972) game to the symphonic materials present in the games of today, we can perceive a history of technological evolutions, market demands, interpretive practices and the possibility of a new window to be open in the field of music studies. In this work, I present the report on the different stages for the preparation of a concert with video game music, involving the choice of repertoire, preparation of the arrangements, realization of posters for dissemination and interpretative decisions.

Embasado no processo artístico, este estudo reflete e descreve a preparação dos arranjos e de um recital de músicas de videogames como repertório de concerto. Os referenciais teóricos são discussões a respeito da música nos videogames, tecnologias de áudio referentes, discussões sobre pesquisa artística, textos sobre performance e sobre o concerto como evento. Os documentos desenvolvidos pelo autor durante o processo são partituras de arranjos autorais, cartazes e logomarcas que desenhei. Hoje em dia, as músicas de videogames não mais estão restritas aos jogos, constituem um repertorio que vem sendo interpretado por orquestras e solistas em diversos lugares do mundo. De um ruído que pretendia ilustrar o som da batida de uma bolinha no jogo Pong (1972) aos materiais sinfônicos presentes nos jogos de hoje, podemos perceber uma história de evoluções tecnológicas, demandas de mercado, práticas interpretativas e a possibilidade de uma nova janela a ser aberta no campo de estudos da música. Neste trabalho, apresento o relato sobre as diferentes etapas para a preparação de um concerto com músicas de videogame, envolvendo a escolha do repertório, preparação dos arranjos, realização dos cartazes para divulgação e as decisões interpretativas. / Based on the artistic process, this research reflects and describes the preparation of arrangements and a recital of music from videogames as a concert repertoire. The theoretical references are discussions about music in videogames, related audio technologies, discussions about artistic research, texts about performance and about the concert as an event. The documents developed by the author during the process are scores of arrangements, posters and logos that I drew. Nowadays, video game music is no longer restricted to games, it is a repertoire that has been played by orchestras and soloists in different parts of the world. From a noise that was intended to illustrate the sound of the beating ball in the Pong (1972) game to the symphonic materials present in the games of today, we can perceive a history of technological evolutions, market demands, interpretive practices and the possibility of a new window to be open in the field of music studies. In this work, I present the report on the different stages for the preparation of a concert with video game music, involving the choice of repertoire, preparation of the arrangements, realization of posters for dissemination and interpretative decisions.

By conducting an experiment involving interviews with successful video game music composers about the emotions they wish to convey to the players with their music, and a survey questioning consumers about what emotions they actually experienced while listening to these musical pieces, this bachelor's thesis tries to provide a deeper understanding for music in games and the impact it has on the player and whether or not the three composers that has been interviewed has succeeded with conveying the emotions they wished to convey to their consumers. The results showed that each composer that has participated has been able to convey the music's intended emotions to their consumers more or less. Almost none of the musical pieces used stood out as wrongly perceived by the survey participants. The preconceptions we have about emotions in music, both generally and in video games, has become so deeply rooted that by only listening to a musical piece one can determine its emotive state and character.

Musik kommt bei der Vertonung interaktiver Medien in vielerlei Weise zum Einsatz. Dabei stellt die interaktive Beeinflussung der Musik die größte Herausforderung dar. Dieser sogenannten nichtlinearen Musik wird eine flexible Wandelbarkeit abverlangt, sogar noch während sie spielt. Die vorliegende Arbeit geht auf einige medientheoretische Fragestellungen ein und stellt technische Lösungen vor. Es werden die unterschiedlichen Erscheinungsformen und Aufgaben der Musik in interaktiven Medien behandelt. Die technischen Herangehensweisen an nichtlineare Musik werden systematisiert und zwei Lösungsansätze vorgestellt, der Echtzeit-Arrangeur und das reaktive Orchester. Diese arbeiten auf der Ebene des Arrangements und der ausdrucksvollen Interpretation. Es werden Modelle zur Beschreibung interpretatorischer Merkmale entwickelt, die auch musikwissenschaftliche und musikpsychologische Relevanz und Anwendungen haben. / Music is applied in manifold ways in scoring interactive media. The biggest challenge in this respect is posed by the interactive manipulation of music. This so-called nonlinear music must provide for flexible mutability even while it is playing. The following research study addresses some media-theoretical issues and presents technical approaches. The different manifestations and functions of music in interactive media are treated. The technical approaches to nonlinear music are systematized, and two solutions to the problem of flexible mutability are elaborated: the Realtime Arranger and the Reactive Orchestra. These are shown to operate at the level of arrangement and expressive performance. Models are developed for the description of the performance features. These models are of relevance and have applications in the fields of musicology and music psychology.