Koji Kondo, famed composer for Nintendo, spoke to a packed auditorium at this year's Game Developer's Conference. Before the session began, giddy members of the audience snuck up to Kondo-san, a copy of Zelda or Mario in hand, asking for an autograph.
To answer the question, "what are the main points of game music?," Kondo-san showcased the retro NES favorite Super Mario Brothers. By looking at how Mario jumped, and ran, Kondo-san was able to think about the rhythm intrinsic to the game playing experience. The length of Mario's jump can be exemplified by a eighth note: when a composer thinks of these kinds of attributes, music becomes part of the gameplay itself. If a game's soundtrack doesn't bother coordinating to the rhythm of game, Kondo explained, the game's soundtrack might as well come from an unrelated room next door.
A second element to good game music is balance: thinking about left and right stereo balance is certainly one thing, but thinking about the game as a whole is crucial. Music can tell a story, especially when referencing familiar themes: when Mario picks up the Metal Hat in Super Mario 64, the music will play homage to the original invincibility theme from the NES Super Mario Bros. Through music alone, players will be able to understand how powerful Mario has become.
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