It goes without saying that to really set the mood within a game you need music, or at least sound effects. Many games developers research for weeks or months good sounds to add to their game. These sounds must fit with the game and the atmosphere you are trying to set. There is no point having a fighting game and playing sounds that you would find in a game such as Hello Kitty, it just doesn't work.
Some games require few sounds as the scene may set itself, however sounds always help to get the atmosphere and the motive of the game across to the player.
Analysis of 'The Last of Us' Main Theme:
This video analyses the main theme from 'The Last of Us'
Analysis of 'Little Big Planet 3' Soundtrack 'Dead Heat':
This video analyses 'Dead Heat' from 'Little Big Planet 3'
Audio Environment:
When producing each piece of music the composer would have had to be in close contact with the producer, communicating regularly and ensuring that the piece is on track. The composer must take the various audio set-ups into consideration. In this modern society most households have stereo sound, with some even having surround sound to try and gain to 3D audio experience. However some stereo sound owners also buy a sound bar to sit either in front of or on top of their TVs gaining a more surround sound style of hearing things. So taking the various TV set-ups into consideration would give the producer and the composer the best idea of what sound to aim for. PlayStations use Dolby Digital which is a high end sound company which would be more towards surround sound speakers than stereo. Another thing to consider is how to record the sounds, there will be various sounds to be recorded. Instruments being the main thing, however recording instruments is still analogue so ensuring the best equipment to pick up all of the individual sounds would also be vital.
Legal Considerations:
For both games companies and music producers there would of been various legal considerations they would of had to consider before releasing the final tracks. With both pieces being produced and preformed by well known artists, the main legal consideration would be to ensure the relevant insurance policies were in place just in case they didn't fulfil their requirements or were unable to complete the job. The other key legal issue is copyright and trademarking, ensuring all of the copyrighting and trademark laws, including The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, are abided by are key to ensuring that the project doesn't end in a law suit for either producer or games company. It would also be important that the producer signed a contract stating the work was made just for this game and they will not distribute it anywhere else. Another thing they need to consider is contracting the composer and financially supporting them.
Comparing & Contrasting The Two Tracks:
There are many similarities within the two tracks, however there are far more differences. The biggest similarity I could find is that both games are exclusive to PlayStation systems. Both the PlayStation 3 and 4 use a lossy compression format in the form of Dolby Digital. The only other similarity I could find was that both pieces seem to be trying to portray a story. 'The Last of Us' has more of a story to it than 'Little Big Planet 3'. However you can feel the latter also trying to put some form of story into the track. Some noticeable differences I found where the genres both games are. 'The Last of Us' is a survival horror game, however the music is very calm and mellow portraying how the characters must act in their situations. Compared to 'Little Big Planet 3' which is a puzzle platform game, the music is very upbeat and encouraging. Another difference I found was how well 'The Last of Us' brought out the emotion in the music, now I know 'Little Big Planet 3' isn't that type of game, however Santalolalla managed to show the emotions of the game through the music. As well as this I noticed that the 'Little Big Planet 3' piece was very upbeat and fast, compared to the slower 'The Last of Us' piece. The faster more upbeat track didn't seem to be for a specific game. What I'm trying to say is, if you added 'Dead Heat' into another game the chances are it would fit perfectly. On the other hand 'The Last of Us' main theme may fit into other games but it also has the potential to be iconic to the game.
When producing each piece of music the composer would have had to be in close contact with the producer, communicating regularly and ensuring that the piece is on track. The composer must take the various audio set-ups into consideration. In this modern society most households have stereo sound, with some even having surround sound to try and gain to 3D audio experience. However some stereo sound owners also buy a sound bar to sit either in front of or on top of their TVs gaining a more surround sound style of hearing things. So taking the various TV set-ups into consideration would give the producer and the composer the best idea of what sound to aim for. PlayStations use Dolby Digital which is a high end sound company which would be more towards surround sound speakers than stereo. Another thing to consider is how to record the sounds, there will be various sounds to be recorded. Instruments being the main thing, however recording instruments is still analogue so ensuring the best equipment to pick up all of the individual sounds would also be vital.
Legal Considerations:
For both games companies and music producers there would of been various legal considerations they would of had to consider before releasing the final tracks. With both pieces being produced and preformed by well known artists, the main legal consideration would be to ensure the relevant insurance policies were in place just in case they didn't fulfil their requirements or were unable to complete the job. The other key legal issue is copyright and trademarking, ensuring all of the copyrighting and trademark laws, including The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, are abided by are key to ensuring that the project doesn't end in a law suit for either producer or games company. It would also be important that the producer signed a contract stating the work was made just for this game and they will not distribute it anywhere else. Another thing they need to consider is contracting the composer and financially supporting them.
Comparing & Contrasting The Two Tracks:
There are many similarities within the two tracks, however there are far more differences. The biggest similarity I could find is that both games are exclusive to PlayStation systems. Both the PlayStation 3 and 4 use a lossy compression format in the form of Dolby Digital. The only other similarity I could find was that both pieces seem to be trying to portray a story. 'The Last of Us' has more of a story to it than 'Little Big Planet 3'. However you can feel the latter also trying to put some form of story into the track. Some noticeable differences I found where the genres both games are. 'The Last of Us' is a survival horror game, however the music is very calm and mellow portraying how the characters must act in their situations. Compared to 'Little Big Planet 3' which is a puzzle platform game, the music is very upbeat and encouraging. Another difference I found was how well 'The Last of Us' brought out the emotion in the music, now I know 'Little Big Planet 3' isn't that type of game, however Santalolalla managed to show the emotions of the game through the music. As well as this I noticed that the 'Little Big Planet 3' piece was very upbeat and fast, compared to the slower 'The Last of Us' piece. The faster more upbeat track didn't seem to be for a specific game. What I'm trying to say is, if you added 'Dead Heat' into another game the chances are it would fit perfectly. On the other hand 'The Last of Us' main theme may fit into other games but it also has the potential to be iconic to the game.
Methods & Principles of Both Games:
During the recording process there would be multiple audio limitations to take into account and consider. There would need to be a digital sound processor to process the analogue sounds of the instruments and transfer them into digital sound. This is done by using a DSP, it takes millions of small samples of the music and manipulates them from an analogue signal into a digital sound allowing for a computer to playback what has been recorded.
Another audio limitation to consider is the RAM, which stands for Random Access Memory, often referred to as Random Access Storage. RAM is a form of computer storage, each computer comes with RAM, often in different sizes depending on the machine. It allows the computer to read and save things to it's memory as fast as it can. This could affect recording if it is broken in terms of making sure the recording is saved safely and securely.
A sample rate is the number of samples of audio recognised in a second, often measured in hertz, Hz, or kHz. This could affect the audio limitations as to how much you can record at a time. Sony, who publish both games, choose a 44,100Hz sample rate because it can be recorded on their modified videoing equipment.
Initially the audio output doesn't seem to be too important, however due to the vast increase on household televisions being connected to surround sound systems rather than a stereo sound the audio output must be correspondent to one of these. With Sony using Dolby Digital in their machines it makes them compatible with both surround as well as stereo. However they tend to use surround more, some people with a stereo system do get a sound bar which can enhance the 3D sound of their TV.
Both games would of used Digital sounds to create their tracks, where both may have used analogue and digital processed them they may also have added some computerised sounds in there somewhere too. A Computer Workstation, more commonly referred to as DAW, Digital Audio Workstation is an electronic device that allows you to edit record and produce audio files. A DAW can be a single laptop with basic software on it, or it could be a professional set up with multiple machines, monitors, software plug-ins such as a piano keyboard, and top of the range speaker systems to test the best sounds. Sound editing would have been used in both games, after recording they would have tweaked certain areas ensuring they sounded crystal clear and as fresh as possible. This will either be done by the producer or a dedicated sound editor.
MIDI, or Multi-Instrument Digital Interface, uses multiple instruments in one system and allows them all to be played off of the one controller. I feel this would have been used more in The Last of Us track rather than Little Big Planet. However it is a machine that is often used when producing music with a large variety of instruments within it. I have no doubts that both games would have used multi-track recording to forge all of the instruments into one. Multi-track recording allows the separate recordings of different instruments, for example, to be recording and put in the same place to create one file.
The bit-depth of a track is basically the quality of the audio, a high bit-depth could pick up minuscule sounds such as breathing. In terms of these games I believe they would of used a good-quality bit-depth but not so good you can hear the people playing the instruments breathing. Resolution in terms of audio is again how clear the audio is. A poor resolution will sound muffled where as a high quality resolution will sound crisp and clear.
Methods & Principles of 'The Last of Us' Main Theme:
The Last of Us is an Action/Adventure Survival Horror game developed by Naughty Dog to be released exclusively for PlayStation 3, there has been a slightly updated version of the game called 'The Last of Us Remastered' which has recently been released for PlayStation 4. The main difference in the Remastered version is enhanced graphics and sound. In terms of recording the main theme to the game Naughty Dog brought in a well known producer, Gustavo Santaolalla who used his experience to produce and compose the piece.
During the recording process there would be multiple audio limitations to take into account and consider. There would need to be a digital sound processor to process the analogue sounds of the instruments and transfer them into digital sound. This is done by using a DSP, it takes millions of small samples of the music and manipulates them from an analogue signal into a digital sound allowing for a computer to playback what has been recorded.Another audio limitation to consider is the RAM, which stands for Random Access Memory, often referred to as Random Access Storage. RAM is a form of computer storage, each computer comes with RAM, often in different sizes depending on the machine. It allows the computer to read and save things to it's memory as fast as it can. This could affect recording if it is broken in terms of making sure the recording is saved safely and securely. A sample rate is the number of samples of audio recognised in a second, often measured in hertz, Hz, or kHz. This could affect the audio limitations as to how much you can record at a time. Sony, who publish both games, choose a 44,100Hz sample rate because it can be recorded on their modified videoing equipment.Initially the audio output doesn't seem to be too important, however due to the vast increase on household televisions being connected to surround sound systems rather than a stereo sound the audio output must be correspondent to one of these. With Sony using Dolby Digital in their machines it makes them compatible with both surround as well as stereo. However they tend to use surround more, some people with a stereo system do get a sound bar which can enhance the 3D sound of their TV.Both games would of used Digital sounds to create their tracks, where both may have used analogue and digital processed them they may also have added some computerised sounds in there somewhere too. A Computer Workstation, more commonly referred to as DAW, Digital Audio Workstation is an electronic device that allows you to edit record and produce audio files. A DAW can be a single laptop with basic software on it, or it could be a professional set up with multiple machines, monitors, software plug-ins such as a piano keyboard, and top of the range speaker systems to test the best sounds. Sound editing would have been used in both games, after recording they would have tweaked certain areas ensuring they sounded crystal clear and as fresh as possible. This will either be done by the producer or a dedicated sound editor.MIDI, or Multi-Instrument Digital Interface, uses multiple instruments in one system and allows them all to be played off of the one controller. I feel this would have been used more in The Last of Us track rather than Little Big Planet. However it is a machine that is often used when producing music with a large variety of instruments within it. I have no doubts that both games would have used multi-track recording to forge all of the instruments into one. Multi-track recording allows the separate recordings of different instruments, for example, to be recording and put in the same place to create one file.The bit-depth of a track is basically the quality of the audio, a high bit-depth could pick up minuscule sounds such as breathing. In terms of these games I believe they would of used a good-quality bit-depth but not so good you can hear the people playing the instruments breathing. Resolution in terms of audio is again how clear the audio is. A poor resolution will sound muffled where as a high quality resolution will sound crisp and clear.The Last of Us is an Action/Adventure Survival Horror game developed by Naughty Dog to be released exclusively for PlayStation 3, there has been a slightly updated version of the game called 'The Last of Us Remastered' which has recently been released for PlayStation 4. The main difference in the Remastered version is enhanced graphics and sound. In terms of recording the main theme to the game Naughty Dog brought in a well known producer, Gustavo Santaolalla who used his experience to produce and compose the piece.
The above video shows Gustavo Santaolalla explaining how he came about music and grew to work in the games industry. It shows clips of the recording process of him directing the orchestra and composing the track. You get to see how the track was made and how much hard work and detail went into the main theme, as well as the other tracks he composed for the game. The main method of recording the track was through an orchestra, due to the amount of instruments there are within the track. In the video you can also see the scale of the recording due to the amount of microphones being used to pick up every element of the track.
The track is the main theme to the game, Gustavo Santaolalla wrote and produced the track specifically for The Last of Us. The piece is the main theme to the song, so it will play when you load the game and possibly during the game too.
This track is in an uncompressed format which would most likely be either a .wav or .aiff file. However I believe it maybe a .smp file due to the orchestral elements of the track. A .smp file is commonly used in orchestral pieces due to it's ability to have different levels to the file, helping with individual instruments.Little Big Planet 3 is the sixth game in the series to be released, however it is the third main title. The other three are spin-offs for either PlayStation 3/4 or PSP/PS Vita. This version however is available only on the PlayStation systems, 3 and 4.
As far as I know Barry Adamson, wrote and composed this piece of music 'Dead Heat'. It features on his album from 1993 as well as being the main soundtrack to Little Big Planet 3. So in terms of the game the song isn't an original piece but I'm sure all of the relative copyright laws have been adhered to.
Again the likleyhood is that 'Dead Heat' is a .wav or .aiff file format track. This is because it originally comes from a CD, where most commonly tracks are saved to these. I would say that it is probably more likely to be a .wav file format as this is a much better format for saving audio files.
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