Music and game design a match made in heaven

In the last weekend I managed to get to the state of Florida (Orlando, FL to be exact) where for the first time I started the engine for my near future, that from this moment on is almost decided (Masters degree on Game Design at Full Sail University). Although one of the most important aspects of my time in Florida was to get info and insight on what I want to study for my masters degree, I also went to a lot of places and had lots of fun. One of those places I went was a piano store near Florida mall where an awesome guy treated us very nicely as he showed us all the different pianos he had. One of them particularly got my attention. It was a piano/sound console/studio combo. the guy showed up this device by playing music along with some drums loops. He also emulated different instruments such as guitars, bass, choirs and even an entire orchestra. He played rock, jazz, classic, blues and even tropical music.

Sonic Adventure music is a cool mix of alternative rock and hip hop

That's when it hit me. As the guy kept playing I actually stopped paying attention to him and went into some kind of trance. I was lost in thought, I was still listening to the music but instead of watching him play I was in my mind creating a scene for a game. As the tunes followed I thought of everything. I remember it was an rpg game scene. The camera flew trough a small village where the main character was getting near the village. The grass was a little tall around the village (around knee height) but once passed the main gate it was all nice and rustic, The houses were made of wood but were very elegant some having 2 floors. In the middle of the village there was a statue of a soldier with an awesome abstract shaped spear on his hand, but this soldier was not human, it was sort of a dragon/beast hybrid, maybe a hero of the past. On the back of the village a huge windmill could be seen and people were everywhere selling stuff on small booths, children playing and others just minding their own business. There was a small cool breeze that I could even feel on my face as my imagination easily created this world for me. The hero was walking trough the village when the music stopped and I went out of my trance.

Nobuo Uematsu's band. Nobuo is the creator of most of the music heard in the Final Fantasy saga (except for 11 and 12)

It was then when I realized that the best way to come with ideas for a videogame (ideas like places, characters, script, levels, plot events, etc) come easier with music. I discovered that all these years all my ideas came from music and developed from there. I must admit that I see everything around me as a cinematic experience. I hear music in my head everytime something happens be it a sad, happy, dramatic, heroic, exciting or funny moment my brain processes it all as if it were a game or a movie. Funny thing is that when I go back to real life and I see that there is no music to enhance the mood regardless of what happens I feel that the event is dull and colorless. Call me crazy if you like, but that is how my creative engine works.

Castlevania: Symphony of The Night has one of the most beautiful soundtracks in the gaming world

To get into some details lets decompose a melody and see what affects what, first comes the pitch. The pitch of the melody defines the entire mood of the scene as I create it. Low pitch can be a dramatic or sad scene maybe a scene presenting the bad guys while a mid tone can reflect a calm scene and high tones mean tension, effort, confrontation, and in some cases a funny scene. The tempo of the melody gives me an idea of the speed of the action so it could be a character slowly walking, it could be the character riding a horse to his/her destination, the characters riding a hover craft, spaceship or even a dragon all this depends on the speed the notes are played.

An entire orchestra, it is a beautiful sight

The instruments that are played in the melody deeply help to make that visualization I am looking for. For example violins can reflect a refined environment or a refined character for example an aristocrat, an elegant villain or something gothic. Electric guitars could mean an exciting scene or cool character (like Sega did with Sonic the hedgehog in Sonic Adventure where they gave him a nice alternative rock song that gave the character this cool and young attitude).
This way the instruments give a great deal of material if the listener is sensitive to it (and has heard a lot of music linking melodies to different experiences in life). Also more instruments mean a lot more concentrated feelings that is why I personally prefer orchestras as they feature lots of different instruments and opens even more doors in my imagination than popular music does. On the other hand, if I have to chose a solo instrument to give it a shot at certain parts of the creative process I'd choose a piano because of its versatility in conveying feelings (especially for sad and dramatic events, conversations, etc)

The classic grand piano

So, to summarize everything that was previously discussed in this article, the pitch, tempo and music instruments can be used to make a world inside of the game designer's head. Different melodies, different music genres they all have something to offer. All this was learned from a simple visit to a piano store and it has changed the way I approach game design in all means. As a candidate for game design now I know that this technique will help me a lot in the near future and I will make the most out of it, so now I put my headphones on and write away creating worlds in a faster, more efficient and fun way.

Favorite types of music to ignite my creativity: (I like them all but these are the top of the line)
-Orchestral music
-Japanese music
-Rock and Heavy Metal
-Rock Opera
-Piano concerts
-Folk, Tropical, Choir groups
-Techno and trance