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Session Name:

From 'Assassin's Creed' to 'The Dark Eye': The Importance of Themes

Overview:

Through an exploration of her work composing music for games such as Assassin's Creed Liberation, God of War, LittleBigPlanet and the upcoming RPG The Dark Eye: Book of Heroes, composer Winifred Phillips will examine the potential of thematic music to enable a game to stand out as special and unique. By employing musical themes, a composer can infuse a game with a strong sense of character and originality. According to research, music heard during activities is remembered vividly. Coupling this with the innately memorable nature of themes allows a game composer to create an indelible musical signature for any game. This talk will examine composition techniques that extend the life and utility of themes. Variation, development, figures, fragmentation, and motifs will be explored, along with examples of themes in combat, menus, cutscenes, and stingers. Finally, dynamic music construction will be considered, including workarounds to enable effective themes within interactive systems.

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  • GDC 2020
  • Winifred Phillips
  • Generations Productions LLC
  • free content
  • Audio
  • Audio
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