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GDC + VRDC 2019 Session Scheduler

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Music in a Sandbox: The Dynamic Music of 'Just Cause 4'

Ronny Mraz  (Technical Sound Designer, Avalanche Studios)

Location: Room 3002, West Hall

Date: Wednesday, March 20

Time: 11:30 am - 12:00 pm

Pass Type: All Access, GDC Conference + Summits, GDC Conference, Audio Conference + Tutorial - Get your pass now!

Topic: Audio

Format: Session

Vault Recording: Video

Audience Level: All

The chaotic sandbox gameplay in 'Just Cause 4' allows for incredibly modular gameplay scenarios where the player could
be doing everything or nothing at any given moment. Such variety in gameplay requires a musical score that can subconsciously communicate non-binary game-states, drive the emotional palette of the experience, and underscore player actions all while giving the feeling of a cinematic action score. This presentation will demonstrate both the technical and creative design aspects of the dynamic music system used in 'Just Cause 4'. It will also provide a postmortem of the advantages and disadvantages of the system as well as how the techniques discussed apply to the broader discipline of game music design.

Takeaway

Attendees will gain insight about how to design music states that seamlessly interact even in the most polarizing of gameplay scenarios, as well as insight about adding modularity in game music design without sacrificing compositional freedom.

Intended Audience

Audio designers, composers, audio programmers, and audio directors will benefit the most from this presentation, but attendees of all disciplines who wish to learn more about the challenges of open world music design will benefit from this talk.