As PG Connectsattests, the interplay between the mobile games markets in the east and west is on the minds of many developers.
Those in the west are looking to tap into new markets in the east and, conversely, many in the east are looking to break out in the western powers.
One thing both developers in both Asia and North America and Europe need to accomplish their goals, however, is a quality game that engages players.
South Korean outfit Bigband is well aware of this fact, having composed music for games launched in both eastern and western markets.
We recently caught up with Bigband's marketing director Henry S. Jung to talk about the role of music in mobile games and how Bigband helps deliver this to developers.
Pocket Gamer: What's Bigbands approach to composing music for mobile games?
Henry S. Jung: There is a need to think first about role of music in game before saying limiting it to a platform like mobile.
In case of a film, for example, selecting what music will play is just a part of allowing emotions to erupt by stimulating the audiences auditory sense along with the contents thats seen on screen.
Taking this one step further from a movie, interaction in game is very important in that it varies the progression within a game based the choices a player makes. Game music plays a role of helping this.
Bigband listens to game developer's opinion, but first it thinks simultaneously about the position of the player who comes directly to a game in order to enjoy it.
What challenges do you face in composing music for western games?
All of the composers and sound designers at Bigband carefully examine a game that was made in foreign country first and approach it with a sense of curiosity about which music in it was made and how.
Often, we do this for domestic games well.
In Western game music, for example, the so-called "Epic Orchestration" style is widely used and so this genre came to be popular through many pieces heard in the the domestic MMORPG market as well.
But we've noticed that the value of Western music isn't just from this "classical" style. It also comes from the modern expression of folk music, which you'll hear in Angry Birds.
Every time we come to listen to this unique music, it challenges us to become more innovative but also strengthens our desire to express South Korea's traditional melody in game at the same time.
Music, like most art, is very subjective. How do you work with developers to make sure they're happy with the direction you choose for a game's audio?
Bigband strives to pursue open communication.
It's common for many Korean game developers to ask external audio-specialized studios like Bigband to work on a project. Outsourcing is an economical approach that's conducive to reducing costs and expenditures.
Still, there are cases when it's difficult for developers to understand a musician's thought process or when musicians don't understand the methods by which most developers work.
As mentioned previously, Bigband thinks that interaction with a player is important than anything and we like to give notice to developers who dont understand this point. In other words, we like to approach developers about what was experienced by us in a game as players and not musicians.
Using this approach, many developers have sympathized with what we felt and are satisfied with the end result.
Those interested in learning more about Bigband's approach can visit its (Korean) website.
