A Beautiful Song – The Adaptive Music of NieR: Automata
This article was originally published on June, 25th 2017. Because we’re lovingly obsessed with this game, we decided to republish it in celebration of the launch of NieR: Automata Game of the YoRHa Edition. The incredible use of adaptive music alone makes it one to remember.
There’s something special about NieR: Automata. Developed by Platinum Games and released in 2017, NieR: Automata is a sequel to the cult classic game NieR (Cavia, 2010). Set thousands of years in the future, NieR: Automata is an action role playing game where the player takes control of androids 2B, 9S and A2. Their aim is to rid the earth of alien machines and pave the way for the last humans, who have settled on the moon, to return to earth. Keichii Okabe, the composer for NieR/NieR: Automata and the Drakengard series, uses adaptive music re-scored from previous games, aiming to induce emotions within the player-character connection.
NieR: Automata (NieR) uses a variety of game play styles, tapping into many game genres and moving the player between: different third person camera angles, side scrolling platforms, 3D open world movement, 2D movement, shoot ’em ups, and bullet-hell styles. Therefore, the music must adapt to communicate the game’s ever-changing intentions and fluctuating characters’ emotions, to the player, during these multiple game play types and interweaving narratives.In 2016, Keichii Okabe’s comments on the music in NieR, before its release, reaffirmed this idea:
“A character may feel sad during a battle, and usually a battle sequence would have fierce music, but for NieR, if the character feels sad, I made sure to have that kind of feeling in that fierceness.”
NieR puts a greater focus on player-character advancement, and overall moods and emotions. Players participate in critical game story moments as opposed to passively watching a scripted cut-scene, deepening their sense of, and actual involvement in, larger narrative plots. An example of this is the fight against the Abandoned Amusement Park boss, Simone, who looks like a machine that has crafted itself into a giant opera singer. The introductory cutscene to this fight is a mere 30 seconds long; Simone screams diegetically at the introduction of a non-diegetic vocal line, throwing the player full force into a boss battle. The player has already learnt the basics of combat — why would a boss receive a longer introduction/tutorial when the player already has the tools they need? To explain, diegetic refers to sound or music that originates from within the game/film world, like speech, whereas non-diegetic sound is only ‘known’ to the player and originates from outside of the world — like a soundtrack.
The music accurately reflects the speed in which the player enters combat; beginning with soprano vocal lines of unidentifiable language which mix with Simone’s diegetic speech, driving violin lines and relentless timpani accompaniment portraying both the desperation of Simone to be beautiful, and of 2B and 9S to overcome this machine adversary.
This reflective use of music grants the player control of the game story’s emotional high-points, instilling a greater sense of achievement when the player defeats a boss. In the case of Simone, it’s because they’re more physically involved with the game and its surrounding adaptive soundtrack.
NieR is essentially a true video game, as opposed to an interactive film. What I mean by interactive film comes from contemporary Hollywood’s influence on the approach to developing modern video game, causing them to become gradually more cinematic and cut-scene heavy. For example, games such as Horizon: Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games, 2017) are excellent open world action role playing games (RPGs) which use cut-scenes and ‘cinematics’ to create breath-taking visuals. Unfortunately, although this works for controlling the narrative, it misses the opportunity to reward players for the countless hours they’ve put in. They’re already emotionally invested; let them be the hero their game play is crying out for.
NieR’s use of adaptive music to attempt to immerse a player in character emotions and general story moods means there’s no threat of it becoming another interactive film. This is achieved by using vertical layers that turn on or off cues of material in the game world. This works at its triumphant, most noticeable best with area themes, where the focus is on adapting each theme to a quiet, medium, and dynamic version that all run both with, and without vocals.
What’s interesting about this approach is that the adaptiveness is not randomised to create variety, but is scripted to change depending on where the player is in the story. The quiet area music occurs when the player first discovers each area, identifying with the player’s basic knowledge of this land type. As time and narrative progresses, certain cues are turned on to adapt the music into its medium or dynamic variations. What this gives the player is a sense of momentum as they progress through the game, gaining more experience with the world and its characters; connecting players with the gained experience of the characters in their control.
‘Quiet’ plays only the cue’s accompaniment, ‘medium’ usually introduces the overarching theme, and ‘dynamic’ introduces the countermelody, increasing the instrumentation and rhythmic patterns. The vocals are added to any variation, acting as a countermelody and emotional height, causing the subsequent music to appear as accompaniment while the voice takes centre stage. What is noticeable about this adaptiveness is its relation to the player and where they are in the narrative and game world.
In terms of game play and soundtrack, NieR is highly regarded and adored by players for being brilliantly made and implemented. The entire game is incredibly focused on player engagement, both physically and emotionally, through adaptive music and game play.
Jennifer Smith is a final year Ph.D. candidate studying Ludomusicology (video game music) at the University of Huddersfield. She has researched the effects of immersion and flow on a player’s emotional and physical connection to the game world and its characters. Jennifer’s current research considers the voice as a worldbuilding tool, looking at the effectiveness of the sung voice when forming player identities.
