COMPUTER GRANDMA @sfranciotti - Tumblr Blog

Electronic music pioneer Suzanne Ciani talks with Steve Paulson about her electronic music and sound work.

Suzanne Ciani and Xenon

It usually only takes a few notes to recognize the nostalgic 8 bit arpeggios of our favorite childhood games-- the endlessly looping, almost classical compositions that made up the soundtracks to sleep overs and pizza parties. Through the lens of a curious adult, these works inspire more in me than nostalgia. I want to know how it works.

Clunky and fragile, analog methods of sound design only lasted for a few years in the history of gaming music. As the iterative design process pushed the boundaries of the medium, eventually computer chips became the audio standard in gaming. Chiptune (as it became known) is the genre of music that grew from the use of programmable sound generator chips in early gaming consoles and microcomputers. By synthesizing basic waveforms and shaping the attack, delay and release of the resulting waves, early chiptune composers were able to create complex musical works with a limited 3 voice polyphony (for non synth nerd people out there, this means only three sounds could be played at once!)

The ability to manipulate and mimic difficult to capture sounds became a prized and marketable skill within the gaming industry. At the time, there were very few people that possessed the equipment and knowledge to create these soundtracks. One such pioneer was Suzanne Ciani.

Widely known for her new age records and commercial work as a sound designer, Ciani’s expertise with synthesis yielded a broad portfolio of work over the years. Trademarking sounds such as the “coca cola pop and pour” made a name for her as a talented sound designer.

https://youtu.be/ORnlkEWB94w

“Xenon” is one of the first arcade games make use of cutting edge digital sampling and chip tune with sound effects and voice overs performed by Suzanne Ciani herself. Check out the link below to see a brief documentary on her process.

https://youtu.be/sM4YAio2LM4?t=20s

Prototyping a Game in 10 Minutes

As someone who classically has held onto the things I create with white knuckled fists, rapidly churning out an idea and committing to it is an uncomfortable process for me. My first impulse during this exercise was to turn to the strategies I practice within the context of my UX background. I wanted to figure out who our user was (our game's main character), what their goals were, what sort of obstacles they faced in achieving their goals… I grabbed a marker and started writing down ideas on the whiteboard.

We quickly settled on a loose plot line and cyber punk theme for our game: Competing hackers breaking into a server storage facility must overcome various obstacles to get to the central server room. First player to infiltrate the server wins. The overarching aesthetic elements of competition, challenge and sensation began to take shape.

Yet, answering questions of aesthetics left my team little time to consider the mechanics and dynamics of our game. As we continued to discuss our various approaches to the mechanical possibilities, we found that actually mocking it up was the quickest way to find clarity on which ideas worked and which ideas didn’t. By sketching out the game board and moving the game pieces around, we decided on a turn based strategy. Little was solidified outside of that design choice.

Each member of the team brought their intrinsic interests and background to the table, but given the time constraint it seemed as if the loudest voices in the room prevailed— my own included. I wanted to hear more from the larper guy! Next time, I suppose.

Here’s a picture of our intricate and well designed board game: