The Best Video Game Feature You’re Not Paying Attention To

Video game music has steadily gained more attention in recent years, but many players still overlook the creative ways these iconic soundtracks are being utilized. Games use music in ways that can’t be achieved in any other medium, and that’s largely thanks to an underrated feature known as adaptive music.

What Is Adaptive Music?

Adaptive music—also known as “dynamic music” and “interactive music”—is a feature that allows a game’s soundtrack to dynamically change in response to your actions or specific in-game events.

Regardless of whether you’re familiar with the term, you’ve likely played at least one game that uses adaptive music. One of the earliest games to feature adaptive music was the 1978 arcade classicSpace Invaders, which features a simple musical loop that gradually speeds up as the attackers move closer to your ship.

Later games would continue to innovate on this idea, with Frogger swapping to a different background song each time you reach the end of the stage, and Wing Commander alternating between various parts of its battle theme to reflect your current actions in combat.

There are two major techniques that games use to deliver adaptive music. The first is horizontal re-sequencing, which involves suddenly swapping from one composition to another. The original Super Mario Bros. features multiple famous examples of this practice, such as the music changes that occur when collecting a Super Star or reaching the flag pole at the end of a stage.

The other prominent technique for adaptive music is vertical remixing. This approach allows songs to add or subtract musical layers during gameplay. You can hear this method in Super Mario World when riding Yoshi, as bongos will start playing alongside the background music until you dismount.

Some adaptive soundtracks combine horizontal re-sequencing and vertical remixing. This approach is rarely used due to its complexity, but it can lead to incredibly varied soundtracks when successfully implemented in games like Just Cause 4.

Over the years, adaptive music has only improved as more developers have added it to their games. Modern implementations of adaptive music aren’t just better, they have also contributed to many of the most creative ideas, cinematic moments, and important innovations in recent games.

Dynamic Soundtracks for Dynamic Worlds

Many of the best examples of adaptive music are extremely subtle, to the point that you likely haven’t noticed them in the games you play. But even when you aren’t aware of its presence, adaptive music can have a massive influence on the way you experience a game.

Although there are many different uses for adaptive music, it’s most commonly used for background music. One of the best examples of this practice can be found in Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge. In the game, you’ll be able to visit a small town called Woodtick and explore its dozens of unique locations.

Woodtick’s theme song can be heard throughout the entire town, but every building you enter features its own variation of the theme. However, rather than abruptly switching to a new version of the song, the background music subtly transitions from one variant to another, allowing the town theme to change without being interrupted.

Monkey Island 2‘s seamless adaptive soundtrack was created using LucasArts’ revolutionary iMUSE music system, which enables in-game music to seamlessly swap between different tracks in response to player actions. The iMUSE system was later utilized in every LucasArts game that followed and set the modern standard for adaptive soundtracks.

Other games have innovated and improved on Monkey Island 2‘s revolutionary adaptive music. Level themes in Banjo Kazooie change their instrumentation whenever you enter a new area, dive underwater, or encounter a boss battle. Likewise, stealth games like Metal Gear Solid and Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory use dynamic soundtracks to reflect enemy alert statuses, making it clear when you’re under attack or under the radar.

Redefining Action Through Audio

Although plenty of games use adaptive music to characterize settings, the feature is used to enhance gameplay. When it’s placed at the forefront, adaptive music can transform any game into a cinematic spectacle.

Games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim have exploration and battle themes that crossfade into each other. Other titles like Ultrakill and Fire Emblem Engage will seamlessly alternate between ambient and combat variants of their soundtracks. Some games will also use adaptive music to swap between multiple combat tracks. Yakuza 0 handles this by allowing you to switch between four different fighting styles on the fly, each of which is backed by its own unique battle theme.

Adaptive music truly shines when it escalates alongside gameplay. Grand Theft Auto V uses this concept brilliantly by incorporating its soundtrack into its wanted system. The game stays silent for the first two-star levels, placing a focus on ambient sounds and the approaching police sirens. Upon reaching three stars, the wanted theme begins with a slow yet tense buildup.

As your crime spree escalates into an explosive five-star pursuit, the music becomes faster, louder, and more layered until you have pulse-pounding guitars and wailing synths fueling your chase.

Apart from being tied to specific gameplay mechanics, adaptive music can also be utilized in scripted sequences to create memorably cinematic moments. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance features some of the most famous examples of a dynamic soundtrack in its boss battles. Each of these fights sports a unique theme song that develops as the fight progresses. Instrumental layers are gradually introduced with each phase of the fight, culminating in the vocals finally kicking in for the final stage.

Each of these examples demonstrate how adaptive music can transform nearly any game into a cinematic experience. Whether it’s through the built-in mechanics of Grand Theft Auto V or the scripted set pieces of Metal Gear Rising, adaptive music allows a game’s soundtrack to interact with the action on-screen in a way that’s rarely seen outside films.

Adaptive music isn’t just for show, and a few games use it to add additional depth to their mechanics. Devil May Cry V and Metal Hellsinger both incorporate adaptive music into their scoring systems. As you perform better in these games, the soundtrack evolves from low instrumental riffs to louder and more energetic vocals, eventually kicking off a bombastic chorus if you reach the highest rank.

Although similar scoring systems have existed in older games—including previous entries in the Devil May Cry series—the dynamic soundtrack becomes an enticing incentive to get better at these games and experience the music at its fullest.

Adaptive Music Makes You The Composer

Rockstar

Although adaptive music is usually designed to transition between premade tracks or layers, some games give players even more control over the soundtrack. Rather than setting off a full song, your actions are tied to brief strings or even a single note. This minimalist design doesn’t just allow you to influence the soundtrack, but also allows you to experience an original song that’s unique to your playthrough.

The Red Dead Redemption series does a fantastic job of tailoring its music to your actions. Rather than cycling through a list of fully composed tracks, the songs you hear while exploring the open world are composed of multiple music stems. Each stem corresponds to a specific action, such as mounting your horse, encountering wild animals, or initiating a gunfight.

When these stems are combined, the result is a song that always seems perfectly crafted for the situation at hand. Whether you’re taking in the scenery or taking cover in a shootout, the adaptive soundtracks of Red Dead Redemption and Red Dead Redemption 2 never fail to create emotional and exhilarating moments.

Most dynamic soundtracks aren’t as complex as the Red Dead Redemption series, but there are other ways games let you control audio through actions. The music in Killer Instinct (2013) constantly adapts to nearly every aspect of gameplay; adding instrumental layers after specific attacks, slowing down for counter-attacks, and even altering the vocals depending on which player is winning.

Arguably the most impressive effect is the game’s “Ultra Combos”, wherein the music perfectly syncs with every attack until the combo is dropped.

No other game handles adaptive music as well as Ape Out. This top-down brawler places players in control of a gorilla who rampages through hordes of heavily armed guards in a series of maze-like levels. Each level is accompanied by a backing track from a drummer, but the rest of the instrumentals are created through your actions.

Cymbals crash when you throw enemies into walls, while the backing drums slow down if you sneak past foes and intensify when facing them head-on. Even the pops of gunfire and explosions blend into the game’s dynamic composition. All these elements of the adaptive soundtrack help Ape Out immerse players in its violent freeform jazz session, creating a musical experience that you won’t find in any other game.

Your Experience, Your Music

Today, it’s hard to find a game that doesn’t have adaptive music. Developers go to great lengths to deliver imaginative settings and captivating action, so it’s no surprise that more games are using adaptive audio to ensure their music is as lively as their worlds.

Beyond that, adaptive music can also add an extra layer of player expression, allowing your playstyle to define the soundtrack. Even if you don’t care about video game soundtracks, keep an ear out for adaptive music the next time you play your favorite games.