Proceduralism
Noah Kellman · Oxford University Press eBooks · 2020
When audio is procedural, it is being realized in real time; everything, from musical form to instrumental timbres, from when instruments play to where those instruments positionally belong in the soundscape, is determined only a split-second before the music is created by the processor. In a procedural game score, each of these decisions is made based on the player’s choices. The result is a fully reactive score—one composed on the spot as a direct result of what is happening on-screen. Procedural scoring is becoming more prevalent as a technique; however, it has both advantages and disadvantages. This chapter covers different ways in which procedural scores are being created and applied to games. It discusses how procedural music came about, as well as the future of procedural scoring.