The Impact of Technical limitations on 8-bit Video Game Audio

Introduction

In 2022, it’s difficult to think of a world without digital sound synthesis or 64bit devices in our pockets (Loyola, 2017) and with music creation being more accessible than ever, innovation born of compromise is less common (Campbell, 2021). The early development of Digital Audio and FM Synthesis through 8 bit machines in the late 70’s and 80’s is an hugely important part of how modern popular music came to be and can be explored through the lens of early video game music. Early 8bit video game music through arcade cabinets and home consoles was integral to the advancement of digital audio and its influence on modern pop, hip hop and metal can still be heard in the mainstream to this day. I initially developed this essay with the idea of exploring exclusively video game music but as it matured it became apparent that the genres it influenced and created became much more phenomenon than the original music and timbres themselves. 8bit video game music’s sphere of influence lays outside convention and can be heard in the majority of popular music we consume today.

8-bit audio Technical Limitations

With videogames beginning to arise in the 70's, the standard form of music storage was on compact cassettes and phonographic records (Cornell University, 2011). These mediums were far too heavy and delicate to be practical for contemporary arcade cabinets with the exception of Journey (Corday, 2022). The compromise was to have a dedicated computer chip that converts electrical charge from computer code to analogue sound through an outboard speaker (The IBM PC speaker, 2022). Due to the monophonic nature of the chips, game audio was extremely limited with some songs being original but most being folk or public domain songs and it wouldn’t be until advances in silicon technology, and costs falling that game audio would carve its own genre (Collins, 2007). During this time the most innovative hardware was the 76477 Complex Sound Generation chip responsible for the dynamic music of Space Invaders (Digital logic implemented with I2L, 2018), The music gaining in intensity the closer the sprites got. Starting out as initially just being Monophonic, Developers and manufacturers began creating more complex independent sound chips that could allow for multiple voices for polyphony. The two main competitors at the time were Nintendo and Commodore, with the latter using the 3 channel MOS Technology 6581 (Cass, 2019) and Nintendo using the Ricoh 2A03 (Retro Game Audio, 2012) which allowed for 5 channels; one would assume that the Ricoh would therefore be better however the first two voices were both square waves and the 5th voice was exclusively for PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) samples which were slowly becoming more popular, most famously for the steel pan heard in Super (Mario Bros. 3 Map Music: SMB3 – World 1 (2011). The main issue with PCM samples was that they would often share channels with other sound effects or music at the same frequency, this had the effect of pausing the rest of the audio until the end of the PCM sample was played, then continuing. Due to the lack of channels on the NES, alot of early NES soundtracks sound very similar as they were in theory all played on the same “instrument”. During this time game audio had begun to start utilising FM Synthesis and for the first time tones could be manipulated to create different timbres and aesthetics rather than being confined to the singular tone built into the chip. The first chip to truly pioneer this was the YM3812 Soundchip by yamaha and FM Synthesis would be featured in every sound chip from yamaha going forward (Yamaha, 2021). This would be first demonstrated in the groundbreaking game from Konami: Gyruss which used five synthesisers and a DAC to recreate J. S. Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor (Hall, 2020)

Limitations and Innovation

The composer of the original Super Mario Bros and Ocarina of Time, Koji Kondo was once quoted as saying that technological advancement in a musical context is a double edged sword, going onto say that the stringent limitations of the NES and 8 bit systems fostered innovation to a degree unrivalled by modern consoles (Kondo, 2009). The limit of around 3-5 channels of audio have led to ground breaking composers such as Kondo, David Wise (Donkey Kong Country) and Nobuo Uematsu (Final Fantasy) to create some of the most iconic and instantly recognisable pieces of music in modern memory. Koji Kondo for example accredits Super Mario’s catchy melodies to the lack of memory held on the NES. Going back to the 5-Channel Ricoh 2A03, composers began treating the chip as a sudo-orchestra for their scores with the first two pulse channels being used to carry melodies and the triangle wave mostly used for bass lines (Dinome, 2020, p.8) . The PCM was designed for sound effects but seldom used due to the amount of memory it would take up. The main issue the Ricoh 2A03 presents is in Harmony, if you were to attempt to create a triad with the first 3 voices, you would have nothing left to carry the melody; so common practise was to have the 1st pulse lay out the melody and have the 2nd play the counter melody while the triangle carried the bassline. What separated the truly innovative composers from the rest of their contemporaries was the their ability to utilise and adapt this structure for adaptive gameplay and think outside of the box; Using Kondo as an example again, not looking to limit his harmonic pallet he would instead use 7ths and 9ths which would often provide more colour and interest (Kondo, 1985). ( This lack of room for harmony led to the creation of a mostly melody driven genre which in turn spawned some of the most iconic and catchy melodies in popular music; an example of this would be Castlevania’s Toccata inspired Heart of Fire (Konami, 1986). American composers, such as brothers Tim and Geoff Follin, rather than accept the limitations,? aimed to circumvent them with clever tricks such as placing the bass and drums on the same triangle wave, therefore giving the illusion of more space and by using the new FM Synthesis that came on the new Konami Cartridges, were able to utilise Glissandos, Pitch bends and panning (Dinome, 2020, p.7). Another great example of this creativity born from limitation would be Rob Hubbard, Composer of the NES classic Commando, he and his team developed a clever way of dynamically reassigning waveforms on the fly, giving the illusion of a much larger soundscape. (Hubbard, 1998)

Influences

As mentioned in the introduction, 8 bit game audio's influence on modern popular music is abundantly clear and can be found in almost all genres. Ignoring the clear influence it had on the development of dedicated sound cards and FM Synthesis (Young, 2012), the actual composition and timbres are the most obvious element carried over. It can be split into two areas, those taking direct influence and those repurposing elements from Video Game Music. The former can be seen in the emergence of Genres such as Chiptune which use old, previously mentioned, soundchips and CPU’s to create music reminiscent of these old soundtracks, see yellow magic orchestra for a popular example (Mower, 2020). The latter example can be seen manifesting itself in many forms, the most prominent being the emergence of “Hip Hop beats” from Kesha’s top selling single of 2010 Tik Tok (Billboard, 2022) to Drake who is famous for sampling early nintendo tracks such as 6 God which used a Donkey Kong Country track quite librally ('Haunted Chase', 2022). Dragonforce, a popular UK power metal band are also famous for being openly influenced by early video game OST.

Peer review

During the peer review process I looked for feedback from people familiar with 8-Bit Video games and those who have no knowledge at all to try and gain an understanding of differing audience opinions on the subject. When speaking to the acquainted, we discussed the transition from 8-bit to 16-bit and the prominence of trackers as primitive DAW software; however this was beyond the scope of this essay. It was when speaking to the un-acquainted that it led me to narrowing down the question from using the word “Early” to being more specific with “8-Bit” as this made the subject more clear and outlined to the audience.

Conclusion

With the evidence provided, it suggests that the reason as to why these 8-Bit soundtracks were so highly thought of was due to the technical limitations imposed, especially on timbre which meant that their pieces had to be melodically and structurally perfect. The prevailing style of soundtracks today being “Cinematic” and drenched in reverb, it allows space for leeway and a lower margin for error, having the unfortunate effect of being potentially forgettable. Nostalgia has definitely had an impact on how we remember these old soundtracks however I believe that due to these technical limitations and lack of reliance on modern hardware, it gave way to creative compromises, instantly recognisable concise melodies and entirely new genres.

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