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Video: Crafting epic, interactive music for Final Fantasy XV

At GDC 2017 Square Enix audio programmer Sho Iwamoto takes the stage stage to explain how the Final Fantasy XV team designed a custom system to allow for interactive music that still sounds epic.

June 27, 2017

1 Min Read
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Implementing interactive music in your game is never easy, especially when you're working within a franchise known for sweeping, epic soundtracks.

At GDC 2017 Square Enix audio programmer Sho Iwamoto took the stage to explain how the Final Fantasy XV team pulled it off. 

Iwamoto broke down how they worked to make an intelligent music system called "MAGI" that allows composers to create music in any tempo or measures, and has customized sync points to make it interactive while remaining epic.

The talk also covered how the Final Fantasy XV sound team created actual music data in their proprietary authoring tools, and issues they faced during implementing them such as synchronization with game scene and looping, fading, etc.

It was fascinating, and now its available to watch (completely free!) over on the official GDC YouTube channel!

About the GDC Vault

In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault and its new YouTube channel offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent Game Developers Conference events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers.

Those who purchased All Access passes to recent events like GDC, GDC Europe, and GDC Next already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscription via a GDC Vault subscription page. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company by contacting staff via the GDC Vault group subscription page. Finally, current subscribers with access issues can contact GDC Vault technical support.

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