Affective Expression in Computer Generated Music and its Effect on Player Experience

In games, unlike in traditional linear storytelling media such as novels or films, narrative events unfold in response to the player input. Therefore, the music composer in an interactive environment needs to create music that is dynamic and non-repetitive. We investigate how to express emotions and moods in music and how to apply this research to improve player experience in games. The main novelty in our approach, compared to most algorithmically generated music research, is our focus on affective and cognitive modelling, coupled with real-time adjustment of the music. This focus on the emotional meaning that procedurally generated music should express has also been identified by Collins as one of the lacking features that prevent procedurally generated music to be more widely used in the game industry [1].