From the one-bit beeps of Pong to the 3D audio of PlayStation 5, this book examines historical trends in video game sound and music. A range of game systems sold in North America, Europe and Japan are evaluated by their audio capabilities and industry competition. Technical fine points are explored, including synthesized v. sampled sound, pre-recorded v. dynamic audio, backward compatibility, discrete and multifunctional soundchips, storage media, audio programming documentation, and analog v. digital outputs. A timeline chronicles significant developments in video game sound for PC, NES, Dreamcast, Xbox, Wii, Game Boy, PSP, iOS and Android devices and many others.

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Dr. Christopher Hopkins has been interested in video game music since an early age, playing video games on the NES, Genesis, and PlayStation with his two brothers. He learned to play the piano at age 7 from The Miracle Piano Teaching System, a piano teaching computer program for Mac computers. Dr. Hopkins taught high school and university courses in music and game development at SUNY Suffolk, Long Island University, Farmingdale State College, and Five Towns College. He developed the first university courses in video game music for Long Island University and Five Towns College. Christopher is a regular guest presenter at the Long Island Retro Gaming Expo. The independent game festivals IndieCade East, New Jersey Arcade, and Playcrafting NYC Summer Expo featured his original mobile games.

Dr. Hopkins holds a doctorate in Music History and Literature from Five Towns College, with certifications in Wwise from Audiokinetic and Composing Music for Film and Games from Berklee College of Music. His doctoral dissertation, Chiptune Music: An Exploration of Compositional Techniques as Found in Sunsoft Games for the Nintendo Entertainment System and Famicom From 1988-1992, available from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, is a landmark work in honoring the composers and their songs which defined early game music through interviews and complete soundtrack transcriptions. His interview subjects include Masashi Kageyama, composer of Gimmick! for the Famicom, Jake Kaufman, composer of Shantae for the Game Boy Color, and Joe Calomino, director of VideoSmarts at Connor Toy Corporation. He regularly sings and plays the piano in his concert series in the New York and Long Island areas with songs from the Great American Songbook, Broadway, and video game music. Christopher is a music director and organist at various churches on Long Island, New York.

Learn more about Dr. Hopkins at www.christopherjhopkins.com