How to Write Music for Video Games

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  • Опубліковано 27 лис 2024

КОМЕНТАРІ • 293

  • @ThinkSpaceEducation
    @ThinkSpaceEducation  Рік тому +15

    Check it out our new course right here - here: thinkspace.ac.uk/courses/how-to-write-video-game-music/
    How To Write Video Game Music is our brand new course and we are super excited about it! If you ever wanted to get started in video game music or you are looking for a new musical challenge this course will give you the essential skills every video games composer needs.
    The course includes our new interactive video technology, MinusONE scoring projects and a vibrant and supportive Discord Community where you can share your work and get feedback from your peers.

    • @ohmygod3390
      @ohmygod3390 10 місяців тому

      this is so amazing.....I will sign up...quick questions...do you guys teach how to use Wwise as well in this course?

  • @frankwales
    @frankwales Рік тому +869

    "You're writing the music for a scene that hasn't been directed yet" is a great way to encapsulate the challenge and the potential in game music

    • @chro.
      @chro. Рік тому +14

      that’s from c418 who made the minecraft soundtrack

  • @Evangelionism
    @Evangelionism Рік тому +298

    I appreciate Guy Michelmore and what he does for the music community so much, and intros like this remind me of why I originally subscribed all those years ago. ❤️

  • @kalvynjr5966
    @kalvynjr5966 Рік тому +172

    The amount of work this man puts into describing specific musical concepts for free is mind boggling!
    Thank you so much for making these amazing videos!

  • @skippyzk
    @skippyzk Рік тому +24

    I've been doing this for 20 years, not professionally, but I'll still watch this because you're so informative

  • @TonyIrayhany
    @TonyIrayhany 8 місяців тому +2

    Funny story 😂: I looked for some tips on composing a videogame for a client. This video was the one which seemed to be great to watch. And then, I saw your face and I was like: "hmmm, this person is very familiar to me but I don't remember who exactly". And when I finally reached the end of video, I was like :" wow, great explainer, he is very familiar to me. There was this great and aged-person I considered as Gandalf for music composer and his name was Guy Michelmore. However, this one have a beard. Guy didn't had a beard at that time"
    When I was going to look for another video, I just looked at the OP name and it ta-da it is Guy Michelmore 😂 I missed your Easy-Go-Ness, I feel I belong with you humably speaking. Thank you for the video Guy! Great work

  • @zypher9690
    @zypher9690 Рік тому +223

    This was super creative! I loved every minute of this. 😊

  • @thomasdevries8558
    @thomasdevries8558 Рік тому +25

    Wonderful! So glad to hear you mention Jason Graves! I went to high school with him and had the pleasure to play music with him! He's really done well for himself and we're all so proud to know him!

    • @ThinkSpaceEducation
      @ThinkSpaceEducation  Рік тому +12

      AHA! Jason is lovely and a phenomenal composer. He does some work with our postgrqad students

    • @thomasdevries8558
      @thomasdevries8558 Рік тому +4

      @@ThinkSpaceEducation A secondary side note... it was fun to find out that years after we both graduated, that we met again professionally before socially. Not long after graduating from university, I started working as an artist for a games company and as I was tasked with making cinematics and needing time on an editing deck locally, imagine my surprise to meet Jason out of the blue. Before games, he was in video production - at least that's my memory from 25 years ago! Since that time, I guess we've both kept with it... the odd fact about this that I want to share is that Jason is a drummer... that was his musical start, and almost everyone else that I've met in game sound and music are also Drummers! Out of 5 people in the audio department, 4 were drummers. Maybe its because there's something about drummers on the east coast... maybe its industry-wide... I think it would be fun to poll anyone that you meet that also has made a career of video game composition and sound design if they were Drummers first. Thanks for all the inspiration and for using Cubase! Cheers!

  • @craigkerr
    @craigkerr Рік тому +12

    This feels like it should be paid content, you wouldn't get quality like this from any college lecturer. I feel inspired to try and compose myself now. Absolutely phenomenal demonstration with a great balance of interactivity as well as tons of useful information. Love it!

  • @MEllOWDPRODUCTIONS
    @MEllOWDPRODUCTIONS Рік тому +28

    7:46 A great example is the music in Mirrors Edge. In that game the composer named Solar Fields really added lots of horizon movement so that the soundtrack feels alive.
    Which makes one song easily around 10 minutes long. How? Well Solar Fields divided the pieces in certain blocks like Guy talks about in this video:
    The first one is just an ambiance, the root of the song like Guy made at 2:45. From there he starts adding and subtracting things so that the song gets lets static.
    The second part is the more "alert" style of the music. In Mirrors Edge this can me you get chased by people or something happens in the narrative that shifts the music.
    The third part can go two different ways, so for the music creation there is an branching path:
    You managed to escape but are now in a building where you have to solve a puzzle by doing parkour or, the chase intensifies to an another level and the music gets more aggressive and got that "hurry up" feeling.
    From there things gets interesting, because again an level can be branched in more different ways. Note that the alternate music always got the same roots as the ambiance, for the track still ahs to feel familiar. But now so familiar that i gets boring. So Solar Fields added lots of modular synthesis to solve that problem(also something you hear in the Doom 2016 OST by Mick Gordon)...!!!
    If you want to hear an example to follow along of what i am talking about, here is a link to one of my most favorite pieces of Solar Fields~
    Hopefully it can you help all out if you want to create your own video game music...!!! Keep on creating D
    Mirrors Edge - Flytrap OST:
    ua-cam.com/video/Kn_fOSl0MGU/v-deo.html

  • @AMB666
    @AMB666 Рік тому +74

    This is absolutely amazing! Very very creative and informative! But I think one of the challenges is to put down a great pieces which doesn't suck or get very boring on lots of repetitions!!

  • @randomizednamme
    @randomizednamme Рік тому +1

    Chopping the end of the bounced audio and moving it to the front blew my mind, so simple!

  • @nolram
    @nolram Рік тому +32

    This is great ! Though being a game composer specifically often also requires a bit of knowledge of the tools used to implement the music into the game - usually FMOD or Wwise - and actually playing the game to understand it and the kinds of interactions one may have in it is also beneficial.

    • @ThinkSpaceEducation
      @ThinkSpaceEducation  Рік тому +17

      Absolutely - as i say at the end its like learning of the rules of chess not becoming a grand master. This is the grammer and synbtax - now go write a novel

  • @kayceparkinson9018
    @kayceparkinson9018 Рік тому +31

    Really had no idea that video game music did some of this. I pick out cross fades and loops when I play one but the vertical layering is really something else entirely that I didn’t even realize. Very neat content this week.

  • @adriansuarez5407
    @adriansuarez5407 Рік тому +2

    Less than a minute in and this man has already earned all of my respect. So well done.

  • @JoshwaLaw
    @JoshwaLaw Рік тому

    Maaaan, I've gone 28 years of my life not understanding how exactly they transition music like this in games, and this finally explained it so very well 👏😁 absolutely fantastic job explaning it and showing it all off! Also incredible intro section haha

  • @McCartyRec
    @McCartyRec 3 місяці тому

    watched 3 minutes of this, and I got my answer already! thanks! This video is a gem

  • @particlese
    @particlese Рік тому

    I'd preemptively donned my sunglasses of doubt having, as a gamer, seen years of marketing bonanzas wherein composers are given about 8 seconds to spill the beans that their game has a custom Dynamic Music System™ (like many others), or simply has music which (gasp!) makes you feel stuff and things. I should have expected better from you, but here I was with the glasses.
    This was great! Sincerely entertaining _and_ educational as usual. I figured it must be more complicated than I realized, and having this concrete peek at the process gives me even more appreciation for this version of the art. And of course your intro was great fun, even for me with my acute zombie game allergy. :)

  • @LeeGee
    @LeeGee Рік тому

    Friday afternoon: off work, cup of tea, a new Guy Michelmore video --- happy days!

  • @BusyCasual
    @BusyCasual Рік тому +2

    I haven't finished the video yet but as an aspiring composer who is working with her roommate on their first project, that intro was fantastic.

  • @max6419
    @max6419 Рік тому +5

    You are one of my absolute favorite music educators on UA-cam. You are so knowledgeable and have such a great way of conveying the matter.
    Absolutely love your videos!

  • @MitehMusic
    @MitehMusic Рік тому

    Guy, could listen to you talk all day. Please continue to make content

  • @DreMusicPro
    @DreMusicPro Рік тому +1

    As always: a great video, Guy! I'd like to add: you don't necessarily have to compose to a scene that hasn't been directed. I like to ask for the installer file, or gameplay footage, and score to that because I think finding the "pace" in those scenes is important. If they don't/can't provide the installer, and I'm having trouble coming up with something, then I'll grab a snippet of a scene from another game that I think captures what I want to write, and then compose to that scene. For anyone interested in composition for video games Winifred Phillip's "A Composer's Guide to Game Music" is a solid learning tool!

  • @Gomorrha21
    @Gomorrha21 Рік тому +4

    Great explanation, Guy. Shows some insight how video game composers have to think - scoring a game you probably not even know too much about, yet the composer knows the players will probably listen to this music a lot (so it has to be neither too boring nor too much in the foreground, being too annoying - which is a nother hurdle to take care of),
    And even thinking back to the very old days makes me kinda shiver even more, where all you got was a couple of oscillators with basic wave forms, and perhaps a noise channel (plus limited space), where bleeps and bloops had to make the same hoops (verticality could probably only done if you kinda juggle the instruments using those few channels. I like to think about those fast-paced arpeggios back on the C64 and 8-bit console days; like the Mega Man soundtracks on the NES), because you had limited resources. Which required the composer to be really creative then, also with the horizontal thing of making loops connecting to itself or other loops nicely.

    • @ThinkSpaceEducation
      @ThinkSpaceEducation  Рік тому +5

      Well a friend of mine is scoring a new game for gameboy using all the old chips. Nostalgia city!

  • @This__Is__True__Beats
    @This__Is__True__Beats Рік тому

    Every Guy Michelmore vid he puts out, puts a smile on my face....reminds me to ease up when making beats

  • @earlsfield
    @earlsfield Рік тому

    I am working on music, sound design and integration of the sound in games for more than 20 years. Whings changed somewhat, but pretty much everything you say is true. First, composer must understand itnteractive element of the game. Second, people have to understand and grasp non linearity as well as generative audio - and I am not talking about droning ambience, but re-using existing file for multiple different purposes. Third, people should ge middleware out there for free and try to create music and sfx and them program it (there are bunch of free projects, you can find Fmod and Unity projects). Practice a lot. Layer a lot. Have fun.

  • @yorique2267
    @yorique2267 Рік тому +2

    I can’t put into words how much I appreciate this video

  • @vortex_all9055
    @vortex_all9055 Рік тому

    this guy is the best human being to ever walk this planet

  • @DanIel-fl1vc
    @DanIel-fl1vc Рік тому

    The first 5 minutes of this was really useful, in games where each scene has one track of music and it's not changing depending on what's happening. You just got to cut off the intro and then loop the rest of the song indefinitely.
    So render the music to audio. Cut off the intro, then make sure a few extra bars are rendered at the end so it can loop into the cut seamlessly. Bookmarking this video for future reference!

  • @shadowdemonaer
    @shadowdemonaer Рік тому +1

    The start was long but surprisingly, it kept me interested the whole time. Very well done.

  • @tgr9857
    @tgr9857 Рік тому

    We all know we’ve been waiting for this

  • @LesusGames
    @LesusGames Рік тому

    You sir, are the greatest music tutorial UA-camr ever.

  • @HarshRyan
    @HarshRyan Рік тому +1

    Sir you're a musical genius like hans zimmer. A true gem ❤ for young producers who want to learn about filmscore music.

  • @g.p616
    @g.p616 Рік тому +2

    This video is the most informative, succinct, revealing and practical introduction to game music composition the world has ever seen! A master communicator, thanks👍.

  • @notbanditatall
    @notbanditatall 6 місяців тому +1

    watched the full thing, wonderfully explained and showcased, loved all the effort put in, very very informational!

  • @markaitkenguitar
    @markaitkenguitar Рік тому

    Like watching Dr. Frankenstein give a lecture on his creation. It’s alive! Brilliant.

  • @ozzyg82
    @ozzyg82 Рік тому

    I’ve been playing The Last Of Us 2 recently - and was tuning into just this kind of thing, the way the music is cued at certain points, the way it fades, changes, is used to foreshadow - and have been intrigued by how well the score responds and interacts with my choices. So interesting!

  • @ChannelWaldo
    @ChannelWaldo Рік тому

    Smart, someone hooked you up with the idea of consistent high quality content.. it’ll work well for you

  • @Ajoura
    @Ajoura Рік тому

    How to write music for video games:
    *Step 1:* Find anyone who is even interested in your music, not in popular names.
    *Step 2:* Realize it's impossible. Assume fetal position and rot away unnoticed.
    There, it's done. Great success!

  • @nicolasgarcia1990
    @nicolasgarcia1990 Рік тому

    21 minutes of pure gold

  • @Eichro
    @Eichro Рік тому +2

    I love dynamic music in games, but let's be real: you can do just as well by making static straight up dope music instead. As long as it loops.

  • @MiroslavDrahos
    @MiroslavDrahos Рік тому

    Wow, a channel of Guy playing videogames would get my instant sub.

  • @RichardJacques
    @RichardJacques Рік тому +8

    Hi Guy hope you're well. Great video to introduce people into video game composition! Just a thought from my side, I've been using these type of techniques for over 20 yrs now, and although they are useful for some type of games they can also get very musically boring for the player. This depends hugely on the type of game and the way the player may or not play through said game. Your zombie game example is a great example of scoring interactively, i.e. what we can do with interactive music and middleware, but just to put a counter point of view out there: what if the player is going from stealth, to action, to stingers in a short space of time ? (ie 20 or 30s)? This sounds like a musical mess! What if the player plays more stealth but another player plays more action / combat driven? Therefore the music can sound too "AI driven" if we're not careful, and it's like there is a virtual mix person in the box frantically switching musical states. My point is: just because we can, does that mean we should? There are definitely places for these techniques but I also advise composers to look at a particular scene / segment of gameplay / mission from a high level point of view as to what the composer is trying to achieve from a creative and aesthetic point of view, and then work out how to create this in an interactive environment. It's always a fine balance between having the technical tools at our disposal versus the creative and musical tools about how we approach a game. And of course every game is different! :) RJ

    • @ThinkSpaceEducation
      @ThinkSpaceEducation  Рік тому +5

      Richard how nice to hear from you! ( Hey everyone - when at the end I say I'm just explaining the rules of chess but I'm no grand master - Richard is a Grand MASTER) You are 100% right and I have recently heard almost the same thing when speaking to Jason Graves and Will Roget. Ill email you and we should arrange a chat about this for our MA students.

    • @biborkaos7069
      @biborkaos7069 Рік тому

      I wasn’t expecting to run into your comment here, just wanted to say your presentation this month was really helpful, got the game for my birthday. Also, these are all really great advices, will keep in mind for future projects. By the way, do you have any tips for composing cello and double bass parts?

  • @danielrichmond5662
    @danielrichmond5662 Рік тому

    This was extremely helpful! I'm a senior in game design (art side), working on my thesis. Have a big background in music, but I never really knew how games went about music comp. This is really gonna save my butt, because music from our previous years theses have been so abhorrently uncared about!

  • @cusimusic1202
    @cusimusic1202 Рік тому

    It feels like im dissecting how dota 2 made their transition on their music with the horizontal and vertical directions, actually so cool

  • @ember-moonglow
    @ember-moonglow Рік тому

    Oh, wow, I wonder why UA-cam shared this with me. Its tooootally not like I have been enlisted by my partner to write the music for their video game or anything /s. Thanks for tue useful resource, this will certainly assist me in my production!

  • @jamesdanko9874
    @jamesdanko9874 4 місяці тому

    I am loving your content Guy!! I just found your channel yesterday, and I’ve must have watched like 10-15 of your vids! They’re both educational, inspiring, and just fun, I love your energy and personality

  • @DarnKatarn
    @DarnKatarn Рік тому

    I love your channel. Most of the content isn't necessarily new to me, but you're one of the few who've captured my attention, and I'll watch to support you! Thank you for everything you do for the community!
    -Cheers

  • @paopis
    @paopis Рік тому +1

    This is one of the best episodes ever! Thanks a lot for this one! ❤

  • @EpicbubbleNITE
    @EpicbubbleNITE Рік тому

    how have i never discovered you??? you are a hidden gem of a channel. this video reminds me of tom scott's videos lool

  • @OfficiallyChris
    @OfficiallyChris Рік тому

    So for this upcoming year I’m gonna be doing game dev and I got offered to try to get music for this lil game this definitely helped a lot to understand and I’m glad you mentioned Jason graves I went to go search him and found he composed music for one of my favorite games untill dawn I can’t wait to get started with composing ❤

  • @nigelbrown3658
    @nigelbrown3658 Рік тому +3

    A topic I’ve been waiting for. Thank you

  • @teoriamusicalesupereasy-jo3783

    Always inspiring. Your creativity in music is matched only by your child-like imagination, the one you use every time you have to come up with an idea for a video. 👌🏼

  • @MarcShake
    @MarcShake Рік тому

    okay. Top Production Level. Not just musicwise but storywise, too.

  • @salliemorrill2671
    @salliemorrill2671 Рік тому

    Guy, really appreciate your time and effort w/this vid! On LinkedIn, video games companys are looking for audio engineers at large numbers. It's mindblowing to me, bc I grew up using razor blade editing, & now computers are so ubiquitous that we have a multitude of areas in audio engineering to investigate for employment. Your vid helped me to see how it is done. Thank you.

  • @EsenEspinosa
    @EsenEspinosa Рік тому

    You deserved a like just for that introduction. WELL DONE.

  • @darrenifyouask
    @darrenifyouask Рік тому +3

    Rah this video editing is SERIOUS. 10/10!! Great explanation of gaming topic. I like how you was inside the 🎮 . I could visualise what you was speaking about

  • @Trayzonne
    @Trayzonne Рік тому

    Ableton Live has an export option for seamless loops without having to do all the things you did in the video, great content thank you for sharing!!

  • @agucci
    @agucci Рік тому +1

    Such a fascinating explanation of the challenges and how to overcome them!

  • @kenb6870
    @kenb6870 Рік тому

    This is one of my dreams! I really appreciate you, Guy, for this segment, explaining how this works! Thank you!

  • @TiniLShadesofTL
    @TiniLShadesofTL Рік тому

    So blessed to have found this video. Yes, this video is very useful. I will be starting a music for video game course soon and your video has certainly given me many pointers as a head start. Thank you.

  • @chrispysaid
    @chrispysaid Рік тому

    That was a lovely intro. I usually hate intros, they're pointless and extraneous. This one was on point though, very well done.

  • @PandiPoo
    @PandiPoo Рік тому

    Currently creating a horror game audio library for the final project of my degree, this was so helpful!

  • @skippyzk
    @skippyzk Рік тому +2

    In the new unreal engine 5, there's a thing called metasounds, they make it easy to only play certain music tracks for different gameplay scenarios, like battle and low health.

  • @michalkulhanek230
    @michalkulhanek230 Рік тому +1

    This is amazing! Please do more content for video games :> We game devs need this content as much as cooks need salt for cooking!

  • @ChopieTheCat
    @ChopieTheCat Рік тому +1

    Amazing video. Quality was very high as well as informative and entertaining all in one!
    The beginning intro was top notch though and very creative.
    Saving your video and channel for when I start composing.

  • @squishrabbit
    @squishrabbit Рік тому +8

    Would love to see a breakdown of how Wwise / fmod work 👍

  • @tommyvercetti2836
    @tommyvercetti2836 Рік тому

    Maaaaaaan you read my mind!!! That's what I need right now! Love it!

  • @JasonSeymore
    @JasonSeymore Рік тому

    This. Is. Gold. THANK YOU!!!

  • @Shanluki
    @Shanluki Рік тому

    Best video about music production i've ever seen. Very well explained.

  • @stefanul
    @stefanul Рік тому

    you are currently my favorite youtuber

  • @woegarden
    @woegarden Рік тому

    great video, i was recently approached with some work for an indie game and this has been invaluable in trying to figure out the structure of everything

  • @t33h33studio
    @t33h33studio 3 місяці тому

    This was exhilarating! And eye opening!

  • @piyasirimusicproduction
    @piyasirimusicproduction 5 місяців тому

    This is bloody awesome! I actually had no idea that it was done this way! ❤

  • @skippyzk
    @skippyzk Рік тому +1

    13:40
    Horrifying!
    Such a contrast from your nice warm relaxing voice hahaha

  • @DDayter
    @DDayter Рік тому

    haha that intro was awesome! Very great video as always!

  • @korg47237
    @korg47237 Рік тому

    I had no idea about that looping trick to make it sound natural wow, awesome stuff

    • @ThinkSpaceEducation
      @ThinkSpaceEducation  Рік тому +1

      Well it was Stephen Baysted (Project Cars, Fast and Furious) who showed me that

  • @stevesoucy5932
    @stevesoucy5932 Рік тому

    Awesome video as always, Guy! Love your humor throughout.

  • @mrc404
    @mrc404 Рік тому

    Forever grateful for your content, and you.

  • @beho1010
    @beho1010 Рік тому

    I don't know why, 1 minute into the video, felt like I should check out other videos and subscribe! Love the way you present your video 😁

  • @BlackMatt2k
    @BlackMatt2k Рік тому

    Guy could have found Twitch footage in his slippers, but instead simulated a video game using aerial photography in the middle of December. Unparalleled dedication.

  • @mxclvre
    @mxclvre Рік тому

    Best information I've found on this so far!

  • @beadlesastout
    @beadlesastout Рік тому

    Star citizens music is using a new system of blending one piece of music into another at any point and have them blend together in a natural way without snaps or fades. The music adapts and has to be written in a way that allows blends at any point. So at any time a fight starts the music will change in a very natural way as though they are written that way.

  • @marcyd700
    @marcyd700 Рік тому

    This is great, Guy. Really tells me what I need to consider as a composer for this medium.

  • @kenroy916
    @kenroy916 Рік тому

    Oh my god I love this guy!!

  • @gamivibes
    @gamivibes Рік тому

    this video was so cool

  • @ilfantasticobananajothesci3922

    and we are given this for free - thank you

  • @Doctorstrass
    @Doctorstrass Рік тому

    Hi Guy ! Thank you so much for your detailed videos, they have been a really useful source of knowledge ! much love from Belgium

  • @Fender2300DC
    @Fender2300DC Рік тому

    This video is brilliant!! You went above and beyond, thanks for explaining all of this in such detail :D Thank you

  • @romanograsnick
    @romanograsnick Рік тому

    Thanks a lot for the lightning tour, Sir. That will help me a lot when doing music for my games. I will use it to illustrate the danger in a realm were you need to whisper and to be quiet. Keep up the good work :D

  • @Mental_Power_Music
    @Mental_Power_Music Рік тому +1

    wow. Love the energy. such a great explanation as always. I didn't think I was interested in game music, but this is very useful and interesting. and I remember when you split the tea, when reading the news.

  • @adamfrechette8449
    @adamfrechette8449 Рік тому

    And just like that I want to see Guy make music for games lol. Great work as usual.

  • @krishanu2009
    @krishanu2009 Рік тому +1

    Wao! I was just looking for this video and was struggling to create a perfect loop out of a short theme! and you dropped it….. Thanks Guy, you are always the guy❤❤. I wish to talk to you someday.. 🙏

    • @ThinkSpaceEducation
      @ThinkSpaceEducation  Рік тому +5

      I should do another live sometime - yes loops are surprisingly tricky

    • @tomhick5372
      @tomhick5372 Рік тому +1

      @@ThinkSpaceEducation I've been hoping to see a live for ages!

    • @ThinkSpaceEducation
      @ThinkSpaceEducation  Рік тому +3

      @@tomhick5372 Ill see what. can do

    • @tomhick5372
      @tomhick5372 Рік тому +1

      @@ThinkSpaceEducation Brilliant! Would you ever consider doing a video about Dorico/writing notation from a DAW?

  • @tobiasw2032
    @tobiasw2032 Рік тому

    that intro was amazing!!!

  • @LBJedi
    @LBJedi Рік тому

    I learn SO MUCH every time I watch! Thank you😊

  • @Alexwtstn
    @Alexwtstn Рік тому

    14:00 Outlast (horror game from 2013) actually programmed their music exactly like that!! It was fascinating to me at the time when I didn't know anything about vgm production

  • @High-Tech-Geek
    @High-Tech-Geek Рік тому

    Love it! Thanks for this great info, Guy!

  • @NoVIcE_Source
    @NoVIcE_Source Рік тому

    this is so well explained

  • @roogrey
    @roogrey Рік тому

    Fascinating! Thanks, Guy; superb as ever.

  • @dizbeefpvdizbeliefdizzy3612

    This is mind blowing would love to make music for games. Thanks so much