GDC 2025 Session Viewer

We are informed of our world through the nuance of all of our senses: sight, smell, touch, taste, and hearing (reads: sound and music); and actively engaging as many of these elevates an immersive experience through in-world world building and cultural authenticity.

When creatively and intentionally leveraged, diegetic music can bring an entirely new colors of in-world cultural expression. The diegetic music of Star Wars Outlaws works hand-in-hand with the other principles of world building to give the audience more indicators about the diverse worlds they're exploring, the culture of the denizens of those worlds, and the overall setting of the game through subtle creative, production, and implementation decisions.

Embark on a journey of the merits of the diegetic music, world building, and musical authenticity of Star Wars Outlaws with songwriter, composer, and producer Cody Matthew Johnson.

Takeaway

Attendees will take away effective philosophies, practices, techniques, and approaches to fully embracing the immersive, semiotic, and world-building power of diegetic music for games, specifically emphasizing large format open world exploration. Additionally, the careful consideration of cultural audio authenticity in fictitious-yet-terrestrial settings will be discussed at length in regards to its practical application through diegetic music. Also anecdotal examples from past projects will be reviewed comparatively to show diverse capability of diegetic music through additional contexts.

Intended Audience

The intended audience for this session is quite broad - most game developers, not just audio professionals, have much to learn from the creative and practical implementation of diegetic music as a tool for immersive and cultural representation. There is minimal prerequisite knowledge necessary, though anecdotal examples will reference ethnomusicology.