It is software such as this that provides a conceptual basis and a precursor for the emulation of the sound generating circuits for the use of musical production. These systems aim to accurately emulate the complete behaviour of a video game system, including graphics, user input, physics engine and sound generation. Sound chips from various video game consoles and arcade machines have been emulated successfully for many years in emulators such as MAME (Multi-Arcade Machine Emulation) and MESS (Multiple Emulator Super System). In recent years, the rise in the computing power available to consumers has made the emulation of non-host computer systems a reality in regards to a faithful reproduction. On the other hand, the hardware can hold a symbolic strength for many persons involved with chiptune music, from nostalgia to anti-consumerism. On the one hand, it is the original hardware that provides the musicians with a unique-sounding tool for the creative process. The importance of hardware within the chiptune genre can be viewed as being at least two-fold in nature. “In the late 90s, development tools (compilers, flash carts, etc) became available and it's just natural that music software development started immediately.” As explained by the programmer of the well-known Gameboy music program Nanoloop, Oliver Wittchow : The availability of accessible software development tools in the late twentieth century for obsolete consoles such as the Gameboy helps to explain the growing number of programs and subsequently users that the scene has enjoyed in the last decade. It should be noted that hardware and software development within the field of chiptune continues into the present day. Recent software utilities neither authorised nor endorsed by first or third party corporations are used in the process.Įxamples of consoles that have been extensively explored include the Nintendo Entertainment System, the Nintendo Gameboy and the Commodore 64. This paper will examine the field of modern chiptune– being the composition and performance of present-day electronic music on obsolete videogame hardware. This paper will explore the role and the importance of authenticity within the chiptune genre of the early twenty-first century.Ĭonversely, the function that this authenticity serves within the genre will be contrasted against the advantages afforded by the emulation of video game sound chips within modern computer music environments. The unique sonic characteristics of the devices used and the way in which they are controlled form an integral part of the identity that is shared by many chiptune musicians and performers. Examples of consoles that have been extensively explored include the Nintendo Entertainment System, the Nintendo Gameboy and the Commodore 64. The obsolete consoles and their integrated circuits explored in this practice focus almost exclusively on synthesis techniques rather than sample playback.
The modern practice of chiptune music is based around the appropriation of sound generation as utilised in video game technology. A paper from the International Computer Music Conference 2008.ĪUTHENTICITY AND EMULATION: CHIPTUNE IN THE EARLY TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY