Their scores can be huge

In 2004, he took a chance on a game called Destroy All Humans. By then, consoles had morphed into powerful computers, and their high-quality audio meant games could feature movielike soundtracks. What's more, games had become such a moneymaker that development budgets for individual titles were in the millions of dollars, with several hundred thousand going into music and sound effects alone.

Now all of Schyman's commissions come from games, thanks to growing admiration among developers for his ability to create memorable scores. Although he will consider the occasional TV or movie job, he relishes game assignments because, in addition to providing steady work, they allow a greater range of creative freedom and challenge him technically.

"Film music can be very soft and ambient," he said. "But game developers want strong musical statements. So from a creative standpoint, games are a great place to be right now."

For the Resistance: Retribution soundtrack, Schyman hired a nine-piece brass ensemble and rented London Bridge Studio in Shoreline, Wash. Within the same brick walls where Seattle grunge was defined in the 1990s by bands such as Alice in Chains, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam, Schyman conducted the horns, trombone, trumpets and tubas thundering through his score. The ground shook as it would with the weight of armies marching to battle.

The musicians never played more than a couple of minutes at a time, and they often paused after mere seconds. The music is recorded in snippets so it can be converted into digital fragments that can be mixed, blended and summoned to follow the events in the game.

To tie music to specific actions and plot twists, game developers create hundreds of triggers: Entering a room, opening a box, drawing a sword, confronting an enemy, losing a battle or solving a riddle can each prompt the appropriate melody.

It's more than just turning tracks on and off. The music has to flow seamlessly to match the level of intensity within a game without being repetitive, annoying or jarring.

"Garry's music has to have enough flexibility to be able to turn on a dime and still have enough depth to be interesting," said John Garvin, director of product development at Sony's Bend Studio, where Resistance: Retribution is being developed.

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Schools are recognizing the growing demand for game composers. After fervent lobbying by students, the Berklee College of Music in Boston this fall started a game-scoring curriculum. Its two classes quickly filled to capacity.