Music ideas and concepts start with the birth of the game itself. Sometime before even the game has begun on the computer, the music is already being thought of; where will it go and what it will do. The primary composing can only start once a playable prototype is made. This means up until that point, between the sketches and the prototype, the composer has to spot the game, and make a cue sheet and work with the game developers on the purpose and implementation of the music and sound. On average, large games will feature 2-3 hours of composed music. The demos and sketches made by the composer allow the developers a sense of what the composer is envisioning, and how they are capable of interacting with the game.

Spotting sessions and the creation of the cue sheet is one of the most fundamental parts to scoring any media. Sitting down with the game developers and deciding what the music should and should not do has got to be one of the most important parts leading up to the writing process. These discussions determine the role of music in how it will interact with the game, or perhaps act as underscore. Creating a cue sheet will list where everything has to go and when it will enter and when it will exit. It organizes out the entire music and therefore takes a lot of time to put together. Once this is all put together, the composer can start the writing process and will know how to effectively time each cue. Just like in film scoring, the cue sheet is the skeleton of the music.

Various types of game composition techniques and implementation help make all types of audio work possible. All games will vary and some can employ combinations of these techniques. The most basic is non-interactive, just one piece of music and then it loops. It's easier to compose if it is linear, however, it relies on serendipitous sync, and it can get boring really fast for the player. Horizontal implementation allows for a series of cue and the music loops until the player reaches a new section. This offers a new layer of adaptiveness and can keep the game experience interesting. It can offer clean transitions, but sometimes they can be obvious if the person has to go back and forth a lot. Vertical remixing is when layers are added or taken away based on control inputs like weather, enemies, health, etc. This can be combined with horizontal as well. Most large games will employ more than one technique. It is important to be comfortable with each style. With virtual instruments, tempo changes can be modified easily with either of these techniques.