Conclusion

In conclusion, I want to make clear that I view DirectMusic as the basis for a nonlinear musical format, not as a finished and definitive format. DirectMusic has the advantage of being part of the DirectX APIs, which means there are many potential DirectMusic players (in hardware terms) already in listeners' homes right now, today. With the resources in this book, anyone with enough interest could make their own DirectMusic Segments and a simple player, make them available via download or file sharing, and have millions of potential listeners. Its disadvantage is that the authoring tools have never benefited from the rigorous design/dev/user-test feedback cycle required of commercial software in the marketplace. They have always shipped free as part of the DirectX SDK, and it shows. However, dedicated users have proven that they can master the challenges of the tools and turn the incredible complexity of the architecture to great musical advantage in award-winning games. Nonlinear music can become the next step in music production technology if music lovers and the listening public have access to quality examples of nonlinear music, not only in games but also on their home multimedia stations. If that happens and the demand for "more" occurs, better tools and improvements in the architecture will not be far behind. Then — who knows? — by the turn of the next century, our current linear formats may seem as quaint and outdated as one of Edison's wax cylinders does now.