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Game music has progressed over the years. And in the process of moving from simple 'bleeps' and 'bloops' it has moved to huge, expansive, what I like to call, Soundscapes, which engulf you in their splendour and bring your senses to a point you only feel when you hear that sound. Some of the game music has been so spectacular that it has been reproduced in Midi form or even more prestigiously in the form of a CD and sold either in Japan or worldwide. The music of a game, in modern times, has now become an essential part of any games. Many genres only seen on Playstation upwards depend on music to give the atmosphere that the game manages to create. And in some cases, games are now completely devoted to music, and otherwise wouldn’t exist without it.
Resident Evil, first seen on Playstation in the survival-horror genre, has an atmosphere which is created almost entirely by the music in the game. Each scenario has what can only be called “sinister wind” and the noisy silence is only broken by the moans of the undead. The music in this game is so dark and suspicious that even just listening to it with the lights off is enough to scare the weak at the knees. But when the music of this game is mixed with the creaky door sequences, the intriguing camera angles and the new technology available on the nex-gen consoles which can create previously impossible lighting (and more importantly, shadow) effects, it can only mean games like this are going to get darker, more realistic and more downright scary.
With the evolution of game music a whole new genre of games has been formed. Music generation. It all started with the Playstation game Music, which allowed you to mix various samples and riffs together to make tunes in a variety of different types and tones. It was a fairly good game considering it was the first of its kind and did well in the charts, meaning the follow up game, originally called Music 2000. This time, it was much more advanced. Codemasters had gained experience from last time and had added many features. It also used the Playstation’s ability to read CD’s and you could record bits from CD’s for your own tracks. You could change the riffs in a variety of ways meaning the tunes were more yours and the game became more popular than the last. The genre has continued on to the PS2 as well, with MTV Music Generator 2, also made by Codemasters. This took music generation a step further with the availability of a Sampler Kit, where you could record your own voice on to your tracks, so they had vocals, great for any star in the making. And if music generation wasn’t enough, there is dance games, and even a specially designed mat so groove away or, slightly more likely, look plain silly. Good fun though nonetheless.
Other slightly more adventurous music related games include Rez, where you must shoot down enemies in time with the music to make great tunes, and as you progress, the tunes do as well. Plus there was a game where you controlled a line. And the line had to do certain tasks by going with the music. Excruciatingly simple yet hyper addictive. The progression of game music from being a throw in extra to a whole game is quite a big one. But games don’t need to be about music to have a great soundtrack, as Resident Evil, Zelda and more specifically Final Fantasy demonstrate.
Final Fantasy is a very exciting game, musically. Each character has his or her own theme, each city its own tune and each game its own uniquely enchanting melody. The game music from this series is so good it has been compiled on many an official CD, and gamers still absolutely adore it. The games, already huge and expansive (just like Soundscapes) have now got a reputation for outstanding music, some tense, some fast, some slow, some peaceful. The master composer, Nobuo Uematsu, who has composed the music for every FF game, is a master at his art, and the games just would not be the same without the accompanying tracks. They make a gamer feel like they’re there, in the thick of it, in Balamb Garden, or in the magnificent Golden Saucer. Another game similar to this is Zelda, with a slightly less enthralling score but yet is magnificent in its own way.
Game music has now become essential for so many games. Of course, there are some games where you wish that the music would just shut up (cough cough Super Monkey Ball, Expert, Lvl. 7) and some games where you think the music could be used slightly more often as it’s so good ( Sonic Adventure 2 : Battle, Dr Eggman theme or Pumpkin Hill theme) but then again, some people would argue that it’s just music.
I have to disagree. Game music has become more than a couple of the game developers adding some cheesy voices and bad background music. It has become and essential part of the game, and more importantly, an essential part of gaming culture. With almost all consoles now having some sort of music game (GBA,PS,PS2) it would appear that the music orientated games are becoming ever popular, and more people are understanding that no only can gaming graphics be beautiful …
So can game music.
Thanks for reading.
Resident Evil, first seen on Playstation in the survival-horror genre, has an atmosphere which is created almost entirely by the music in the game. Each scenario has what can only be called “sinister wind” and the noisy silence is only broken by the moans of the undead. The music in this game is so dark and suspicious that even just listening to it with the lights off is enough to scare the weak at the knees. But when the music of this game is mixed with the creaky door sequences, the intriguing camera angles and the new technology available on the nex-gen consoles which can create previously impossible lighting (and more importantly, shadow) effects, it can only mean games like this are going to get darker, more realistic and more downright scary.
With the evolution of game music a whole new genre of games has been formed. Music generation. It all started with the Playstation game Music, which allowed you to mix various samples and riffs together to make tunes in a variety of different types and tones. It was a fairly good game considering it was the first of its kind and did well in the charts, meaning the follow up game, originally called Music 2000. This time, it was much more advanced. Codemasters had gained experience from last time and had added many features. It also used the Playstation’s ability to read CD’s and you could record bits from CD’s for your own tracks. You could change the riffs in a variety of ways meaning the tunes were more yours and the game became more popular than the last. The genre has continued on to the PS2 as well, with MTV Music Generator 2, also made by Codemasters. This took music generation a step further with the availability of a Sampler Kit, where you could record your own voice on to your tracks, so they had vocals, great for any star in the making. And if music generation wasn’t enough, there is dance games, and even a specially designed mat so groove away or, slightly more likely, look plain silly. Good fun though nonetheless.
Other slightly more adventurous music related games include Rez, where you must shoot down enemies in time with the music to make great tunes, and as you progress, the tunes do as well. Plus there was a game where you controlled a line. And the line had to do certain tasks by going with the music. Excruciatingly simple yet hyper addictive. The progression of game music from being a throw in extra to a whole game is quite a big one. But games don’t need to be about music to have a great soundtrack, as Resident Evil, Zelda and more specifically Final Fantasy demonstrate.
Final Fantasy is a very exciting game, musically. Each character has his or her own theme, each city its own tune and each game its own uniquely enchanting melody. The game music from this series is so good it has been compiled on many an official CD, and gamers still absolutely adore it. The games, already huge and expansive (just like Soundscapes) have now got a reputation for outstanding music, some tense, some fast, some slow, some peaceful. The master composer, Nobuo Uematsu, who has composed the music for every FF game, is a master at his art, and the games just would not be the same without the accompanying tracks. They make a gamer feel like they’re there, in the thick of it, in Balamb Garden, or in the magnificent Golden Saucer. Another game similar to this is Zelda, with a slightly less enthralling score but yet is magnificent in its own way.
Game music has now become essential for so many games. Of course, there are some games where you wish that the music would just shut up (cough cough Super Monkey Ball, Expert, Lvl. 7) and some games where you think the music could be used slightly more often as it’s so good ( Sonic Adventure 2 : Battle, Dr Eggman theme or Pumpkin Hill theme) but then again, some people would argue that it’s just music.
I have to disagree. Game music has become more than a couple of the game developers adding some cheesy voices and bad background music. It has become and essential part of the game, and more importantly, an essential part of gaming culture. With almost all consoles now having some sort of music game (GBA,PS,PS2) it would appear that the music orientated games are becoming ever popular, and more people are understanding that no only can gaming graphics be beautiful …
So can game music.
Thanks for reading.
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I need a mixer, so I can do 60 laps of Grand Valley in a Viper GTS-R without pitting (yes, I have!) to the sound of Iron Maiden and Blind Guardian. I NEED that mixer...
fosbe wrote:
> Xbox has a quality thing about listening to the music on a cd that you
> have ripped on to the hard drive, so you can listen to it in a game!!
Yeah or you could just turn the game music off (leaving sound effects and speech on) and put your stereo on, bloody pointless if you ask me.
> Xbox has a quality thing about listening to the music on a cd that you
> have ripped on to the hard drive, so you can listen to it in a game!!
Yeah or you could just turn the game music off (leaving sound effects and speech on) and put your stereo on, bloody pointless if you ask me.
Are you insane? Some of the best music I've ever heard has come from Nintendo! But then again, by the looks of it, you just another sad who thinks a game is crap because it has cartoony style graphics. I suppose you mock the new look Zelda, and yet happily played the cartoony versions of FF. Given a choice between Cell shaded Zelda and Carmageddon (absolutly dire game) you would probably choose Carmageddon just because it has blood in it and others wouldn't think you were a sissy (well, in your mind anyway). Did you know that the music from Pikmin was released on a CD and has sold over a million copies? And its not even out in europe yet. Every single Nintendo game, be it Mario, Zelda, Advance Wars, Metroid, Pikmin, Yoshi's Island etc have come complete with an absolutly stunning soundtrack that'll be stuck in your head for ages. I'm working through the event mode in SSBM as quick as I can just because I want to unlock the sound test, so I can hear all the amazing music since the NES.
I'm sorry, but I've never heard decent music coming form any Nintendo system. Usually, the music is way too Japaneze, and a cartridge on the N64 just doesn't look like real music. Even an old 8-track looks like it has more music capability. I haven't experienced the wonders of the Cube, nor am I too worried about that fact. I'm sure Luigi's mansion has wonderful bright music to accompany the bright green coloured Luigi.
Can you imagine what Silent Hill, or Resident Evil would have been like if the main character was fat, cartoony and bright green? The games would have been atrocious because cartoons cannot be that scary. Was scooby-doo ever scary? No! It was only a cartoon, whereas realism really does make it good.
ANyway, back to the music. I'm sorry, but I don't think I will ever expect to hear decent music coming from any form of Nintendo.
Can you imagine what Silent Hill, or Resident Evil would have been like if the main character was fat, cartoony and bright green? The games would have been atrocious because cartoons cannot be that scary. Was scooby-doo ever scary? No! It was only a cartoon, whereas realism really does make it good.
ANyway, back to the music. I'm sorry, but I don't think I will ever expect to hear decent music coming from any form of Nintendo.
Yeah, music is really important in games. Just like it is really important in films.
Anyway, best game soundtrack? Shenmue.
MGS2 isn't bad either and FFX has some pretty good music in.
I recently got to a point in FFX which was the most over-dramatic scene in a video game EVER! It was cool! :-D
Anyway, best game soundtrack? Shenmue.
MGS2 isn't bad either and FFX has some pretty good music in.
I recently got to a point in FFX which was the most over-dramatic scene in a video game EVER! It was cool! :-D
Xbox has a quality thing about listening to the music on a cd that you have ripped on to the hard drive, so you can listen to it in a game!!
Fuzzy wrote:
Doesn't mean the games not good, it
> just means the music is, well, better.
> Oh, and thanks for the compliment :)
My pleasure Fuzzy :)
By the way, you are so right when you say that some games decline the use of good soundtracks. I have to admit though...some people think most games are for the younger generation, and they are, but due to this, they always tend to give bad remarks for their soundtracks - games such as, Jak & Daxter and Rayman Revolution - I for one think that the soundtracks for those games were great and suited the mood really well.
You have to agree though, that most games developers may find it hard to create a music score if the game is not all what it seems - if it fails to match the hype, then so does the soundtrack (in my opinion, anyway) - I say this because the music score is always the major part of any game today. They are becoming more and more like Hollywood movies, and to be honest, they are just starting to achieve their goal.
Doesn't mean the games not good, it
> just means the music is, well, better.
> Oh, and thanks for the compliment :)
My pleasure Fuzzy :)
By the way, you are so right when you say that some games decline the use of good soundtracks. I have to admit though...some people think most games are for the younger generation, and they are, but due to this, they always tend to give bad remarks for their soundtracks - games such as, Jak & Daxter and Rayman Revolution - I for one think that the soundtracks for those games were great and suited the mood really well.
You have to agree though, that most games developers may find it hard to create a music score if the game is not all what it seems - if it fails to match the hype, then so does the soundtrack (in my opinion, anyway) - I say this because the music score is always the major part of any game today. They are becoming more and more like Hollywood movies, and to be honest, they are just starting to achieve their goal.
Games like Halo have excellent soundtracks which match the atmosphere. It's a real shame that some games still decline to have a decent soundtrack to their name. Or a shame that a decent soundtrack is given to a not so decent game (ie SA2:B) Doesn't mean the games not good, it just means the music is, well, better.
Oh, and thanks for the compliment :)
Oh, and thanks for the compliment :)
Interesting topic
I always try to remind myself of how music and sound effects are implemented into games today.
I always remember back, when I was really young, and the Atari was like this 'state of the art' machine to have in the home. When I heard the sound effects in those games, I thought they were the best ever.
Nowadays, technology is highly-advanced, and as you may have realised, games like Halo and Star Wars Rouge Leader use authentic sounds with the aid of equipment used in Hollywood - if you have Metal Gear Solid 2, it will describe this to you on the extra DVD disc, where the game’s developers mention that they made enough money from the first game in order to use one of Hollywood's most renowned score composers, Harry Gregson-Williams for the sequal. He is responsible for work on blockbuster movies such as, Armageddon, The Rock, The Replacement Killers, and lots more.
I have Halo on the XBOX, and the minute I began to play, I was treated with a fantastic theme that really matched the atmosphere and the situation.
Technology today is prefect - it can't get better. Ten years ago, people said the opposite; that games will be better and music in games will enhance to something beyond the imaginable - now, we can say that it's here, and the only way to better it is to come up with new ideas for music - other than that, everything we have today is everything the gaming industry needs.
Nice topic
I always try to remind myself of how music and sound effects are implemented into games today.
I always remember back, when I was really young, and the Atari was like this 'state of the art' machine to have in the home. When I heard the sound effects in those games, I thought they were the best ever.
Nowadays, technology is highly-advanced, and as you may have realised, games like Halo and Star Wars Rouge Leader use authentic sounds with the aid of equipment used in Hollywood - if you have Metal Gear Solid 2, it will describe this to you on the extra DVD disc, where the game’s developers mention that they made enough money from the first game in order to use one of Hollywood's most renowned score composers, Harry Gregson-Williams for the sequal. He is responsible for work on blockbuster movies such as, Armageddon, The Rock, The Replacement Killers, and lots more.
I have Halo on the XBOX, and the minute I began to play, I was treated with a fantastic theme that really matched the atmosphere and the situation.
Technology today is prefect - it can't get better. Ten years ago, people said the opposite; that games will be better and music in games will enhance to something beyond the imaginable - now, we can say that it's here, and the only way to better it is to come up with new ideas for music - other than that, everything we have today is everything the gaming industry needs.
Nice topic
Almost anything could be possible with the technology available!
If you've got an X-box and you don't like the in-game music in some games- you can simply download something you do like, save it on the 8Gb HD, and then put it in the game!
The PS2 will soon be getting an HD soon for FF 11, I wonder if you'll also be able to do this with PS2 games???
Then all we'd need is an HD for the GameCube, when/if it ever goes on-line.
If you've got an X-box and you don't like the in-game music in some games- you can simply download something you do like, save it on the 8Gb HD, and then put it in the game!
The PS2 will soon be getting an HD soon for FF 11, I wonder if you'll also be able to do this with PS2 games???
Then all we'd need is an HD for the GameCube, when/if it ever goes on-line.
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