I don't listen to game music anymore. I used to, years ago -- owning a soundtrack to a game I really loved was a must. Certainly, as I've grown up, my musical tastes have changed quite a lot. You could also blame my career. Spending my whole days immersed in the art, business and culture of video games, I'm understandably less interested in seeking out yet
more ways to work games into my everyday life. I'm at saturation!
But most people I know who are fans and followers of game music often express that they feel soundtracks have "changed," or fail to be as memorable as they once were. The themes we really love, recognize and identify with are for the most part from a prior era. I mean, there's "Still Alive." And "Somewhere Beyond The Sea" in BioShock stands out to me, but of course that song didn't originate with the game.
Website Original Sound Version exists for hardcore devotees of game scores, and they recently asked me to contribute
some thoughts on video game music in an interview. I did my best to explain where I believe the perception of a character loss in game music comes from:
"With a few exceptions, most of our most beloved themes and tunes evolved out of an era where music was essentially used as background accompaniment for gameplay that was either very basic or very repetitive (think of trying to time your jumps to the beat in some sidescroller or another).
And of course, these games were not only repetitive but grueling, so you’d have one cartridge last you months, maybe even years, before you ever completed it or got tired of it. You’d end up hearing some of the same songs billions and billions of times, which means they were more likely to score some kind of permanence in your consciousness.
Games just are not made that way anymore, really. Now, tech being what it is, I think there’s this holistic approach to world-building, where every element is combined to immerse the player. Music’s become something that perhaps influences the impression or emotion of a scene, but I don’t think it’s intended to be noticed per se. The emphasis on realism means that music’s become more ambient – it’s designed to give the player a mood, but the player mustn’t notice that it’s happening. That – combined with the fact that we blow through these massive AAA titles in much briefer time periods somehow these days – means that game music leaves less of an impression than it used to, I think."
I think this is something of a misstep on the part of game development, though. When it comes to memory and emotion, it's always seemed to me that the visual sense is the least acute -- a beloved song or familiar scent can bring emotion and memory rushing back with an intensity that can't be matched by what the eyes see. The goal of creating a player's emotional attachment to a game would be much better served through distinct, memorable music themes.
Just think of the role "Still Alive" played in Portal's success and the endurance of its appeal -- there wouldn't have been cake without icing. And what would that seminal Final Fantasy VII moment have been without Aeris' theme? Recognizable music doesn't just build immersion, it builds loyalty. I'd wager a publisher could sell more sequels if they used the shorthand of common musical themes to jog players' memories of how much they loved the first one.
There are some games we continue discussing and adoring long after we've put the controller down, and music is one element that can give a title a lasting place in our hearts. I'd like to see less auditory wallpaper and more really good game songs, wouldn't you?
30 comments:
To be honest, I'm happy with the direction things are moving in. If you look at the way film scores work, (and this would seem one of the few places where a direct comparison to films would seem to work), they use a repeated refrain to create a mood and atmosphere, such as in Lord of The Rings, where there was a specific 'travel' melody, one for the ringwraiths, etc. so you could recognise what was happening by what was going on in the score, but at the same time it wasn't overbearing and distracting.
Playing through Batman recently, they've done a really excellent job of the score for the game, taking all the best bits of Zimmer's work on TDK and Batman Begins and dialling it down a bit so that it's not quite so full on. It creates a great mood, is instantly recognisable as 'batman' and works brilliantly with the brooding atmosphere of the game.
Of course, it's relative to the title the music is accompanying, but in general, as we move towards more cinematic games, cinematic scores are really working for me.
I think "musical wallpaper" is a great way to put it - while soundtracks in games are trending more toward soundtracks in film, that does not do much for increasing the memorability of a game's soundtrack. How many people remember the music of Rocky beyond Eye of the Tiger and Rocky's theme itself? How many people recognize the music from District 9 or Wolverine (the movie)?
Game music has become more backdrop, there are more incidental pieces than actual themes these days. 15 years ago, you could plug Final Fantasy 3/6 or Super Metroid in, and you would have your concrete Overworld Theme or your particular zone theme, but now if you put in those games' most recent respective sequels and - while particular areas still have their own music, it's more ambient than taking any semblance of attention.
I agree with you 100%, Leigh! I will also add, though, that I feel the themes today are just as good and as memorable. The problem is also that themes are mixed much lower in the sound and are less prominent during gameplay. I recently reviewed Red Faction Guerrilla's score for Original Sound Version and was completely mystified as I had not heard any of those themes while playing the game they were mixed so low and buried. When I say "playing the game" I mean playing the game for upwards of SEVENTEEN HOURS and still barely recognized any of the themes(though the PS3 does a better job with the music).
Batman's score is a derivative of the Zimmer score and comes in 30 second bursts. For rights reasons (I'm sure), they don't ever actually quote the Zimmer themes keeping it stuck in this nebulous zone - another example of a wasted opportunity to make a memorable and enjoyable theme.
Great piece, Leigh!
I agree with you, Leigh, for the most part. I think the music certainly depends on the game; I wouldn't have enjoyed flOw nearly so much if I had to hear "Worm's Theme" every time I ate an enemy or grew another part - the ambient soundtrack really fits the mood of the game. On the other hand, I do feel like there's definitely been a move in games toward emphasizing the "background" part of "background music" – tunes of yore like World 1-1, or Dr. Wily's Castle, are instantly memorable. It didn't matter how many times I heard them; from listen number one, they firmly entrenched themselves in my musical memory. When I see a game that's an exception to this rule, I tend to absolutely adore it - de Blob is my current darling of choice, because the music is SO AMAZINGLY GREAT OH MY GOD I COULD LISTEN TO IT FOREVER. There's also games like Rock Band, Audiosurf, and Rez (and the late Vib Ribbon, which I've never had the fortune to play), where the music and the gameplay are inextricably linked - I love games like that.
There's a place for more "cinematic" soundtracks in games, sure. Music like that can be very powerful. But I'd like to see more of a variety of music in games - some games with soundtracks you don't notice, and some games with soundtracks that take a power drill and engrave themselves into your brain and you won't be able to stop humming them for days (I'm looking at you, de Blob). That'd seem like a fine arrangement to me.
I think the best music, and more loosely the sounds of a game, are those scores that are integral to your understanding of the experience. It should, at the least, be additive, not subtractive.
When I was a kid, I used to stay on the sound test screen on Sonic 2 and replay tracks that I loved. Being little, I used to playact my own scenes to them, right in my brother's bedroom. Essentially videogames were my first connection to music, and my current relationship with music was founded with that. That's probably why electronic music appeals to me so much.
When I played Silent Hill 2 for the first time in my sophomore year of High School, I made a very immediate connection to the soundtrack. The soundscape of the game immediately set it apart as something like I had never played before. So, I think the perfect balance of sound design is in the (first three) Silent Hill games. The music is as important as the silence and the sounds of the environment. But I can't really expect that level of care in all developers -- it's probably a very difficult balance to maintain. Though it was something Team Silent had down pat, even if it was only for three or four games.
These approaches are much different from what film does, but I think they're better for a medium that's less about a linear experience and more about interaction and personal involvement. So, I do think that videogames are going in a direction that I'd rather they not go, even though the film method does its job.
I started playing Muramasa: Demon Blade last night and one of the first things I noticed was the music. Together with the art style and the Japanese voices, it definitely creates a sense of playing in a world of ancient Japanese folklore. On the flip side, while playing Arkham Asylum, I didn't specifically notice the music per se, but I did think that the score added to the mood and total experience.
It seems that different games use music in different ways, depending on what they're trying to achieve. Personally, I'm one of those people that's obsessed with OSV's. I buy as many as I can afford for the games or composers that I like. I have to admit that I do miss "themes" sometimes. When you consider that most of my favorite soundtracks come from the 16-bit RPG era, this makes sense. However, growing up in a musical family, I can also appreciate and love the fact that game music ISN'T the same three strains or chords over and over and over and over again.
There are still games with good and/or memorable music. I do think that it's rare for it to be both, though. Sometimes I'll listen to a soundtrack and think, "Wow, I don't remember this at all." So I'll go back to the game and there it is.
I've noticed that if I was particularly attached to the characters or storyline in a game, I'm more likely to remember the music. But is that because of the music, the storytelling, character development, or some combination? It's kind of a chicken or the egg question, really. Sometimes I'll even enjoy the music and hate the game. Music is an integral part of life and games for me, I guess.
I would have to say that my favourite game soundtracks are probably those from the Metal Gear Solid series (but mainly 2 and 3), Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross, and the Mother/EarthBound series. I tend I find to attach with them more because they rely on melody rather than ambience. Ambient music is perfectly fine, mind you, but the tunes that stay on my playlists are always melody based.
I've recently started listening to game music outside of playing games. It's great, I've discovered a whole new genre of music to enjoy. Here's a few favourites:
First impressions of the PacMan Championship Ed gave a definite nod to Rez but the tunes stand out on their own, the crescendo as the timer nears completion is perfect.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lzOTw3u7oY
Alien Soldier
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M_c_FsbdsM
has a crisp clean sound to it and despite getting my arse regularly handed to me, the tunes kept me feeling good.
I re-bought Ridge Racer Type 4 solely because I remembered how good the soundtrack was, Movin' in Circles was a fantastic tune to end the final race on and I love listening to it while I drive.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9T6k-jII8ys
I BMX a lot which involves huge amounts of repetition to get tricks right. Katamari Damacy has become the perfect soundtrack to distract me from the pain of wiping out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_QydNXI_ok
Along with Streets of Rage 2, especially from the baseball stadium level.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPoFHOVb5DU
The music that goes best is lively 16bit and prior, music from repetitive games suits BMX repetition just fine.
I've got electroplankton on the ds
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XP2ZVNnl1pQ (not me)
I like to put it thru a few pedals and loops with my guitar and can get Locust like noise walls or Sigur Ros style ethereal waves from them.
The last games I can think of whose entire soundtracks were memorable are Shadow of the Colossus and Okami.
I guess that in most cases these days, music has just taken on a smaller or more subtle role in games. Most games that stick with me these days might have one or two themes that I remember.
The exceptions are games that put a very strong emphasis on atmosphere. Maybe it's just that fewer games do that these days.
Oh, and my favorite game soundtrack ever belongs to Sonic the Hedgehog 3. I don't know why, but that style of 16-bit music just feels perfect to me. The Ice Cap Zone Act 1 theme is one of my ringtones.
I really dislike the subtleness of music now a days, before i could name a game from music. For example i still love Aeris theme to this day it always makes me sad. I remember music from all these games and they always have an impact. I can't remember the scores now a days on most modern games and that i think is kind of sad. One orchestral music over shooting is like another and games don't have distinctiveness anymore.
Re: orchestral scores in shooters, people tend to forget the soundtrack from Mechwarrior 2 on PC (way, way back in the day) (and technically not a shooter). It was one of the first to put the whole soundtrack on the CD the game came on, as simple audio tracks after the data track. At the time, it was a startling idea - gamers were used to MIDI (long live the DOOM midified guitar tracks), used to repetition and ambiance (XCom remains the creepiest music evar), and twenty-six CD-quality choral-backed electro-orchestra songs were something big and new.
Still play that soundtrack a lot. Lonely and apocalyptic and textured. I'm constantly surprised it doesn't get more mention.
What an interesting dynamic. Chick's taken to basing entire reviews on openly stating he has no idea what the fuck; Totillo's busy pushing journalism over the edge with articles dedicated to justifying the industry's bad tradecraft; and your whimisical musings on nothing of any importance, while useless on their own to anyone not dead-set on indulging in the sound of their own voice, conspicuously double as vehicles for pimping people interviewing... you.
The best thing about the "symposium" writers is that you're so concerned with building your own personal echo chambers that you don't expect anyone could possibly use your entire career against you. Let's see if we can't change that.
poeio -- tough talk. meanwhile, chick, totilo and i get paid and you don't, nyah.
i'm writing, you're commenting. unless you want to start a little game blog and i'll troll you, too. that way, maybe you can feel like you've arrived.
Poieo, how do you use a person's entire career against them whilst they are in their chosen field? I wanna know, it could come in handy and you sound like a handy guy (I did a funny on your name - impressed no?) so let us all in on the secret.
Good reply Leigh, you gave me a good laugh and that's always appreciated ^_^
You know with the games I've been playing now (which has, lately, been limited to Team Fortress 2 and Metal Gear Online), I find the less music provided, the more I remember it. It's not just the mind latching on to what little is provided, as if for succor; as you made mention of Portal, I wasn't thinking of Still Alive, but that small ambient piece that plays during one of the tests, and is later revisited, thematically. Whenever it kicks in, I feel desperately, POWERFULLY alone.
With that in mind, I don't really care about memorability, so long as it moves me or changes the experience in some form. Aside from being plastered all over promotional material, everyone remembers the Metal Gear Solid theme even thought it only plays a few times in MGS1, so billions of listens might not have anything to do with it.
And regarding being memorable in general: I think it has less to do with quality and more quantity. More games equals more music equals more difficulty remembering Track 5 off the Medal of Gears: ODST4 soundtrack.
Post deleted/reposted for edits. Stupid typos.
I understand that you are talking about "music" in games, but I think it might be useful to think of the entire audio layer for gameplay.
The possibilities are so suggestive, that many examples of audio techniques in videogames could be considered as genres; types.
I would like to see more development in some of the directions in audio which have been touched on.
I feel that typically the audio for games falls in a category that I would describe as a musical layer and an unrelated sound effect layer. This allows for a complete freedom of timing for any input, making the control seem highly responsive (which is a good feeling, but shouldn't be considered necessary)
The opposite are the music games which are depend on the player to make a consistent and definite rhythm. Not doing well results in dissonant silence or an intentionally dissonant interruption.
I like the inbetweens, it's a spectrum:
Every Extend extra Extreme adds layers of audio as reward for further progression and includes bonuses for inputting with rhythm. The pulsating visuals match with the tempo creating a trance. gameplay mistakes result in the loss of said trance. Maintenance of the trance becomes a greater motivator than the actual score after about 10 minutes.
Elder Scrolls 4 notifies me of nearby dangers with a more tense soundtrack and regardless of whether or not I actually see the attacking wild-life, I'm relieved as a low-level character when I run into relaxed orchestral ambiance.
I'd like to see gameplay choices affecting rhythm and melody in distinct but simple and intuitive ways more frequently. I think that rhythm games are currently very immature because they have not begun to allow freedom for the player. Rhythm can limit the sense of time in videogames in ways similar to how gravity limits space. Games can evoke a sense of flow by allowing the player stylistic controls, but rarely allowing failure by planning rhythms in the methods of movement. Like a pogo stick that always bounces or a shopping cart with hardened candy stuck to one wheel.
There are just so many directions for further exploration.
I look forward to some songs being interpreted into the game medium by beginning with literal appearances of the lyrical subject matter (colored by musical moods) on rails. Mistakes could be outputted as clumsy visuals or just a disconnect between the visuals and the audio.
Later on I would expect that playing a song level would be much like covering a song by another artist. the levels would be like jazz standards, and depending on the players method of achievement, they would get a since of embellishment and style from the audio.
There's so much that could be done.
It's fun to think about.
I think there are still excellent game soundtracks to be found.
Reading your article, the first thing that came to mind was "what about Okami? People gush over the visuals all the time, but the most impressive thing about the game is easily the music!" and "has she heard the theme to Odin Sphere?" Not to mention Persona 3/4.
But those are last-gen titles - I thought current-gen soundtracks of quality might be harder to nail down, but perusing my library a bunch of games with excellent soundtracks jump out at me:
-Prince of Persia '08
-Siren: Blood Curse
-Fallout 3
-Metal Gear Solid 4
-Ratchet & Clank Future
...does GTA IV count? I love Radio Broker.
As games come closer and closer to effectively mirroring the "cinematic conceit", we'll see more soundtracks like say, inFamous - where, occasionally, one can mistake the soundtrack for the din of the city before the music really begins to present itself - but just as in times past, I think standsouts will stil... um... stand out.
Game soundtracks are so comparable to movie soundtracks. The really good, unique ones, you remember. Regardless of my opinion of Pirates of the Caribbean, the soundtrack rings out.
And yet, when I think of my favourite soundtracks, they're a lot more basic. Mario, Zelda, Starfox and FF7 for original soundtracks (comparable to great Danny Elfman scores) and then Wipeout, Gran Turismo, GTA 3 and Vice City (which are like Trainspotting or Pulp Fiction for pilfered goodness).
Sure, I loved the music from Ico, but is it as memorable? Probably not.
Call me silly, but I seem to have an unholy attraction to MIDI music, especially the kind that came out of my SNES. I don't really notice (non-vocal) game music as much as I used to, for some reason. Has having access to more sophisticated sounds made game composers focus less on the kinds of simple, strong melodies that I grew up with? Maybe it's like the difference between pencil drawings and photographs?
Oh, and to answer your other question, Final Fantasy VI has the best game soundtrack ever. And it has the Opera House. Ah, memories...
While I agree that, for most current games, music soundtracks have been reduced to just atmospheric or background noise. Still, I'm surprised to see more people not citing the games that sport music so dynamic it could stand alone as an album without the game having been made.
The two that come to my mind immediately are Pixeljunk Eden and Echochrome. Both of those games have soundtracks that I personally have purchased and enjoyed not to reproduce a sense or emotion captured while playing, but solely based on the quality of the music itself.
Echochrome's chamber orchestrated soundtrack is one of the best Neo-classical albums I've heard in sometime. All original compositions, every track (aside from the two or three that add a synth like vocal track) is absolutely gorgeous.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVL90YM8rL8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxthSJ9zYU0
On the other side of the spectrum, Eden had some of the best Electronica club beats I've heard. Eden has a very "friday night on the town," edgy kind of feel to it. Very swanky, very chic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RX18noi9feU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zmfr0fQAApc
There are honorable mentions like Pixeljunk Monsters, Uncharted 1/2, and Blazblue. In Blazblue one of the characters has his own theme song for one of his super moves for crying out loud! Some say that the soundtrack the downloadable game Shatter is good, but I'm not inclined to agree.
PJ Monsters - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmrFdN-DyiM
Blazblue - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJ8egaXNlZg
(aforementioned theme song, don't judge me) -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00hmGA8Dz68
Shatter - http://sidhe.bandcamp.com/
In any event, I truly believe original game scores aren't dead yet. Maybe it's because I'm a bit of a music buff (read: nut) or that's music is my field of study, but I think that video game developers would be crazy to forget how pivotal a good soundtrack can be independent of how emotionally it can tie with the game. Just look at Snake's Revenge!
Snake's Revenge - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYKjNOcjDXY
PS - I forgot to mention Valkyria Chronicles. The instrumental score in the intro is really kind of breath-taking.
For me, music in a video game can be the difference between an ok game and a game I want to play all the time. In fact, I am often drawn to play Oblivion just to listen to the music (while sitting watching the scenery. The sunsets are beautiful!)
They can also give the game a truly epic feeling, which I find with Guild Wars and again Oblivion.
In fact, both those games have soundtracks composed by Jeremy Soule, a truly wonderful musician. I'm glad some of his work is available on free services such as Last.fm and Spotify. Looking at the list of his prominent works ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Soule#Prominent_works ) I can see many more of my favourite games listed.
There are too many games that could be so much more is they had just hired the right composer.
Braid Braid Braid Braid Braid.
And World of Goo. Anyone who says game soundtracks should be unnoticed ought, really, to play these games and spend a little time alone afterwards, thinking.
"When it comes to memory and emotion, it's always seemed to me that the visual sense is the least acute -- a beloved song or familiar scent can bring emotion and memory rushing back with an intensity that can't be matched by what the eyes see. The goal of creating a player's emotional attachment to a game would be much better served through distinct, memorable music themes."
This.
I think Actraiser is one of my favorite game sound tracks. Though Final Fantasy 7 and Secret of Mana are up there too.
My favorite game soundtrack of all time was the one for Killer 7. It was not at all in the background-- There were 61 separate pieces that ranged dramatically in style, from soft jazzy numbers to rock anthem to 8-bit videogame music to scary choral music to circus music.
Each piece was keyed to a specific area, so when you walked into a house you heard one piece, and when you walked out into the backyard you heard another. There was a piece that played in the save rooms that is my favorite music from a videogame ever. There was another piece that played whenever you were in a room that had a magic ring you needed to pick up. At first I didn't notice that, but then I learned to watch out for the rings when I heard that music. And the best part was the music as you were traveling to the location of the level's boss fight, a piece called "Rave On" that got my blood pumping for the challenge ahead.
Such amazing use of music, and the only game soundtrack that I have on my iPod. Think I'm going to have to go listen to it now.
I've really started getting into gaming music recently, and by that I mean that I enjoy listening to the soundtracks from several games that I've played recently. However, I can tell you several moments recently in my gaming career which have been fantastically enhanced by incredible music.
In The Legend of Zelda, Twilight Princess, I can think of several times in which the music greatly enhanced how I played through the game, in a few cases being absolutely integral to them- there was the wonderfully creepy music for battles in the twilight (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IE_ksGLufdc), the final sword duel theme (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oThLc4cJC4M) (It's the rhythmic chanting in this one that really sells it) and, most powerfully, Midna's Lament (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUXhSvvxmN0), played as you rush Midna to Zelda. The simple piece really hit home for me.
Halo 3 has one of the most powerful scores I have ever heard, and I must direct this bit to Juno Lore. While the music is generally strong throughout, on the level "The Covenant", there are three moments where it absolutely blows me away every time. The opener, where you touch down amidst tons of enemy fire and must desperately run and gun is accompanied by a rendition of the main theme that adds to that urgency. In a later bit, as you board a Hornet to take on a massive Covenant Air Force in a spectacular aerial battle, a unique theme kicks in that absolutely sells the entire sequence. It would be fun on its own, but the music kicking in makes it something straight out of a movie and absolutely awesome.
(The first bit I talk about is the opening of this track. THe second is 2 minutes in. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_EzTOGqLs4) Finally, as you mount your last assault against the Covenant, in a massive vehicular assault that is one of the most exciting in the game, culminating in a battle against two Scarabs, another rendition of the main theme kicks in (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fX63z4acmUo). Here, I find it's the underlying beat that makes the driving push so powerful. And then, as you finish off two of the biggest enemies in the game, the theme swells into a much softer, lighter bit that gives you a sense of victory and finality. It's really the music in that level that helps to sell it.
Finally, in Persona 4, there is the unbelievable bit that is The Genesis, the tune that plays for the true final boss fight- (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_ghYuPzvqE). It starts as a pounding, epic beat with heavy brass and drums, and incorporates moments of absolute silence to help convey the threat of the boss. However, as you gain the upper hand, the game kicks into an unbelievably epic orchestral rendition of the main battle theme, a high-tempo, poppy tune that you've been hearing the entire game. Hearing that bit blasted out from a trumpet as though the trumpeter's about to spew his lungs out through the thing is unbelievably motivating, especially for me when I'm not even playing the game. It gives an absolute sense of victory to the player, and is incredible.
So the two soundtracks I listen to the most outside of their respective games are Halo 3 and Persona 4. Others include Donkey Kong Country 2, most of what's on the Super Smash Bros. Brawl soundtrack, and The World Ends With You to indulge a weakness for j-pop.
Not to come off as Mr. I Hate All Things New and Wonderful In Life, but modern game music, for the most part, is so atmospheric that it may as not even be there. And then you have the million and one John Williams disciples!
I think that the only soundtracks that I've really dug is from the Metal Gear Solid franchise, but its tempered with the question of would I love them on their own, or are they getting residual props for being in kick ass games?
The 8- and 16-bit area produced some marvelously loopy tunes, which was mainly a product of audio limitation. I kinda miss it.
WOW
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