The Soundtracks of Our Games
Try and see if you can find a gamer who can’t whistle one tune Link has played on his Ocarina. Most gamers can hum at least one theme from Final Fantasy, perhaps the one of the battle or the victory themes. Several tracks from any of the Mario Bros. games are known to gamers and otherwise all around the world. But what about the themes of today's games? The most notable ones of the past decade are very few in number. Halo? Perhaps Mass Effect? Although today's video game soundtracks don't seem to have the mnemonic appeal of previous generations, they have become increasingly subtle, and have been found to be of much more versatile and technical use.
The differences in what you can expect to listen to correspond with the genre. You can pretty easily guess what you’ll be hearing in the next Elder Scrolls, Mass Effect orMadden. Sports and racing games seem to subsist entirely on licensed music, most of the songs being fairly popular singles released within the past decade. There is not much need for dramatic tension via music; most of this is provided by the competitive game play, while also tending to use quality sound effects and some sort of commentary. Any kind of formal score would seem very out of place anyway. Thus, the soundtrack for your Maddens or Need for Speeds serve as a sort of elevator music, keeping the silences at bay with recent modern-rock and hip-hop hits that get you pumped for that next game or race.
However, licensed music is not only used in this manner. In most narrative games, as in film, the music creates the setting and environment. This occurs through original scores as often and as effectively as it does as licensed soundtracks. Again, environment dictates this entirely. In Grand Theft Auto 4, licensed tracks create setting naturally, playing through standard, real-world devices such as car radios, stereos at your house, or the music in a store or mall. Previous installments of this series have effectively set the timeframe of a game in the 80s or 90s, simply by playing in the expected environment the songs you recognize as from that time period, without having to state that you are playing in the time. Bioshock or Fallout 3 accomplishes the same by using tracks with a distinct 1930s sounds.
Trends like this can increase the realism and the depth of virtual environments. It's true that the soundtracks of previous generations are more memorable, but perhaps that is because they were more catchy jingles, and not orchestral scores. The music did indicate tone, but in more of a pragmatic sense, and not in the subtle or emotional way it does today.
We might not really remember the music that played at the end of Mass Effect note for note, but we certainly remember what we did and what we felt during the climax.
I don't personally like some of the music of today's games, but I think I may be influenced on how I grew up. FFVII, Zelda, Mario, Sonic – these are some of my absolute favorite songs because I remember them. Also, does it bother other people that video game music is looked down upon simply because it's in video games but music composed for movies isn't?
I completely agree about the fact that people look down on video game music just because it's game music. It's absolutely ridiculous! It could be a beautiful orchestral soundtrack and people will disregard it instantly. It's probably one of my biggest pet peeves!
Shadow of the Colossus, Halo 3: ODST, who says more modern games don't have great soundtracks?
Yeah, agreed that if some music is produced for a Video Game it would probably be shunned in comparison to Film. Yet with awesome composers like Hanz Zimmer, Harry Gregson-Williams, Jesper Kyd and many more all always up for it, I can only see it getting better and better.
I'll play devil's advocate a bit point out that since video games are such a visual medium by nature, the soundtrack takes the backseat.
However some games like Splinter Cell and other stealth games have just as much emphasis on sound and visuals. Footsteps, a door creaking open, breathing, when combined with a tense score can really make things tense.
In a full fledged action or racing title, the music just isn't as important to playing the game better than the visual is.
@ Nick – I found the delightly selective taste of Amon Tobin from SCell: Chaos Theory. Love that stuff.
Video game music has deeply inspired me and my outlook of games as a whole. I get shivers when ever I listen to any of Akira Yamaoka's work in the Silent Hill series or Nobuo Uomatsu's work in the Final Fantasy series. Music is extremely important in the games we play, not just the art and gameplay. They add to the atmosphere and immerse us, the players, in the experience. While I feel that there are some devoted fans out there, many more need to appreciate this important aspect of gaming.
Great feature, Joel!
@Erika: I agree completely. Music is an incredibly important part of a game, especially when it's better than most regular music.
Phoenix Wright Orchestral Soundtrack. Nuff said. Check it out here if you haven't.
http://compilingpw.com/pwmusic/gmo