Comments on: The Soundtracks of Our Games

By: Michael Brown

Michael Brown — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:03:00 +0000

Phoenix Wright Orchestral Soundtrack. Nuff said. Check it out here if you haven't.

By: Nate

Nate — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:54:58 +0000

@Erika: I agree completely. Music is an incredibly important part of a game, especially when it's better than most regular music.

By: Erika Szabo

Erika Szabo — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:51:51 +0000

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!

By: Nathan Barker

Nathan Barker — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:32:42 +0000

@ Nick – I found the delightly selective taste of Amon Tobin from SCell: Chaos Theory. Love that stuff.

By: Nick Tringali

Nick Tringali — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:26:00 +0000

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.

By: Nathan Barker

Nathan Barker — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:01:50 +0000

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.

By: Michael Brown

Michael Brown — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:15:23 +0000

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!

By: Nate

Nate — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:52:27 +0000

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?