Videogame anthems
A couple of years ago, I was hanging out by Shibuya with good friend Aki Jarvinen when we decided to embark on a quest for videogame soundtracks. We had heard rumours that such thing existed and we decided to prove it. So we went to one of Tokyo's largest music stores and asked the always-smiling clerk where we could find game soundtracks. Sadly, the girl's English skills were just a bit better than our Japanese ones, but we sort of understood that she said we could find them on the 4th floor. While on the escalator, we convinced ourselves that there had been a misunderstanding and, of course, she had sent us to the floor where movie soundtracks were located. We were wrong. While the selection was not to be compared with their film equivalents, there were over one hundred CDs available. I am not wrong, Aki bought Ico and Parappa's (which came quite handy when we later met Masaya Matsuura, who was kind enough to deal with our we-are-not-worthy worshipping and even signed the copy).
rThis morning, I fired up the iTunes Music Store and one of those little ads on the top caught my eye: Madden NFL 2005 soundtrack (you need to have iTunes installed to see this link). That made me wonder a bit about game music and how many game music composers create music is "interactive" and varies according to the gameplay. If millions of combinations are possible, then which one do you burn on a CD in order to sell as a soundtrack? I guess that the situation is not as different from traditional music as it looks at first sight. After all, there are infinite ways of performing the same song and that is why we are so happy to listen to unplugged, bootleg, cover and live versions. If the music depends on the player and how she performs, wouldn't it be great if we could buy, say, a soundtrack as performed by this or that player?
rOf course it is a weird idea, but really connected to what I have been researching lately: player performance in games. I will post my writings as they become available (a few months, at least). Meanwhile, I am really happy that game soundtracks are for sale and I am looking forward to see the available catalog to expand.
rThis morning, I fired up the iTunes Music Store and one of those little ads on the top caught my eye: Madden NFL 2005 soundtrack (you need to have iTunes installed to see this link). That made me wonder a bit about game music and how many game music composers create music is "interactive" and varies according to the gameplay. If millions of combinations are possible, then which one do you burn on a CD in order to sell as a soundtrack? I guess that the situation is not as different from traditional music as it looks at first sight. After all, there are infinite ways of performing the same song and that is why we are so happy to listen to unplugged, bootleg, cover and live versions. If the music depends on the player and how she performs, wouldn't it be great if we could buy, say, a soundtrack as performed by this or that player?
rOf course it is a weird idea, but really connected to what I have been researching lately: player performance in games. I will post my writings as they become available (a few months, at least). Meanwhile, I am really happy that game soundtracks are for sale and I am looking forward to see the available catalog to expand.
Comments