Importance of Music, Part 2

Part 1 >>

“I had a nudge of this for a while. I’ve tried to deny it and try to put it under genres with different sounding instruments, but still, they still have that video game feel too them. When you’re 6 year old nephew says it sounds like video game music (his exact words) it is. Video game music is scatterbrained; it doesn’t have a certain rhythm format it follows. That’s how most of my music is.
By all means, I’m fine by that. I still like it.” ~ClimbLadders

There’s just that certain feel to VGM that sets it apart from other kinds of music. It has all the common elements (rhythm, harmonies, crescendos), but it also has a certain feel to make it unique. My personal opinion is that the difference is the intended use of the music. Some music is meant to be listened to and some is really better background music. Sometimes it needs to be more generic, sometimes it needs to match up to some other sort of media and sometimes a story just needs to be told.

This is where video game music differs. Most good VGM combines all aspects of music. It can be background music or listening music as necessary, it should respond well with the game, and it should help to set the mood and tell the story of the game. I believe that because of the incredibly difficult role of combining all of the above-mentioned aspects, VGM comes out being more “scatterbrained,” often.

But as I’m listening to Another Telmina from Chrono Cross, I start to realize; another aspect of VGM, possibly the most important one, is the sense of growth and adventure that the tracks inspire. The music floats along, continuous from one chord to the next, until the melody and counter-melody come together in a grand crescendo, and finally bring us back to a focus on the game.

Finally, the music can provide cues to the player, and keep consistency up in the game. A wonderful example of this is a transition from an RPG area to a battlefield, such as the Final Fantasy XIII Blinded by Light track. Any of us that are familiar with the game will immediately reminisce back to the hours toiled away at grinding when these sounds reach our ears, but in the background we can see the spectacular scenery of the game we were just in. These cues help the game to transition more smoothly, and really end up bringing the game together (as any game developer will be sure to tell you).

Lastly, I’d like to harken back to the comment Ian left about 8-bit chiptunes on my last blog. “I’ve read that old compositions from 8-bit games are so iconic because the limited options you have to work with makes the song necessarily simple but distinct, like a jingle. So they’re catchy, and become as much a symbol of their receptive games as logos and titular characters.” I’ve done some research, and I don’t know if there’s a real good answer to why we like the classic style so much.

Not surprisingly, however, some people have based their lives around the blips and the bleeps. Cristina Fuentes is just such a person. She’s a mix artist who spends her time performing a set of composed songs along with other chiptune’rs. She got started with 8-bit tunes because, similarly to many others, she had the equipment available to do so. If you would like a tutorial on how to get started, I would suggested reading this blog by WritersBlock off of newgrounds.

Bellow I’ve provided a list of what I have found to be essential in video game music.

Until next time, good gaming!
~Ben

Music in games
- The soundtrack makes the game recognizable
- Matches the style and mood of the game
- Provides cues
- Sets a mood
- Keeps interest up
- Something consistent
- Evolved from chiptunes

Part 1 >>