Have you ever wondered what makes the music of video games so special? As the world of gaming continues to expand, musical scoring from games such as “Super Smash Bros.”, “Legends of Zelda” and even “Animal Crossing’ has captivated music listeners everywhere! How important is music in the world gaming? Let’s find out!
Have you ever been mesmerized by the musical sounds of a video game? Within the world of video games and their soundtracks, video game music has the extreme power to create and transpose strong feelings for its players. The music can place its players and users in the position of leadership and connect them with the game in an emotional way. It’s no surprise that music is an essential part of entertainment.
Over the years, the video game industry has become one of the most important and profitable industries in the entertainment industry today! As many individuals can attest, video games can be very complex. This notion can be based on the heavy mixture of visual and auditory implications. Video games also require a high level of interaction as players can solve varying problems and puzzles. This allows users to develop their creativity along with expanding their imagination!
According to Diggitmagazine.com, video games put their users in focus when it comes to the immersion inside an alternative reality, which has a big impact on contemporary culture and societies at large. Content and genre can widely vary in the world of gaming. From RPGs. Strategy games, action games, and simulations games such as “Metal Gear”, “Resident Evil”, and “Fallout” challenge their players in multiple ways. Within these games, lies the crucial world of music production specifically made for video gaming. For gamers who spend hours solving different puzzles and different action sequences, music soundtracks and sound design has been an important factor that often goes unnoticed. Composer of Super Mario, Koji Kondo emphasizes that music within the gaming world can create a feeling for its users, even for players that play the games less often, as it is an impactful part of pop culture.
Electronic Music and Video Games
The History of video gaming has proven that the genre of electronic music has been a prominent musical component for video gaming as the makers of the first video game soundtracks didn’t yet have the technology to use the orchestral and detailed instruments, we hear from modern gaming today. At the time, soundtrack creators used very simple computer software which could be applied to the hardware efficiently. However, these efforts aided in the development of the industry of music production.
Electronic music has a dynamic history heavily based on its beginning creations. From the first synthesizer implication and drum pattern machines, to the highly developed Digital Audio Working Stations and MIDI platforms, electronic music can be explained as a heavy mixture of both analog and digital instruments. Popular soundtracks such as “Sonic the Hedgehog” have become a staple of not being only video gaming, but electronic music entirely. However, video games don’t just stop at electronic music implications. Many music artists have engaged in the world of soundtracking in the gaming world. Artists such as “Trent Reznor” from “Nine Inch Nails” while games such as “Tony Hawk Pro Skater”, “Guitar Hero”, and “Grand Theft Auto” use the sounds of popular music to entice their users during gaming. Japanese composer, Yoko Shimomura even recorded the “Final Fantasy XV” soundtrack.
Music Artists and Video Games
Video game soundtracks tend to present a non-commercial electronic sound, or strong orchestral sounds of music that later based on the popularity of the game becomes a cultural phenomenon.
The orchestral sounds used today in video games and are largely contributed by the London Symphony Orchestra I’m 2003, as they performed a piece from the video game “Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness”. The action of turning obscure music into popular musical implications happens similarly with cinema when the public is presented is “non-mainstream” music. For example, music from Final Fantasy can be Heard through an orchestra tour featuring the original composer Nobuo Uematsu. In 2011, the London Philharmonic orchestra released an album consisting of vintage video games soundtracks, which debuted 23rd on the Billboards 200.
According to Diggit Magazine, this was the highest debut orchestral release since Star Wars Revenge of the Sith in 2005.
So, the world of video games and music creates a very impactful bond! Video games can be much of than entertainment and or pop culture implications. Gaming can show the borders between mainstream culture and subcultures are not as thick as we may expect. As music continues to bring people together, music may make your gaming experience so much better!
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Check out some music predictions for the new year!
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