What kinda bothers me about new games and what makes me kind of sad and what some of you guys don't seem to care about is that they can do anything with video game music nowadays so it isn't video game music anymore but just music IN video games.
That's a shame. Now that the limitations are gone a certain charm is gone as well and you could use those songs in movies as well. You wouldn't notice a difference. There is no "video game label" on those songs. Instead of listening to songs with bleeps EVERYONE knows "ah video games!".
Limitations force people to do some creative thinking.
That's why KNP games have a certain charm. There are a lot of limitations but its how you work with them, use them, work around them and find clever solutions. With everything possible this is gone.
So while Symphony of Night and Shadow, Grim Fandango and Shadow of Colossus are nice songs indeed I think they don't belong in a VIDEO GAME MUSIC thread even tough it is music you find in video games. It's pretty disappointing even the thread starter posts a song that could be from a movie as well.
I hope you understand what I'm saying here.
A certain genre of music has died simply because limitations are gone. Just like pixel art pretty much died for most commercial games because the limitations are gone- this is sad. Limitations don't have to be a bad thing.
@MasterM: I guess that's why the Mega Drive's FM music is so much better than the more powerful SNES' PCM music?
Soundtracks have a function, they don't exist in a vacuum. As a film editor you'd do well to know this.
You may be easily fooled, but the above isn't a film soundtrack at all, it's the soundtrack to spending 100+ hours walking around a silly island. The associations are profoundly different.
Originally Posted by MasterM What kinda bothers me about new games and what makes me kind of sad and what some of you guys don't seem to care about is that they can do anything with video game music nowadays so it isn't video game music anymore but just music IN video games.
That's a shame. Now that the limitations are gone a certain charm is gone as well and you could use those songs in movies as well. You wouldn't notice a difference. There is no "video game label" on those songs. Instead of listening to songs with bleeps EVERYONE knows "ah video games!".
Limitations force people to do some creative thinking.
That's why KNP games have a certain charm. There are a lot of limitations but its how you work with them, use them, work around them and find clever solutions. With everything possible this is gone.
So while Symphony of Night and Shadow, Grim Fandango and Shadow of Colossus are nice songs indeed I think they don't belong in a VIDEO GAME MUSIC thread even tough it is music you find in video games. It's pretty disappointing even the thread starter posts a song that could be from a movie as well.
I hope you understand what I'm saying here.
A certain genre of music has died simply because limitations are gone. Just like pixel art pretty much died for most commercial games because the limitations are gone- this is sad. Limitations don't have to be a bad thing.
MORE BLEEPY SOUNDS PLZ
like the man man song
I agree completely. Limitations have a way of bringing out the best in us. While orchestrial and movie-esque soundtracks are still awesome, the 8-bit and 16-bit video game music of old is in a genre all itself, and that genre seems to be slipping away from commercial titles.
When I compose music for my games, at least, I often find myself picking instruments that are cooky or 16-bit despite my collection of higher-quality soundfonts, because they ultimately make the song more memorable and catchy.
Originally Posted by MasterM What kinda bothers me about new games and what makes me kind of sad and what some of you guys don't seem to care about is that they can do anything with video game music nowadays so it isn't video game music anymore but just music IN video games.
That's a shame. Now that the limitations are gone a certain charm is gone as well and you could use those songs in movies as well. You wouldn't notice a difference. There is no "video game label" on those songs. Instead of listening to songs with bleeps EVERYONE knows "ah video games!".
I disagree.
The bleeps you love so much are just the instrument, and a good tune is still a good tune whatever instrument it's played on - guitar, piano, ancient games console...
You should listen to some of the remastered versions of old videogame themes.
Anyway, this is one of my favourites:
Sounds awesome if you download the midi version and play it back through a good quality soundcard.