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Is Music More Lasting Than Graphics In Games?
Thanks to Tokyopia for their article arguing that music may be more important than graphics for the most enduring videogames. The author, apparently a "a renowned game music composer who would rather remain nameless", argues: "In going back to look at a few rare [older] videogames that still [have lasting value] today, it struck me that the graphics have almost always dated horribly, but the music - almost without fail - still succeeds. At worst, old music elicits a smile. At best, a full on emotional connection that really enhances the game." He then references Sega's NiGHTS Into Dreams and Namco's Ridge Racer Type 4 as titles which benefit from this connection, concluding: "Over time, a game's graphics will inevitably be relegated to being the mere nuts and bolts of the experience. The basic structure around which the all important game play is wrapped. But the music? The music is our emotional connection. It's the experience. And it plays forever."
For me the most enduring music from video games is Kefkas theme from Final Fantasy 3 (or 6, or whatever, I never really got the hang of thier numbering scheme). Some of the other music from that game (and other Final Fantasys') has also stayed with me. But Kefkas theme is the best
History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it - Sir Winston Churchill
Yeah, Biohazard gave me a warm fuzzy feeling, Nights was pretty teardripping, and Luigi scared the living daylights out of me 8)
Ask a game artist to look at an old game and comment on it and chances are they will mention the graphics in a sort of nostalgic way. They probably won't have a lot to say about the music. The same could be said for a game designer.
This guy is just focusing on the bits that he has control over. His insight about music being more lasting is just his biased opinion, nothing more.
I used to be a coder in the Amiga demo scene and nowadays, when I think back to those times, it's the music that I remember. There were a few particularly impressive graphical innovations that I remember but (obviously) I have no emotional connection to them. But some of the music... oh, masterpieces!
Anyone remember 4Mat and Nuke of Anarchy?
Or the track Jesus on E's?
Some of the best music I've ever heard came out of the Amiga scene.
has written some of the best video game music in history. I mean, I can just sit and listen to the Final Fantasy 4 soundtrack over and over, even though I have only played the game for a few minutes.
I love NetHack.
Every now and then, I hear my daughter (15) playing some riffs of Doom music on her flute.
The living have better things to do than to continue hating the dead.
On the other hand, I can't figure out what the heck the author means by this categorization--
The first (Tetris, Pac-Man, Space Invaders) is the game that plays you. Your interactivity is merely a response to dilemmas inherent in the game. Move or be eaten. Shoot or be invaded. Reach the end before time is up.
The second type (GTA3, The Sims, Halo) is the game that you play. There are ground rules, but there are also choices. This is the next evolution of gaming: replicating an experience.
After reading this, I'm at a loss to figuring out what he means by this--the first set of games has low quality graphics, the second his hi quality, but I doubt that's it. There are no choices in Tetris?
One reason music doesn't seem as dated may just be because music hasn't changed as much as graphics have. While music reproduction and quality are orders of magnitude better than they once were, it seems to me that the difference is less drastic than the advances in graphics (or, seen another way, the nature of older graphics is more primitive than the nature of older music).
Normally I turn off the music in games cause it usually sucks anyway
For some reason, the theme from Defender of the Crown sticks with me: great old Amiga game.
Dum dum da-dum
Dum dum da-dum
dum-dum dum-dum dum-dum dum-dum dum dum da-dum..
Hmm, of course, that could be about 80 other video game themes, now that I look at it.
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The original "Wing Commander" for PC opened with this "symphony" which I still remember quite well.
And "RBI Baseball" on the NES -- the theme song can linger in my head for days. Then again, so can "It's a Small World After All".
MORTAR COMBAT!
Deus ex, although creating a dark atmosphere with its monotonous graphics never was a pioneer in that domain. Playing an 80 hour game means there is a lot of the story that will evade from memory. Also, since it is a pc game, it wasn't immediately playable on windows xp. What is left after all those years is the music. Alexander Brandon himself described his work as emotional in an interview that. It truly stuck to my senses and which is why I made an audio cd out the synthesized music files that were on the cd (the only content easily accessed). Since memory is all about connections, every new area in the game had its own music theme which reminded me of those 2 hour long levels in a 3 minute song.
One word:
g
c64introdecompressionnoisewithcolorfulflickerin
There you go.. with your fancy dum-didel-dum crap...
Sega's music and sound design for it's Arcade Games was some of the best ever made. Out Run, Space Harrier, Afterburner are just a few that had awesome music.
"Jeremy, you need to get to an internet cafe and cut and paste some appropriate sentiments about me from the world wide
His point about music transcending technical limits is spot on. Whether you hear it out of a mono speaker on a 13" TV, or performed by an orchestra, the Mario Main Theme is awesome.
But why hate on pixelart? It certainly gave characters, well, more character. I used to make Marios on graph paper because I knew how many squares to use. Check out Diesel Sweeties for an awesome pixelart webcomic.
I'm on top of my game like I'm standin' on Xbox.
If you think there've been no memorable video game soundtracks since mid-2000, you've been sleeping in a room cushioned by your own nostlagia. To name a few excellent soundtracks that've been released between then and now:
I listen to these soundtracks all the time, as well as older ones, because they are good music. They stand on their own as being great soundtracks. You can play the game, and get that extra nostalgia-tilt value in there, but people who are not gamers can listen to these and go, "that's some good music!"
"The pixelated graphics just remind us how silly and trivially we expended our youth. But the music...the music makes us want to waste our youth yet again."
Not to me. The graphics are the same as always, and the music is the same as always. Perspective might change, but it's still the same game. The first and most important part will always be the gameplay. For example, I may hate sports games, but there are a couple of sports games released that have such great gameplay I can play them regardless of their genre. Graphics and sound are a part of the experience; you can't easily judge them in a vacuum.
I can play the old NES MegaMan games with the sound off and still really enjoy it, because the gameplay is something I really enjoy. The graphics don't seem dated -- low resolution and low colour depth, yea, but apropos for the hardware involved.
The only really ugly graphics you see are on the PS1/Saturn/N64 era games, when most games had either non-filtered textures, lack of hardware perspective correction (I hate that about PS1 games), or blurry textures. First-gen PS2 games suffer from a bad case of jaggies, but it's not something that's going to throw me off a good game.
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What about the sound effects from Asteroids? Or the opening effects of the Atari 2600 Pac-Man? It isn't just music, but sound itself.
Sound has always played a vital role in our enjoyment of videogames, just as it has in movies (a bad film score can kill a decent movie). How many of us can't stand silent movies with no scores? I love silent movies, when they have a score, but fall asleep whenever there is just dead silence.
Sometimes we underestimate the effect sound can have on our enjoyment of a medium...
Ultima IV had some of the best music I remember in a computer game. On the Atari ST version it would even use the MIDI out ports built into those computers. I ran it through a Yamaha DX7 and Ensoniq Mirage which had people dropping their jaws at the music in that game back in 1986.
God, those off key tones when you started that game still send chillis down my spine.
I prefer Atari 7800 Ballblazer's nostalgic rockin' track.
Political correctness is the newest form of slavery.
The soundtrack to sub-terrainia comes to mind. The game by itself was above average, but the musical score composed b jesper kyd put it over the top
What more can be said?
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Without a doubt, anytime that I head the theme song for any "Monkey Island" game it gives me the chills. I have so many good memories of that game during my childhood that I'll never forget those games!
The music from older games holds up so well because it tended to be simple, catchy stuff. Most modern games go for more ambient music, so you don't really remember it afterwards. You can't forget the music from Mario 1 or Zelda 1, but I can't remember any music from Mario Sunshine or The Wind Waker (other than the remixes of the old music).
I can remember lots of music from 2D games, but music from 3D games tends to not leave a lasting impression. I can remember some music from the two N64 Zeldas, but really only the repeating stuff you were supposed to remember (i.e. Saria's song).
I'm very thankful though that I managed to forget the music to Final Fantasy 7. I'm not an RPG fan, but my college roommate was. I remember trying to do homework with some friends while he was playing FF7. The music in that game is so repetitive that it really gets on your nerves in under 5 minutes. Particuarlly the Chocobo racing music...
His main point is spot on. And SSX is a prime example. SSX3 opted for licensed music tracks. I'm instantly turned off by half the tracks cuz they're commercial crap you hear on the radio.
In SSX Tricky, they had some really funked out tracks and that REALLY were interactive (changing depending on how well you were doing). Sure, they kinda did that in SSX3, but there's only so much slice n dice they could do to original tracks with vocals. In the end, it just doesn't work.
And in 10 years, if I dust off the old 'Cube and pop in SSX3, will the music still be appealing like this article described of certain older games with original music? NO. Instead it will sound dated. I will be saying, "Oh that is so 2003!"
how many games I play with mood enhancing music, I'll never forget that like 3 tone midi that played when there was a man on in NES RBI Baseball. It was the same note played four times/verse and like an octave higher each verse. My cousin and I would just sit there and sing
man on the base
man on the base
man on the base
MAN ON THE BASE!!!
(repeat until man leaves base)
It isn't just music, but sound itself.
Hell yes. Who has played System Shock 2? Do you remember the voices of terror in the people? What about those that are transforming into the many? What about SHODAN?
Look at Metroid:Prime. They did the intelligent thing of making new music, but the base of them all were old metroid (the original) songs. Sometimes you have to really listen to hear them, but they are all there. That makes an old gamer like myself really comfy with the switch from the old side-scroller to the FPS.
Good quote, too many chars. Seriously, the slashdot 120 char limit sucks!
Just curious, but how many people here care about the sound in a game? I personally don't give a damn, and really, if I ever get to the point where I decide whether a game is enjoyable or not because of the sound, I hope someone shoots me.
The music is usually just something to provide background noise in a game so you don't sit in an empty quite room playing a game until the next sound effect comes along. All that BS about music setting a mood is ridiculous because if the game can't make you feel like you're in a tense situation (for example) without some good music, the game sucks. Of course that isn't to say music doesn't help that along, just that if a game is good, it isn't nessecary.
Hell, half the time if I have the option to turn the music off, or lower the volume to nothing, I'll do it and run my own.
for how enduring the music is is at Overclocked Remix. A must-listen for those who know video game music never dies - it just gets remixed.
Sometimes the graphics and gameplay just suck, yet the musical score may have a catchy jingle and well you continue to play....
Back in my game programming days, we had the old Sega Saturn running, and we'd play some Daytona. The only thing I remember from that thing is...well, I think Penny Arcade said it best.
=Brian
There is nothing so good that someone, somewhere, will not hate it.
music is not as multidimensional as graphics: e.g., with two channels and few instruments you can come close to what humans can hear (ok, a crude example, but you'll get the idea). in graphics we still don't have 1000 inch screens and the graphical power to come even close what humans can see.
An earlier Slashdot article pointed to the rising use of licensed music for U.S. video games.
If game music is suppsoed to provide the game's atmosphere and instill a bit of nostalgia long after the game is done, how can you convey those feelings nearly as well with licensed music, which were composed for different reasons?
Years from now, you will hear a song from the 80s. Which are you likely to remember from it? That is was a song from the 80s? Or that it was a song used in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City?
Nor wife (4?) for that matter. :P
Of course not, everyone knows that 39 is the maximum value for wife! Attemting to use a value higher than that runs the risk of wife outputting severe physical injury, so you should manually truncate higher values to 39 when in the vincinity of wife...
Maybe it has something to do with how music sometimes gets stuck in your head, whereas that happens somewhere between rarely and never for graphics (unless you've been staring at the same screen way too long, but that's another matter entirely)...
For example, I seem to have the music to Metropolis Zone stuck in my head at the moment. Sonic 1/2/3/S&K always did have good music..
Anyone remember Digger? With the Popcorn song playing in the background? Now *that* is good music there :)
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One of the best things they did in Metroid Prime was early game Talon Overworld music. It's a very slow remix of the Brinstar music from the original Metroid. You start playing, and suddenly you realize it sounds familiar. Then you sit and listen and realize what it is, and it just sounds perfect for the situation.
I know the Magmoor Caverns music is the lower Norfair music from Super Metroid, and the fight with Ridley music is the music from the fight with Ridley in Super Metroid, but other than those 3 I don't remember anything else resembling the old Metroid music. (Of course the "you got an item" and "continue from save" sound effects are direct from Super Metroid).
Mark Morgan did Fallout 1, 2 and Planescape: Torment(though I've only played the Fallouts, got the Planescape soundtrack online...). He's done some great stuff for "modern" games I think. Incredibly moody and atmospheric. Half of those songs I still remember; the Raider theme is just cool to listen to. Keichi Suziki isn't bad either; composer of the Earthbound(SNES) soundtrack. Incredibly unique and creative stuff...
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I have to disagree and say you're wrong. I still occasionally remember/hum some memorable tunes from games of long ago. Ie: Pac-Man opening ditty, Donkey Kong Jr, Rolling Thunder music (duh nuh nuuuhhhhh, nuh-nuh!), C64 Ghosts n Goblins, any number of Mario tunes (Doo, doo doo-doooo, dooo dooo tooot dooo...) ;-D
:-)
And the SSX Tricky remix of RUN DMC's TRICKY.
Don't forget the intro music is the intro music of the original metroid... I turned it on for the first time and was listening to it.... had to fire up the ol'NES to prove to my wife that it had the intro song in it....
Good quote, too many chars. Seriously, the slashdot 120 char limit sucks!
The first (Tetris, Pac-Man, Space Invaders) is the game that plays you.
/me ducks.
He obviously lives in soviet russia!
A: Yes. Next question.
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One of the greatest things of the Sierra On-Line games (especially their adventure games) was the great original music. I have been enjoying listening to the music from the games played many years ago. For downloads of the music see:
http://smc.sq7.org/
http://queststudios.com/
With 3D games that are first generation a la Playstation-Saturn-N64, the graphics can be hard to bear sometimes. In these cases I think music can be more lasting. With 2D games, this is not really a problem as all 2D games seemed to have aged fine for me and are easy to look at. Something about blurry textures and low framerates really annoys me.
I still think about the music for this game from time to time, and I didn't even own the Amiga, I played at a friend's house. It was just sublime, perhaps I'll do a search for the soundtrack here momentarily... The game was pretty fun, too, a clear fore-runner to the top-down RPG-style games I'm playing today such as Neverwinter Nights.
Palaces, barricades, threats, meet promises
I happen to think this is a classic example of video game music. Makes me wish I could still play the piano.
I have found there are just two ways to go.
It all comes down to livin' fast or dyin' slow. -REK, Jr.
But thats not my point. Retro games such as the glorious Pacman had lovely sound. This music has now taken a life of its own. Read this Wired Article to see what I mean.
Mod Wisely.
Deus Ex: the only game with theme music this good.
who here hasn't hummed the tetris theme while packing the van for a road trip?
I get more kicks out of hearing or thinking about the Super Mario Bros music that I do looking at a screen shot. I get more kicks out of seeing an Unreal screenshot than I do hearing or thinking about the music, and the music in Unreal is pretty damn good. my 2c
I find game music to be annoying repetitive at best. No matter how good it is, I get sick of it after a few loops. Sure, I smile whenever I hear a snippet of music from Doom, but that's only because I recognize it from the title screen. I always play my games without music. It's too distracting for me. It certainly isn't what makes or breaks a game. They could license from Barry Manilow for all I care.
...when it came to getting extra value from game music. I say that because a lot of the time the music on Saturn CDs are plane audio tracks easily ripped to your hard drive these days.
The best tracks I got came from Nights, Virtua Cop I and II, and Wipeout. Yep, there actually was Wipeout on the Saturn at one time. And as much as many hated it, I even listen to the music from Daytona USA on occasion. Listening to these tunes long after the Saturn's demise makes me feel I got a pretty good value after all.
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I haven't played legend of zelda in many, MANY years. but recent I've had it stuck in my head whenever I talk to clients, and I always snicker imagining that they're gannon, and I'm running up and stabbing them with a coffee stir thingie.
Fortunately, I've always stopped myself before it reached the point of contaminating my coffee stir, but I still hear the music.
I even hear it now.
don't you?
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Would you rather blush at an after E3 party when getting a compliment for your heart touching deep music creations or your multi-shading skillz on them super pixeled 2mill polygon apples? Though im sure there are people out there who would understand and greatly appreciate the latter :)
By coincidence I was listening to C64 remixes in my car on the way to work today!
:-)
There are still people creating re-mixes all the time to classic (and not so well known) SID music. If you don't know Monty on the Run, the Sanxion loader, the Ocean Loader (I think it was version 2 that was the best), Rambo loader, The Last V8, Crazy Comets etc. then you should do something about it right now!
I even went to a C64 rock concert a year or two ago which was brilliant. There were some famous C64 musicians there as well. I saw a fiddler play Monty on the Run and thought he was going to explode at the end (it's a fast one).
So, the music is definitely more longer lasting than the graphics. You can "play" the music in your head. Thinking about the graphics of a game doesn't really work in the same way!
Ask anyone about Quake1 crates? Sure... anyone who played it then. They've got the imagination overlayed on it. Anyone who didn't play quake and looks at it now just says, "Yeah... everything looks like mud."
The N64 has a major problem with this. Ocarina of Time looks smashing again in the Gamecube version, but just before the Gamecube version came out, I tried to get a friend to play it on my N64. I knew they'd love the gameplay... but they just didn't engage. It was too blurry to be inspiring, the way it had been for me. To them, it was just a mess. They couldn't even really tell what things were. This is the reason so many people were disappointed the the Spaceworld Zelda demo didn't turn into a game... WW was beautiful, but Spaceworld Link was what we'd been imagining from Ocarnia's crude polygons the whole time.
Obviously, old sprite graphics are a whole different story. King's Quest 5 VGA is quite crude, technically... animatino consists of a few pixels moving about on a painted background. Those painted backgrounds, though... they're gorgeous. Something like Quest for Glory III or IV is still inspiring or horrifying...
Then all cultural products will lose historical context at this rate. People will just remember the licensed version rather than the original.
Blizzard offers just about all of the music for Diablo II and the expansion pack as 128-kbps MP3's for free download on their site. You don't appreciate the complexity and depth of the music until you hear it while you're not playing the game. The liner notes are amusing to boot!
:-).
I've dumped them all to a CF card on my Zaurus and am listening to them now
"Can't you see that everyone is buying station wagons?"
A great example of powerful game music is in "Interstate '76". The original funk CD-audio soundtrack not only added to the wonderful experience of the game but was also suitable just for pure listening enjoyment. (Every time I hear the first few bars of the main theme, I'm completely drawn back into the game world even though I'm listening to the CD on my way to work).
Even licensed music used well provides a real connection in a game. GTA:VC was that much more cool and resonated with 80's style thanks to the amazing soundtrack.
Ah yes, System Shock 2. My god, that voice. I would have been your insect, my cybernetic love. You know, it was almost worth playing Deus Ex 2 just for the pleasure of flying Air SHODAN.