im pretty sure what modern games are missing is your 12 year old mind. what i mean is that everything was cool back then to a kid and i think that its just a nostalgia thing honestly. I mean, pretend that games are still in their infancy and some 8 bit game just came out and youre 25-30, w/e years old (not a child). its not going to be the same.
Pff, I really don't agree that these old school game soundtracks are better, except for some nostalgic reason.
The best soundtracks I can remember are those from racing games, the ones with commercial tracks that have this "attitude". Games like Burnout Revenge, FlatOut, Pure, Motorstorm.
This trailer shows it nicely:
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwXhhbB_z6c[/ame]
When that music starts, just wow, nothing beats speed and action with a heavy beat or screaming guitars under it
Regarding the how and why of modern vs classic video game music, I think there are three important factors to consider:
Nostalgia. As mentioned before, nostalgia tends to cloud the mind to no small degree.
Hardware limitations. Classic games had rather extreme limitations on the hardware side of things. Even in the SNES era it was rather difficult to produce more than bleeps and bloops together with some coloured noise. Ambient and orchestral scores were nearly impossible to make, so composers of the time focused on the one thing they could do properly: melody.
Artist direction. With modern hardware we can produce pretty much any sound we want (just record and press play). The gives the composers a much broader choice. They can use ambient and orchestral scores, as well as regular pop music genres, and choose whatever fits best with the game. If a piece of game music wasn't all that memorable, it probably wasn't meant to be. You're supposed to be shooting aliens and rescue the princess, not sit back and listen to the tunes.
The changes in video game music are pretty comparable to those in cinema. Classic mute films were accompanied by a simple piano score which focused on melody because, well, that's all it could do. Modern films provide a wide range of scores, ranging from ambient to orchestral, from classic melodies to licensed pop music. Whichever the director found more appropriate.
Regarding the how and why of modern vs classic video game music, I think there are three important factors to consider:
Nostalgia. As mentioned before, nostalgia tends to cloud the mind to no small degree.
Hardware limitations. Classic games had rather extreme limitations on the hardware side of things. Even in the SNES era it was rather difficult to produce more than bleeps and bloops together with some coloured noise. Ambient and orchestral scores were nearly impossible to make, so composers of the time focused on the one thing they could do properly: melody.
Artist direction. With modern hardware we can produce pretty much any sound we want (just record and press play). The gives the composers a much broader choice. They can use ambient and orchestral scores, as well as regular pop music genres, and choose whatever fits best with the game. If a piece of game music wasn't all that memorable, it probably wasn't meant to be. You're supposed to be shooting aliens and rescue the princess, not sit back and listen to the tunes.
The changes in video game music are pretty comparable to those in cinema. Classic mute films were accompanied by a simple piano score which focused on melody because, well, that's all it could do. Modern films provide a wide range of scores, ranging from ambient to orchestral, from classic melodies to licensed pop music. Whichever the director found more appropriate.
should be easy to test those
find a tune that you like/love from an 8-bit or 16-bit game that you never got to play as a kid. for example, i never got to play contra, but when i found the remake of the tune, i thought it was frickin awesome.
find a remake of the tune, and see if it still holds up.
this is false, good music affects your emotions in some way or other, thats why people listen to music. also, the best music ever written always has a memorable tune.
any true master of music recognizes this and uses it to its full effect.
here's 3 tunes that will most likely all instill a certain emotion, and all of them
has a memorable tune:
if you took any of these tunes, and reduced them to 8-bit or 16-bit, they'd still be able to incite those same feelings.
and just to hammer the point home, would any star wars game be a star wars game without Star wars music?
perhaps modern games are over managed ie too many execs/producers/art managers etc
Because older games relied on the creativity of a few key people, they had more of a vibe going , but games now are like bad b movies though there are exceptions.
All I know is that even now when I play duke nukem or quake I still find it an enjoyable experience.
find a tune that you like/love from an 8-bit or 16-bit game that you never got to play as a kid. for example, i never got to play contra, but when i found the remake of the tune, i thought it was frickin awesome.
find a remake of the tune, and see if it still holds up.
this is false, good music affects your emotions in some way or other, thats why people listen to music. also, the best music ever written always has a memorable tune.
any true master of music recognizes this and uses it to its full effect.
Don't forget that the bleeps and bloops themselves contribute to the nostalgia. In order to test that you'd need to find someone who wasn't playing games in the 80's and 90's and ask them if the music is any good.
I'm not saying that the music from that era is bad. Not at all, I'm a big fan of a lot of those classic tunes. What I'm trying to say is that due to hardware limitations it was very difficult to produce anything other than melodies. Even simple things like volume control were limited or non-existent. That doesn't make the music bad, not at all. It just provides a shift of focus.
Take this Starcraft theme as an example. I find it very beautiful, it fits perfectly with the mood of the game and brings about all emotions associated with "a lone struggle in the depths of space." Brilliant video game music. But memorable? Not really. I've played Starcraft for years, and yet it took me several minutes to recognise it.
To summarise, I don't think that video game music has gotten worse overall. There aren't as many catchy tunes as I'd like to hear, but they're out there, just take a look at the wonderful examples already given. Video game music has diversified however, and I think technological advancements have a lot to do with that.
And finally, more brilliant music, in orchestral format:
Yes, I am glad that someone brought this up and I totally agree. I recently had this exact same thought after played through Alan Wake, and its music was definitely a big part of my pleasant experience with that game.
Also I think background music was also one of the reason why I found Call of Duty's multiplayers to be more engaging than Halo's multiplayer. I admit Halo has great soundtracks in the campaigns and lobbies, but for whatever reason its multiplayer is totally lack of any music.
screw the music... what games lack now adays is difficulty. The old school games were actually HARD. remember when you couldnt save? now THAT was good times. or the 1 shot kills you. touch an enemy, you`re dead. touch a wall, you`re dead. games now are just plain easy. the rare occasion, the hard mode is a challenge, but for the most part, its just too bloody easy.
Agreed, really nice music. The rest of the game looks like it's shaping up to be pretty cool, too:
Early on in Historia, government secret agent Stok is asked by his military friend Rosh if he'd like to join him in the army and become a vice officer in a newly-formed corps. In the "real" version of history, Stok turned down that offer and proceeded on to his next undercover assignment -- one where he's sent to investigate a resistance group that aims to hijack a supply of military explosives currently being delivered. He succeeds in dispatching the group's leader, but his next job -- which sends him behind enemy lines in the current war his country's waging -- quickly falls apart when his contact on the other side mysteriously disappears.
Let's say that Stok feels that something went wrong around this point in his life. Thus, he decides to use his time-trippin' powers to go back and accept Rosh's offer after all, leading an army of new recruits as they clear out an abandoned mine of enemy soldiers. Unfortunately, the entrance to the mine's been sealed off by a cave-in. This normally wouldn't be a problem since the army's got tons of explosives, but they're out right now -- apparently, the latest shipment has disappeared without a trace. Hmm.
Replies
[ame]
[ame]
The best soundtracks I can remember are those from racing games, the ones with commercial tracks that have this "attitude". Games like Burnout Revenge, FlatOut, Pure, Motorstorm.
This trailer shows it nicely:
[ame]
When that music starts, just wow, nothing beats speed and action with a heavy beat or screaming guitars under it
[ame]
Regarding the how and why of modern vs classic video game music, I think there are three important factors to consider:
- Nostalgia. As mentioned before, nostalgia tends to cloud the mind to no small degree.
- Hardware limitations. Classic games had rather extreme limitations on the hardware side of things. Even in the SNES era it was rather difficult to produce more than bleeps and bloops together with some coloured noise. Ambient and orchestral scores were nearly impossible to make, so composers of the time focused on the one thing they could do properly: melody.
- Artist direction. With modern hardware we can produce pretty much any sound we want (just record and press play). The gives the composers a much broader choice. They can use ambient and orchestral scores, as well as regular pop music genres, and choose whatever fits best with the game. If a piece of game music wasn't all that memorable, it probably wasn't meant to be. You're supposed to be shooting aliens and rescue the princess, not sit back and listen to the tunes.
The changes in video game music are pretty comparable to those in cinema. Classic mute films were accompanied by a simple piano score which focused on melody because, well, that's all it could do. Modern films provide a wide range of scores, ranging from ambient to orchestral, from classic melodies to licensed pop music. Whichever the director found more appropriate.should be easy to test those
any true master of music recognizes this and uses it to its full effect.
here's 3 tunes that will most likely all instill a certain emotion, and all of them
has a memorable tune:
[ame]
[ame]
[ame]
if you took any of these tunes, and reduced them to 8-bit or 16-bit, they'd still be able to incite those same feelings.
and just to hammer the point home, would any star wars game be a star wars game without Star wars music?
[ame]
EPIIIIICCCC!
Carry on.
Because older games relied on the creativity of a few key people, they had more of a vibe going , but games now are like bad b movies though there are exceptions.
All I know is that even now when I play duke nukem or quake I still find it an enjoyable experience.
- Don't forget that the bleeps and bloops themselves contribute to the nostalgia. In order to test that you'd need to find someone who wasn't playing games in the 80's and 90's and ask them if the music is any good.
- I'm not saying that the music from that era is bad. Not at all, I'm a big fan of a lot of those classic tunes. What I'm trying to say is that due to hardware limitations it was very difficult to produce anything other than melodies. Even simple things like volume control were limited or non-existent. That doesn't make the music bad, not at all. It just provides a shift of focus.
- Take this Starcraft theme as an example. I find it very beautiful, it fits perfectly with the mood of the game and brings about all emotions associated with "a lone struggle in the depths of space." Brilliant video game music. But memorable? Not really. I've played Starcraft for years, and yet it took me several minutes to recognise it.
[ame]To summarise, I don't think that video game music has gotten worse overall. There aren't as many catchy tunes as I'd like to hear, but they're out there, just take a look at the wonderful examples already given. Video game music has diversified however, and I think technological advancements have a lot to do with that.
And finally, more brilliant music, in orchestral format:
[ame]
1994:
[ame]
2008:
[ame]
Also I think background music was also one of the reason why I found Call of Duty's multiplayers to be more engaging than Halo's multiplayer. I admit Halo has great soundtracks in the campaigns and lobbies, but for whatever reason its multiplayer is totally lack of any music.
Tiny game but nice OST :P
Agreed, really nice music. The rest of the game looks like it's shaping up to be pretty cool, too:
http://www.1up.com/news/radiant-historia-time-tripping-madness