Great Gaming: Music
My last post mentioned the failing point of the Final Fantasy franchise. But one thing it doesn't particularly mention is one of the things that it does well; that is music. I can't recall a Final Fantasy game that didn't have a great orchestrated track to associate it with. Every time they manage to make a sound track worthy of a separate purchase from the game itself. And this is something that I think allot of game producers need to pay attention to because it's something that can make or break even a cheesy plot line.
Take for instance the Metal Gear franchise. Almost everyone I know can hum out the main themes from the original but can't even recall how the others sounded. The story lines are just as goofy from the first to the others (ok, perhaps the sequels were a bit more insane) and yet the game is generally cherished as being great.
This follows for allot of other games too. StarFox managed a great set of theme tracks to back up some solid game play. It plays to the SNES's strengths. It's fast. It's fun. And it sounds great. F-Zero milked every bit of audio oomph from the resources they had. Which considering the technical hurdles of just making a racing game such as it was, is something of an anomaly. In recent releases, Fallout 3 has a rousing set of tunes that goes way beyond just setting the tone of the game... The opening theme in particular becomes more powerful as the scope of the main quest is completed. Portal's end tune manages to be expository and catchy. It plays with the credits and is the only music in the game.
On the other hand there are plenty of games that are awful because the soundtrack didn't get much attention. Skies of Arcadia felt particularly cookie cutterish and generically animu because, despite the novel setting, it didn't try hard to set itself apart from the RPG pack. Even Zone of the Enders was a great, albiet short, game that could have been far more impactful if the sound track didn't sound like it was asleep at the wheel. The shrieking chorus in the Chrome Hounds design screens drives my wife insane which by extension forces a reevaluation of the game's 'entertainment factor'.
I suppose I should revist this idea some time later after some more thought because I might be confusing memorable games with fun ones. As Dues Ex was great but I can scarcely remember a tune from it and I largely remember Skies of Arcadia because I forced myself through it telling myself that the game was supposed to be fun. Or atleast, I wanted to believe that it was (it wasn't). It could of had the London Philharmonic backing it up and I still don't think I would have cared. I'd probably of just bought the sound track and shut off the Game Cube.
But on the other hand, I managed through the awful bits of Star Ocean: The Second Story because the music lent the game charm above and beyond what the rest of the game was able to muster. Which is the root of the point I suppose.
Music helps our imagination fill in the shortcomings of the game by rousing our emotions.
Case in point, imagine if the rousing symphonic score of John William's sound track to Star Wars was replaced with something culturally relevent like samplings of the "Bee Gees" and the "Jackson 5".
Take for instance the Metal Gear franchise. Almost everyone I know can hum out the main themes from the original but can't even recall how the others sounded. The story lines are just as goofy from the first to the others (ok, perhaps the sequels were a bit more insane) and yet the game is generally cherished as being great.
This follows for allot of other games too. StarFox managed a great set of theme tracks to back up some solid game play. It plays to the SNES's strengths. It's fast. It's fun. And it sounds great. F-Zero milked every bit of audio oomph from the resources they had. Which considering the technical hurdles of just making a racing game such as it was, is something of an anomaly. In recent releases, Fallout 3 has a rousing set of tunes that goes way beyond just setting the tone of the game... The opening theme in particular becomes more powerful as the scope of the main quest is completed. Portal's end tune manages to be expository and catchy. It plays with the credits and is the only music in the game.
On the other hand there are plenty of games that are awful because the soundtrack didn't get much attention. Skies of Arcadia felt particularly cookie cutterish and generically animu because, despite the novel setting, it didn't try hard to set itself apart from the RPG pack. Even Zone of the Enders was a great, albiet short, game that could have been far more impactful if the sound track didn't sound like it was asleep at the wheel. The shrieking chorus in the Chrome Hounds design screens drives my wife insane which by extension forces a reevaluation of the game's 'entertainment factor'.
I suppose I should revist this idea some time later after some more thought because I might be confusing memorable games with fun ones. As Dues Ex was great but I can scarcely remember a tune from it and I largely remember Skies of Arcadia because I forced myself through it telling myself that the game was supposed to be fun. Or atleast, I wanted to believe that it was (it wasn't). It could of had the London Philharmonic backing it up and I still don't think I would have cared. I'd probably of just bought the sound track and shut off the Game Cube.
But on the other hand, I managed through the awful bits of Star Ocean: The Second Story because the music lent the game charm above and beyond what the rest of the game was able to muster. Which is the root of the point I suppose.
Music helps our imagination fill in the shortcomings of the game by rousing our emotions.
Case in point, imagine if the rousing symphonic score of John William's sound track to Star Wars was replaced with something culturally relevent like samplings of the "Bee Gees" and the "Jackson 5".
I can already hear "In The Navy" by YMCA.
posted by Ouchies at
8:03 AM
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