OCRemix and Music Written for Video Games
July 28th 2006 02:00
Video games are sadly a relatively forgotten media format when looking at music composed for multimedia. Largely, music for video games serves a similar function as music written for movies or commercials. It is used as an evocative device to intensify or illustrate the action on screen, and by the early 1990s, video game music had reached a level of cinematic maturity that wouldn't have been dreamed of ten years prior.
Possibly because these progressions developed so quickly, within a single generation, video game music is not taken as seriously as other art forms. But even old examples displayed some merit of attempting to depict a scene. The themes from the original Super Mario Brothers game on the NES, from 1985, should be familiar to almost all people(if they aren't for you, midis of the main themes can be found on the Video Games Music Archive). The bright sunny skies of most levels are indicated with a lively and syncopated theme to match. As Mario heads underground, the theme changes to be sparser and in a deeper register to indicate his new environment. When Mario dies, a short comedic passage indicates this. Though the set of sounds may be limited, it is impressive what was done to try and depict various scenes.
This brings about another point - up until the use of the CD in all mainstream media, video game composers had to use on-board sound systems of consoles or computers which often had great limitations. This was done entirely for the reason of space conservation when cartridges weren't capable of holding large amounts of data. It is remarkable that with limitations on the amount of tracks usable, or the quality of samples, composers were still able to achieve effective results. Nobuo Uematso used the sampling capabilities of the Super Nintendo system to emulate orchestral tone colours in the Final Fantasy series. Yuzo Koshiro used the sound manipulation abilities of the DX-7 chip in the Genesis system to create unique and effective techno soundscapes. While no longer a factor in game composition, some of the games from around the early to mid 1990s show remarkable ingenuity in overcoming or working with these boundaries.
Often thought of as simply a haven of geeks and nerds, it is good to see some high quality communities popping up online supporting video game music in a highly professional manner. Probably the most notable is the OverClocked Remix website, maintained by David Lloyd. This is a website which encourages the creative arrangement and remixing of video game music, as a means of homage or fun. While some may shudder at the reference of 'remix', conjuring images of a piece which simply has a drum beat placed under it and is looped three times longer than the original, a short look around and listen will dispel this fear. A team of judges reviews submissions under constantly raising standards, and only the best get through. Further more, the word 'remix' here is used rather liberally, and can equally mean a symphonic or piano arrangement of a game theme.
Some good places to start might be:
From Castlevania(and Castlevania 3), a piano arrangement:
Original one and two remixed here
From Streets of Rage 2, an electronic\semi acoustic masterpiece:
Original here remixed here
From Zelda 2, a (synthetic) orchestral arrangement:
Original one and two remixed here
These are just three of the 1500 mixes currently on the site, and the list is ever growing with quality submissions. If you are interested in video game music, or you want to learn, it is definately a good site to have a look at. Midis for comparison come from another very useful site, the Video Game Music Archive. If you have an open mind you will not be disappointed checking either one out.
That's it for another week, next week is History of the Orchestra week, where over the 5 days I update I'll be covering 5 different eras in the development of the orchestra. Hope you can join me then.
A screenshot from Super Mario Brothers
This brings about another point - up until the use of the CD in all mainstream media, video game composers had to use on-board sound systems of consoles or computers which often had great limitations. This was done entirely for the reason of space conservation when cartridges weren't capable of holding large amounts of data. It is remarkable that with limitations on the amount of tracks usable, or the quality of samples, composers were still able to achieve effective results. Nobuo Uematso used the sampling capabilities of the Super Nintendo system to emulate orchestral tone colours in the Final Fantasy series. Yuzo Koshiro used the sound manipulation abilities of the DX-7 chip in the Genesis system to create unique and effective techno soundscapes. While no longer a factor in game composition, some of the games from around the early to mid 1990s show remarkable ingenuity in overcoming or working with these boundaries.
Often thought of as simply a haven of geeks and nerds, it is good to see some high quality communities popping up online supporting video game music in a highly professional manner. Probably the most notable is the OverClocked Remix website, maintained by David Lloyd. This is a website which encourages the creative arrangement and remixing of video game music, as a means of homage or fun. While some may shudder at the reference of 'remix', conjuring images of a piece which simply has a drum beat placed under it and is looped three times longer than the original, a short look around and listen will dispel this fear. A team of judges reviews submissions under constantly raising standards, and only the best get through. Further more, the word 'remix' here is used rather liberally, and can equally mean a symphonic or piano arrangement of a game theme.
Some good places to start might be:
From Castlevania(and Castlevania 3), a piano arrangement:
Original one and two remixed here
From Streets of Rage 2, an electronic\semi acoustic masterpiece:
Original here remixed here
From Zelda 2, a (synthetic) orchestral arrangement:
Original one and two remixed here
These are just three of the 1500 mixes currently on the site, and the list is ever growing with quality submissions. If you are interested in video game music, or you want to learn, it is definately a good site to have a look at. Midis for comparison come from another very useful site, the Video Game Music Archive. If you have an open mind you will not be disappointed checking either one out.
That's it for another week, next week is History of the Orchestra week, where over the 5 days I update I'll be covering 5 different eras in the development of the orchestra. Hope you can join me then.
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Comment by Phillippa
Bye!
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