We store cookies, you can get more info from our privacy policy.

Are You Listening?

by Ryan Cox - April 5, 2001, 1:02 am EDT

Let us go singing as far as we go: the road will be less tedious. Virgil (70 BC - 19 BC), Eclogues

The year is 2001 and by now we thought we would have flying cars, self programming microwaves that cook dinner, do our laundry and have full integration with our holographic games. Much to our dismay (especially the gamers), we do not. We do have some amazing game systems these days that look pretty darn nifty, especially when you grew up with 8-bit. So the Playstation 2 won’t fly you to work and the GameCube (probably) won’t cook my dinner; they still provide revolutionary visuals. Is this all that’s important though in the world of gaming?

Advances in graphics engines and processors, as well as intense scrutiny on the playability of games has made for some long hours in front of a screen with nothing but flashing lights, frustration with some dark overlord & the same songs playing over and over again. Many of these simple game tunes get forever planted in our head, engrained into our psyche like some mental audio/visual branding. These songs not only become part of us, but they enhance the game in a way that a simple extra graphic here or there could not.

Not following me? Think of it this way and perhaps you can realize the impact of video game audio:

You’re playing Pac-Man in the arcade, and there is no music climbing faster and faster, pushing you to eat the damned ghosts in the brief time they are edible in blue. You sit playing the Legend of Zelda for 8 hours straight with no sounds to accompany your journey. Just imagine Quake without the ambient sounds of Trent Reznor. Can such ambience or silence enrich your experience? Can you imagine the games without remembering the tunes & audio associated with them?

“Video games don’t rely on the music, it’s just something to listen to while you’re zoned out,” you might argue. OK, but by that rational we could be blasting aliens listening to Eddie Money and it would just be the bomb, right? I just don’t think so. (The editors and staff wish to sincerely apologize to Eddie Money and company. We mean you no harm, and we acknowledge that you have mad skills with the harmonica.) Music does matter and can make, or break the game you’re playing… Can we zone out to just anything while blasting aliens? Even Eddie Money? It just sounds like an ugly combo to be part of an enjoyable gaming experience.

As important as music is to a game, I personally think that video game music has only recently started to fully take its place as an integral role in gaming. We have grown from the oftentimes annoying doots and bleeps of games past to music that pounds as hard as your heart does when you take that turn at 180mph. Real bands are providing sound tracks to games (Rob Zombie alone has done over 20, or something) and game music itself is getting more intelligent. Many of the N64’s later titles from Nintendo & Rare feature soundtracks that change with the game, reflecting the mood and situation. It seems like a small touch but the resulting atmosphere this technique provides is enormous.

Technology may play a large role in this trend, but I believe it is more so that the gamers themselves are beginning to demand more intelligent, well thought out music and audio for their entertainment dollar. Who knows, in the future we may have not just the top dollar bands performing and scoring for video games, but their soundtracks outselling the next Britney Spears album. (The editors and staff do not wish to apologize for that one, although we are in agreement on the pleasing physical appearance of Ms.Spears.)

Thank you & goodnight.

Got a news tip? Send it in!
Advertisement
Advertisement