Sound in Games

Eaargh, I am falling behind! I’ll set things straight here and now. So! Sound in games. It’s vital, nice sound effects and a moving musical score really gives a feel of immersion and quality to a game. Sound can also play an active role in how you play, such as listening out for footsteps, gunshots or the rev of the chainsaw.

I’d say the key composers working in games would include Koji Kondo, whose Zelda songs are very memorable. Everybody knows the Zelda theme and for good reason, he’d really pushed the NES technically in terms of its musical capabilities. All his following efforts have been fantastic too, though I was disappointed with the small amount of orchestral music in Twilight Princess. Apparently Koji had pushed for more orchestral stuff but didn’t get his way.

Then there’s the Final Fantasy guy… I don’t know his name nor do I know his music very well as I don’t like Final Fantasy very much at all. I realise I’m now going to be strung by the class for stating such blasphemy but I just don’t like it! Confront me if you want my reasons! I don’t often follow game composers as they don’t tend to cross genres and franchises very often, but recently I enjoyed the work of Kow Otani. His Roar of the Earth soundtrack for Shadow of the Colossus was a brilliant epic orchestral showpiece and enhanced the experience of dangling from the beard of a 200 foot high monster even more than I thought possible.

So personally, my most memorable sonic moments in my gaming history range from those catchy little hum-along tunes like the track themes on Mario Kart to the rousing epic scores, as heard in Ocarina of Time and Halo. I actually think Halo has a very suited and cool soundtrack and the composer, Martin O’Donnell seems to have a very good grasp as to what game music is all about. He explains that the use of music in Halo is sparse because he believes that "[music] is best used in a game to quicken the emotional state of the player and it works best when used least" Wise words, methinks. He says that his soundtrack was made to convey "a feeling of importance, weight, and sense of the 'ancient'." I think the combination of voice and classical fundamentals fused with the electrical rock elements really convey this to make a soundtrack that’s got a perfect balance of ambience and excitement.

And erm… Good Times, eh? I hear it was sampled many a time by many an artist/band. Can it hold the title of Most Influential Recording of the 20^th Century? Who knows… or dares to dream...