Game Music

Terr Fangbite · Post by **Terr Fangbite** » 2004-09-26 01:07am

Anyone remember the music which used to be on the games 10 years ago? The only reason I've thought of this was I just played an internet game which has music which sounds just like I remember playing as a kid. While this music was bleeps and stuff, it was and still is good to listen to. Now the point. Does giving the game music which sounds like from a cd make the game better? Couldn't current games be better served with the occasional midi background music? I think what I'm really driving at is it better that we've stopped seeing these classic bleep music and instead hear the full orchestra and some chick singing?

Sarevok · Post by **Sarevok** » 2004-09-26 02:07am

Well many old games had awesome music. Take Star Control 2 for instance. One never forgets the music of that game.

Cyborg Stan · Post by **Cyborg Stan** » 2004-09-26 02:15am

In general, I don't mind having music 'upgraded' throughout time. However it's more of a case of it setting the general theme, just like how some might perfer simpler graphics and gameplay for certain things. For instance, my favorite memory of playing Giants : Citizen Kabuto when I'm blasting off into the sunset to clear a valley full of alien verminis is not complete without the first few notes of the theme blasting alongside it.

For instance, in a rare time upgrading the music hurt - the tunes in Tie Fighter vs the music in X-Wing vs Tie Fighter. The music for XWvTF was more or less a direct rip of the Star Wars themes. It's good music, but when you play a game for a certain amount of time you realize something - you're sick of it. In this case though, it's more or less putting the wrong music entirely of the job. And in the case of the Exile series, there's no music at all - a deliberate choice.

In addition, it also depends - with the upgraded quality there's upgraded consistancy. Take for instance the MIDI format that was king of computer music or something for a few years. In this case the same file can sound drastically different using different programs. For instance, alot of otherwise pingy MIDI files sound alot better when played with something like WinGroove. (For this reason, I liked MOD/MOD variant music which I thought was better given the same time period than MIDI, partially because of the customized instruments in MOD and the fact that I think Star Control 2 (+ music) is one of the best games ever.)

Post by **Kuja** » 2004-09-27 01:10pm

Vgmusic.com is one of my favorite tuneage sites.

Post by **Edi** » 2004-09-27 02:19pm

I actually like the music of many older games almost more than the music in many newer ones. Of course, it varies a bit with the music in question.

Some of the game music that I liked best was in Age of Wonders (the original, not the sequel), and in Heroes of Might and Magic 2, but even many older games had excellent music. Veil of Darkness and The Summoning come to mind.

Edi

Panzer Grenadier · Post by **Panzer Grenadier** » 2004-09-27 02:21pm

As long as it is catchy and there is a good selection I dont care what it sounds like.

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2004-09-27 02:24pm

some of the best game music is easily from the 16 bit era. Killer Instinct, the various final fantasy games, chrono trigger, phantasy star IV, castlevania, street fighter, megaman, etc. tons of great tunes from that era. modernization is nice, but sometimes you can't beat the classics.

Post by **Kuja** » 2004-09-27 02:48pm

The music in Chrono Trigger was just plain awesome, which is not surprising when one realizes it was written by Nobuo Uemetsu.

Dartzap · Post by **Dartzap** » 2004-09-27 02:52pm

the music from the original RA and RA2, just amazing