Fleming: I know what you mean, but I think that was more typical of older video games. Most big-name games nowadays have orchestral scores and sound more like film scores than old video game music.

Ben: Thanks for stopping by! I love the Zelda theme as well–Link To The Past is my favorite game of all time, and I’ve alwasy enjoyed the theme music. One of the classics, for sure.

I also believe that the updates that were made for the Super Smash Bros. Brawl game for Wii were great. You should check out its theme.

Cheers!

I believe this is the wrong philosphy because of two reasons: it does not allow the gamer to feel the way he naturally would, and it creates for extreme monotony during the gaming experience (usually because certain levels are played numerous times).

I think that this new idea of having different themes or sounds play when different actions occur in the game is neat. This will reduce the monotony and add some unexpected moods to arise. It will be interesting to see this type of composition implemented.

Mark: That’s a very interesting point about music in games creating the mood, rather than enhancing it. It’s true that I’ve never played Ocarina of Time, but I do remember hearing the theme before and I remember not being too fond of it….

Idhrendur: I was waiting for you to comment on this post! I’ve never played any of those games, but I like scenarios where the music actually plays against the action onscreen (as you mention it does in Bioshock) and the LOTR Online game sounds pretty cool.

AJ Harbison

Bioshock (on which another reader worked) was also good. The parts I noticed were natural for the environment (radios or record players), and in their normalacy made everything more creepy. The setting was an underwater city where objectivist principles and genetic tampering have ruined everything, so normal, happy music is quite the contrast.

And finally, Lord of the Rings Online is excellent. Besides the different, well written music for the different locations and events, they allow players to create music. You can either control the various instruments using the (computer) keyboard, or set up some files that specify music that will be played automatically. It’s not uncommon to run across small bands playing quite well. I only wish they provided midi input…

I feel like music in video games actually creates mood even more effectively than in movies for that reason . . . in movies, music supplements the other elements of the film (e.g., the dialogue, the actors’ faces, the set/setting, etc.) to enhance the mood, but in video games the music actually CREATES the mood by signaling to the gamer what they should be feeling. In a movie, the music just makes you feel what you’re already feeling more strongly.

It also occurred to me that you’ve probably never played Ocarina of Time . . . that’s a Zelda game where the main item is a musical instrument, and playing different songs and such do different things. Actually, that theme has been present in every Zelda game since then . . . in Majora’s Mask you used the Ocarina again, in Wind Waker you held a baton that conducted an unseen choir, and in Twilight Princess you have melodic wolf howling. You should check those games out and see what you think about the way music is implemented in those games . . .