Looking at the state of Video Game soundtracks today and how far they have come from the beginning of the industry.
Time to get serious!
The most stressful part of any Super Mario Bros. play through was always Bowser’s castle. The mood to each of those levels was completely different than every level before hand. You went from colorful lands of wonder to the dark and creepy dungeons of the dinosaur like villains keep. The visuals definitely did a lot to set this tone, but the music was what took it to the top. You know you were in trouble when those oppressive tones started to hit.
The soundtracks of video games have been very influential on the gaming experience over the years. Video game music itself has gone through a number of different evolutionary points and changes throughout the years. Yet still there seems to have been a solid fanbase for the music itself from the very beginning. None is a better sign for this than the ever-popular game music community over at the OverClocked Remix website. The love for classic gaming music continues to shine there as new remixes of all the greats we have grown-up with continue to pop up. But these guys were always ahead of the curve.
As the overall quality of video games continues to improve, video game music budgets have been growing as well. The results are different for each game but are becoming more and more noticeable. Scores are stepping away from using electronically synthesised instruments and more towards authentic orchestral arrangements. With that, the video game industry has started to catch the attention of more prominent musical composers. The result is a significantly richer musical experience no matter what genre of game you are playing. The ultimate goal has to be to get to all those “I usually play on mute” gamers to turn the sound up.
