Gaming. It appeals to many of our senses in order to immerse us as much as possible. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately depending on the game, we can’t use smell to jog our memories but auditory cues can be just as powerful. There’s not a gamer over 25 that couldn’t hum the music from Sonic or Tetris, and then there are the portion of us that terrorised our loved ones by playing Alex Kidd. I completed Miracle World and it’s just the same eight bars for most of the game. If I put the music on now my dad still begs me to stop! Music pulls us further into the gaming world but it also cements memories. Memories that come flooding back from hearing the first few bars.
In the last generation, I was addicted to playing either very suitable or completely contrasting music whilst I gamed. Game music was okay, at best, so unless I was engaged in yet another epic battle to save the world in the latest RPG, I played my own. It improved the musical experience but it separated me from the gaming experience. In this gen, and especially in the last year or so, we’ve been spoilt rotten. Game music is now a serious art form, with Video Games Live showing just how marketable it really is. There can be no doubt of the demand for amazing scores to encapsulate our gaming worlds. Just think of the Halo theme tune; I was at a rock gig and in the pre-show music they randomly played the Video Games Live version of Halo! Most people, of course, didn’t know what it was but it led to me proclaiming to the world “OMG! It’s Halo!”, only to be instantly spotted by the other gamers in the room who couldn’t help but notice this fact themselves.
These days, playing a CD over a game is a form of sacrilege. The amount of effort and musicianship that goes into a gaming score can only add to the experience. I do still play music over a game on occasion but I’m fully aware of the effect it has, and I always see it as a sign that I’m finished with the game. When I’m whipping around to mop up the last few achievements I’ll stick on a CD, but if it’s before that then chances are the game just isn’t for me. After all, scores are now so individual. Who couldn’t name the game from a piece in Bayonetta, Final Fantasy or Beautiful Katamari? It’s music that builds a lot of our memories, and a decent gaming theme can instantly teleport you back to your experiences. I hear the Final Fantasy VII theme and I’m instantly flooded with memories of my experiences in the game.
If we’re going to game, we should surely want the most sense-loaded experience going. After all, we’re all past the dabbling stage or we wouldn’t be here. So turn off those CDs and soak up the game like the hungry sponge you are!
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.