Last Friday’s article on “Why Music and Video Games are the perfect pairing” gave us a chance to ponder and for some, go through our music collection as we revisit our gaming history to answer, in our opinion, the important role of music in video games and how it enhanced our gaming experience.
Here’s what we had to say:
So, two years ago, when I first decided to start writing about video games, the very first piece was about my favourite video game soundtracks. In that piece, I stated that a good video game soundtrack has the power to turn a good experience into a great one by helping invoke the right emotions at the right time.
Quite simply, just imagine playing through your favourite video game moment without the music blaring in the background. For many players, it just wouldn’t be as good as there would be nothing there to help set the tone of the experience.
I love video game soundtracks so much that I often even listen to them outside of playing video games. On my daily commute playlist, I have an assortment of all my favourite tracks from a load of different titles including Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Life is Strange.
Every week, when I complete progress reports, I do it to the jazzy themes I listened to over and over again while playing Cuphead, and if I were to be entirely honest with everybody, I was probably only ever able to complete my thesis three years ago due to the soundtrack playlist I made to listen to while calculating the never-ending stats I had to include in my final paper.
I tend to chop and change about which soundtrack I enjoy most all the time, but if I had to pick my all-time favourite, it would be a tough choice between The Witcher 3, Skyrim and Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (as evidenced in my previous list).
Agree or disagree, Gaby is really diggin’ the jazzy tunes from Studio MDHR’s Cuphead.
With regards to songs that I discovered through games, aside from owning their first two albums, I’m not a huge Avenged Sevenfold fan, so when the band released a new album in 2013 (Hail to the King), I wasn’t really aware until I heard Shepard of Fire in Call of Duty: Black Op 2 Zombies. (I listened to that album quite frequently on the way to varsity after that.)
Then, I would say that Grand Theft Auto: Vice City helped introduce me to a load of different artists, even if I didn’t get to match the songs with artists until years later. There are a few songs in that game (such as Cum On Feel The Noise by Quiet Riot) that will always take me back to moments of causing random chaos in a game I was supposed to be too young to play.
I won’t tell you to rush out and listen to any of these artists/songs/soundtracks because, as with games, personal preference will play a very big factor in determining whether you like them or not. However, I will say that if you don’t pay all that much attention to the music in video games, maybe you should. I mean, you never know when you may find a real gem, right?
–Gaby Ferreira
Music has always been an integral part of my everyday life. There are so many genres of music that can generally provide a soundtrack to any moment of my day, so it usually takes something special for a gaming soundtrack to stick in my memory.
The best soundtracks to me always set the perfect mood for the game; whether highlighting a memorable cutscene or simply background music to your travels, hearing the music later on instantly triggers memories of the game from which it originates.
For me, one games’ soundtrack stands head and shoulders above the rest: Red Dead Redemption. Composed for the game, a change in pace from Rockstar who had previously relied heavily on licensed music, Bill Elm and Woody Jackson wrote an original masterpiece, using classic western movies as inspiration.
Greg prefers the country western blues from Red Dead Redemption. A stellar choice!
They were famously quoted saying : “Let’s just make it so no one turns off the music”, as they were set the challenge of composing the soundtrack, and I think anyone who played the game will agree they were more than successful.
Years after the game was released and played, I still find myself listening to this entire soundtrack every few months, and enjoying the memories of one of the best stories in video game history. From the very first note, every new melody, every new instrument, instantly triggers memories of open expanses traveled on horseback, dusty main streets and noisy saloons. An amazing feat considering that the soundtrack is entirely instrumental.
Any game worthy of being called the best game of the modern era needs to have a soundtrack that matches the game’s quality, and every bit of class and brilliance that Red Dead Redemption itself brought, the soundtrack matched every step of the way.
— Greg Cawood
Music had always been a part of my upbringing from when I danced in the living room while my dad played his vinyls to when cassettes had their heydays to the age of CDs and now digital streaming. I do find myself downloading tracks whenever I hear something interesting but my taste in music changed just as much as the format was.
I went from jazz and RnB to pop music and now, I’ve settled on rock and heavy metal since 16 when my cousin introduced me to Limp Bizkit’s Significant Other. My catalogue has grown ever since that day and I would always find new music through friends, family and customers (when I worked in the retail industry). But my taste in music sparked more after playing Need For Speed Underground (and who could ever forget the game’s start menu playing “Get Low” by Lil Jon & The Eastside Boyz). By then, my brother got almost every NFS game (except for Underground 2) and I always sought after the game’s playlist and went on this treasure hunt pursuit to find the music featured on the game.
Other games like Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland, Burnout: Takedown, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, SSX 3, WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2008 featuring ECW and more have introduced to bands like The Ramones, Dropkick Murphys, Atreyu, Avenged Sevenfold, Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rage Against the Machine, Guns ‘n Roses, Ozzy Osbourne (which leapfrogged me to Black Sabbath) just to mention. I would think that I probably would discover them much later on but the fact that this gave me such great joy to find music that I enjoyed listening every time it played in-game was (and still is) the best part of my gaming experience.
I thoroughly can’t get enough of the DOOM soundtrack by Mick Gordon. Doesn’t matter what mood I’m in, my ears gravitate towards the epic, intense and oh-so-metal compositions that made the reboot title as badass and so awesome that it makes breaking arms and stomping faces like the norm. The Vagrant station on Forza Horizon 3 was constantly on whenever I decided to spend some time in the Outback and the same can be said for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas’ Radio X station.
Today, music plays an integral role in video games. Think about it: popular video games like Super Mario Bros., Tetris, Metal Gear Solid or Halo wouldn’t be as synonymous without their iconic themes and let’s not forget that patriotic theme track when we start up on the home screen for Overwatch that somewhat envoked a sense of optimism. #HeroesNeverDie
— Ashleigh Klein
What are some of your most cherished musical moments in video games? Let us know in the comments section below or follow Xbox Players SA on Facebook and Twitter.
