BardicKnowledge Posted April 17, 2007 Share Posted April 17, 2007 I'm currently in the process of researching/writing a paper about film and game music -- specifically, how they have to fulfill two purposes (that of blending well with the scene, and also being very listenable). I'd like to cover which games and films get different things right and wrong as part of the paper. Lord of the Rings, for instance, fits well in the context of the film and sounds good when you listen to it on CD. My problem is that I can't think of a game with great music for your car / concert hall that doesn't fit into the game well at all. To further clarify... Track 1 from the Oblivion soundtrack -- fits well, and sounds good. Tairon's Theme from Ninja Gaiden (and the game in general) -- fits well, doesn't sound all that great to just listen. ****** -- doesn't fit well, but sounds awesome. Anyone have an answer? It doesn't need to be the current generation of games, but if it is, great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hemophiliac Posted April 17, 2007 Share Posted April 17, 2007 i would have to say that most music that is written for film is very incidental at times and not necessarily written to sound good but to serve a function. ie: capture "Hits" in the music where something in the music is to sync with the images. a great example of this is Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, in the opening sequence with young Jones on the train, iirc Williams said there were 20+ hits he had to capture in the music in a manner of a few minutes. this is however also a good example of something rather listenable, but semi-funny at the same time because a lot of the music is just big hits in the track. the other point i wanted to make is that the "hits" aren't always going to be perfectly lined up at times in music where it's convenient for a normal time signature. meaning there may be strange musical events happening at odd times. So when the picture is taken away from the music the listener will feel like certain things in the music are off-time. just a couple thoughts for you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drack Posted April 17, 2007 Share Posted April 17, 2007 EDIT: I misread the original post .. the examples I posted *DO* fit well.. the OP is looking for music that *DOESN'T* fit well What about Chrono Trigger? Very listenable soundtrack that is appropriate to the scene. Or just about any Zelda game? Or the Sonic games on Genesis? Donkey Kong Country (especially DKC2 with its 6/8 tunes)? Street Fighter? Final Fantasy? Whether it "sounds good" is a matter of taste, but I think a lot of games (and game series) capture what's going on screen pretty well. Not every little detail like movie soundtracks, but a lot of video game music is excellent at capturing the mood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BardicKnowledge Posted April 18, 2007 Author Share Posted April 18, 2007 Thanks for the responses -- I know that tons of games capture the mood wonderfully. I'm looking for a game that has good music that doesn't fit at all with the gameplay. Like listening to the Final Fantasy 6 soundtrack while playing Sonic...the music still sounds great, but it no longer matches with what you're doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerrax Posted April 18, 2007 Share Posted April 18, 2007 Soul Calibur. (SC2 or 3 are the best examples IMO) Excellent beautiful music, but I've never really felt that it matches up with the gameplay quite well. I think it's much too epic for the simple one-on-one fights that SC has. As each fight begins, a frantic and beautiful score sets up this epic atmosphere, and then two warriors calmly take fighting stances and battle upon a sparse, hazard-less stage. Fable's music also felt terribly out of place at some points. The Oakvale music is way too Edward Scissorhand's-ish to be a simple village theme. The sweeping choir and orchestra paints a much more vivd and mystical picture than just a simple farming village. And the Arena music left me wanting more of a frantic battle feel. Instead it just came across as sort of brooding, but not exciting. They're both fantastic pieces, but if you compare what's happening in the game to what's happening in the songs, they don't quite match up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dhsu Posted April 18, 2007 Share Posted April 18, 2007 For some reason, I never felt like the music for the PS2 Castlevania games really jived with the visuals. Can't really explain it though, just seemed like the soundtrack would've been more impressive if it had been for a 2D game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerrax Posted April 18, 2007 Share Posted April 18, 2007 Track 1 of Oblivion is called "Reign of the Septims" btw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenucha Posted April 18, 2007 Share Posted April 18, 2007 I'm currently in the process of researching/writing a paper about film and game music -- specifically, how they have to fulfill two purposes (that of blending well with the scene, and also being very listenable). I'd like to cover which games and films get different things right and wrong as part of the paper. Lord of the Rings, for instance, fits well in the context of the film and sounds good when you listen to it on CD.My problem is that I can't think of a game with great music for your car / concert hall that doesn't fit into the game well at all. To further clarify... Track 1 from the Oblivion soundtrack -- fits well, and sounds good. Tairon's Theme from Ninja Gaiden (and the game in general) -- fits well, doesn't sound all that great to just listen. ****** -- doesn't fit well, but sounds awesome. Anyone have an answer? It doesn't need to be the current generation of games, but if it is, great. Depending how the soundtrack is treated... I have the Chrono Trigger "The Brink of Time" CD and I listen to that quite regularly... its all cool jazz/electornic "remixes" or covers of some of the game music. I'm so tired right now... there are games with music I would LOVE to listen to elsewhere but I cant think of much right now. REZ is a game that runs off music and the music is great standalone... if you can find the OST X_X I been listening to Tommy Tallarico's Earthworm Jim Anthology pretty regularly since I got it it January from Video Games Live. I love that CD... I skip a few of the more goofy songs just 'cus some arnt that good to drive to XD Okami has a great soundtrack but I dunno about driving to it or anytthing... I do own an Asian Drums CD and another dance type CD called Illusion Sorma so maybe I could drive to Okami heh. I would classify Shadow of the Colossus' OST with The Lord of the Rings.... very pounding and epic with alot of softer more dramatic songs as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raziellink Posted April 18, 2007 Share Posted April 18, 2007 For some reason, I never felt like the music for the PS2 Castlevania games really jived with the visuals. Can't really explain it though, just seemed like the soundtrack would've been more impressive if it had been for a 2D game. You do? I've played Lament of Innocence for a long time, and it still isn't bothering me. I really think the music matches the enviroments. However, Curse of Darkness's music DOES feel wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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