Why do you enjoy game music?

[Locke Cole]

Do you ever get strange looks from friends for listening to your favourite VGM? I use to, however I've converted most of my friends over, and they now enjoy it. It is however, definately not a mainstream genre, and most people see it as abit odd. Why do you enjoy game music?

I enjoy it because it reminds me of games I have enjoyed in the past, however I also enjoy the fact that most of it is vocal-less, a nice orchestrated song fits just about any mood for me. I usually listen to music from games I'm familiar with, but on occasion just put on a random playlist and let it run.

[Zedie9]

Do you ever get strange looks from friends for listening to your favourite VGM?
:D Often skepticism or outright condecension, and while I have sort of proven to some that vgm is not just blips and beeps, the majority haven't removed their expressions long enough to open their ears. :finger:

I listen to vgm for the music, because that's what I like, pure and simple: music. As I've stated before on the old boards, I like music of all genres, styles, and ages, and vgm is no exception. :bouncy:

[jetblue]

My mom says I like it because it is repetative.
Thats its some kind of psychological thing.She works as a therapist.
Like when I listen to balamb garden she says it drivers her nuts the same music over and over.My brothers and sisters hate vgm.They say it hurts there head.
To me its just diffrent.No words just pure music.Reminds of a better world.

Every major city should have a theme song like when when you enter a village in a game.
RPGamers should have a theme song when you enter the site.

[Grim]

I've always been big on instrumental music, tis my favourite kind....guess thats why I always took music courses :)

[Firefly]

It's the nostalgia factor, unless I just plain like it.

Admittedly, I'm kinda picky.

[kai]

to me most gaming music makes more sense than modern tunes. i can sit and listen to music from many of my favourite games and enjoy it rather then turn on the radio and get annoyed at lyrics that make little to no sense. :dance: :banana:

[Kilu]

I would say that biggest factor for me is the versatility. There is vgm for almost every more known genre of music. As some of you may know, my musical taste is also quite wide, and as vgm albums can rarely be molded in one category, it works for me.

[pikatsu]

They express moods, emotions. I like it. It's fascinating.

[Zeugma 440]

I agree with Kilu : VGM is not really a genre, but covers a wide variety of musical styles, which makes it very rich. But as far as I'm concerned, it's not a reason by itself.

At the beginning, I started listening to VGM by pure nostalgia : I first ripped a few PC games (ahh, Duke3D music :D ) to be able to listen to their music while doing something else. I was mainly listening to Movie OSTs and classical music at this time.
One or two years after, and thanks to internet, I started to explore the world of Japanese VGM, again by nostalgia (the first memorable tune I heard was the Red Wings theme from FFIV).
Step by step, I realized that because of its major role into games, VGM aims at being very expressive and technically simple. Because of the channels limitation on early consoles (SNES), composers had to make something small, beautiful and efficient : a new genre was born...

Since then, the technology has evolved but old habits are still here : one can still hear a great difference of style between occidental VGM (mostly developed on PC games) and Japanese VGM (consoles).

:roll: All this to say that I like VGM because of its expressivity --is this the right word ?-- , especially when it comes to epic music (cf. Sakuraba's works :D)

[skactopus]

Do you ever get strange looks from friends for listening to your favourite VGM? ...

...I enjoy it because it reminds me of games I have enjoyed in the past, ... Just change friends to parents in the first part and the answer is yes.

As far as the second part goes I would have to agree 100%. I also enjoy the music because it is so entertaining and well written! Props to the vgm writers, composers, etc. :thumbup:

[Kyari]

Why do I like game music . . . ooooooh . . .

I am a musician. Many of my friends are musicians. Many people I know off hand are musicians. And, out of the group (of musicians, not necessarily my regular friends), I am one of very few who enjoys game music - there are another couple I converted, and that's about it.

Do they give me crazy looks? About half of them. Some even say 'turn it off;' luckily others say 'keep it on' :) .

What do I do? What do I tell them? As much as I can. I tell them exactly why I like it.

Music . . . hath charms to soothe the savage beast; soften rocks or bend the knotted oak. My father always says that in heaven, everyone probably speaks in a language close to or that of music. It is a more evocative medium of communication than any we have on this planet; and at that, many times over. Emotions and messages often heard in music are unexplainable using conventional words, but are mutually understood nonetheless, even without lyrics.

This is unfortunately an ability that is dwindling and nears extinction amongst the artists of today. Popular music is almost universally a farce; lyrics, often the primary focus by far, are forced and contrived, innovation in chords and melody aren't even in the minds of the writers, and all points are set back considerably by the 'vision' of the publishing companies. Rarely is anything appreciated so.

More often than not, lesser known artists strive more to be different than unique. It's one thing to attract by acting and doing as no one else has; it's another thing to create something different with what has been used before . . .

Orchestral music is now in an aleatoric phase . . . almost the same as indie music, the composers are interested in what hasn't been done; something that is easier to work with than what has. Most often it winds up having absolutely no spirit in it, no feeling at all . . . nearly all of it saddens me either way. It comes across as ethereal, but the problem with such is that it's very hard to make anything out of ethereal substances.

Jazz is still what it's been years a ago, except simpler. It is lounge music; background music. Mainstream jazz is supposedly easier to understand if you 'know' about it, but believe me, I 'know' about it, and I don't believe in any of the buzzword crap they refer to it with. It's all supposed to represent something, and yet they still wind up just randomly soloing to nonexistant chords . . . I can't listen to it.

But game music . . .

With game music, the composers are working towards one goal (hopefully) - instilling in the listener emotions, feelings, visions, and messages that will help them put into context what they are seeing. And they seem to, because of the versatility of their medium, succeed even better than film composers. They have at their disposal a vast array of tools, and very few of them pass up on any.

But, luckily, many of them still remember that some of the older genres can be just as applicable as any newer ones, or ones they make up themselves. Some composers seem like they bond with the player; like they are players, but on another level; they are players who not only know players needs, but how to fill them.

I won't dwell on this longer, but, in a nutshell, that is why I listen to game music. Because the musicians still know how to write music, and I have difficulty finding many others who do . . . I fear music is becoming more of an industry or a progression than an art, and video game musicians may just be the ones who can save it. ;)

[Zedie9]

Emotions and messages often heard in music are unexplainable using conventional words, but are mutually understood nonetheless, even without lyrics.

This is unfortunately an ability that is dwindling and nears extinction amongst the artists of today. Popular music is almost universally a farce; lyrics, often the primary focus by far, are forced and contrived, innovation in chords and melody aren't even in the minds of the writers ...
:D If by popular music you solely mean what is played on most radio stations, I would agree. However, that is an extremely narrow slice of the music available out there. While I won't argue with your assessment that much of current music is lacking in multiple ways, I'd also encourage you to dig deeper, as there really are many wonderful, talented, and visionary artists out there. :bouncy:

[Kyari]

Heh . . . I know. I have. I listen to plenty of mainstream music . . .

First off, 'the radio' on PEI consists of about 50 songs played in a loop. This must be the case, because never before have I heard the same playlist repeated with such consistency.

MUCH and MTV I find to be mostly obnoxious. Whenever they finally put on something written with actual talent and creativity, it is most often unfocused . . . stuff without real direction.

I listen to plenty of different kinds of music. I'll take anything, from any genre, as long as I enjoy it. I'm a rather liberal listener. But never have I found the versatility and emotional range that I have put out by video game composers. That's all.

[Nahkrinoth]

Wow, uh....what Kyari said. To chime in, has anyone actually turned on the radio in awhile? I can't stand most of that anymore. The nostalgia and emotional response I get from vgm I can't get from most other music. And good music does not need vocals, like so many have pointed out. I think it's an industry requirement if you're gonna get your music onto a radio station. You MUST sing. :wacky:

[Vicki]

The radio in my car is set to the oldies station, but I can barely stand that.
I'm completely with pikatsu. It's more like I'm listening to an emotion than to music. I really can't stand most regular music any more. Even the most gentle lyrics seem rude to me. I do sometimes listen to music from the 80's 'cause that's what I grew up with and I can stand that when I feel the need to hear some English. :) My husband got me listening to game music about 4 years ago. Since then, it's about all I listen to although he has very diverse tastes (everything from Jazz to Rap to game OST's).

[BAMAToNE]

Vicky? Are you the Vicki who is Kirana Iris's sister? That would be awesome. :D

[bluedragonx]

Like a lot of us here, I'm a big video gamer and so it would be no surprise that I would like the music that comes from video games. Whether it be a calming sound from a Final Fantasy town theme to the upbeat rage of a Street Fighter theme, VGM has what I want and what I need in music.

The other thing is that I got so sick of mainstream music that I rarely listen to it anymore (although I think that Keishia Chante has a pretty good voice).

The only types of music I listen to regularly are wrestling themes (been a wrestling fan since the age of 5), VGM and Japanese pop (due to Kingdom Hearts vocal track "Hikari/Simple and Clean" and anime vocal tracks like the Evangelion's "Cruel Angel's Thesis").

[Vicki]

Vicky? Are you the Vicki who is Kirana Iris's sister? That would be awesome. :D
I am one and the same! "Vicki" isn't the most popular of online names. :) It's kind of weird to be refered to as the sister of the famed Kirana Iris. Hello again, everyone who might remember me. :wave:

[skactopus]

...To chime in, has anyone actually turned on the radio in awhile? I listen to it most of the time when I'm driving, and I would have to agree that it's just a loop of songs over and over. It's not that bad if I like the songs, but that doesn't happen too often. Sometimes I listen to my college's radio station, which is an independant station so it's not a loop of songs. It's basically students playing their specialties during their time slot. Nobody has a VGM show yet, but If they did I would make sure to tune in.

[Zedie9]

Hello again, everyone who might remember me. :wave:
:D I remember you - but only barely. You had already stopped posting regularly when I came to the boards. Welcome back! :bouncy:

[Kilu]

Earlier today I was listening to FFXII samples. Pure Sakimoto, in a good way. A fairly good example of a good reason to listen to vgm :p

As for Radio... I never listen to radio. Mainstream music has no place in my heart anymore :p

[pikatsu]

I have one cd, made of PSF's, mostly Mitsuda (Chrono Cross, Xenogears), which I was listening way back, when my father happened to hear it. Said he liked it. One of those tranquill songs from Chrono. "Dream of the Shore Bordering Another World", I believe. :)

[Kyari]

I'm with Kilu - mainstream music has lost my respect . . . I listen to whatever we cycle around in a couple of in-music-groups. Good, diverse stuff; a large database indeed, but other than that . . . I find it difficult to locate anything else.

[Tantalus]

I enjoy lisytening to game music as it lets you remember the great games you have completed. Also game music of Uematsu's is especially good to listen to as his theme's are great and his almighty talent is able to be showed through his music.

[Lucky 7]

Sometimes I like to just sit around, listen to music, and let my imagination entertain me. Mainstream music makes this hard because I find the music in the background basically only assisting the lyrics, limiting what I can think of. But with VG music, even the same song will lead to completely different things!
Now all I have to do is write stories based on what I think up, and I can have an earily retirement.
If I ever can write more than 4 chapters before getting massive writer's block that is...

[Locke Cole]

Lots of different reasons, its good to have a mix of variety in there. Whenever I want a break from just VGM, I usually pop on over to the RPGN sound test albums, never a let down :)

[Black_Dog]

I'm a big fan of music in general, i'm always listening to a whole lot of different stuff... and VGM is just one of those things that i'm really big into right now :D

It all started with FF8, when I first started playing the game I was astounded by the music instantly and after a year or so after playing the game for the first time I got into filesharing and started lookin for FF8 tunes. That's when I discovered the world of Video Game Soundtracks.

Since then I've gotten a job and begun actually purchasing whatever I have my eye on. But recently I've ran into some roadblocks concerning Super Mario music and the like. I just discovered this site today after days of searching the internet and filesharing programs for the Super Mario 64 OST... I really have a problem with CD-R's in my cd collection, but if something is truely out of print, then I guess I'll have to settle with what I can get, eh? But I'll still be checking eBay regularly ;)

Some of my friends can understand my fascination with VGM and they also enjoy chilling out to some of the mellower tunes that they remember from yesteryear. The way I see it, if more people can get past the "Video Game" in "Video Game Music" they'll be enlightened to a whole new genre that still seems almost "underground" in the states...

My current VG CD collection isn't very big yet, but I hope that'll change as time goes on. It's still very sad to me that I can't get a hold of some of the older out of print CD's :bawl:

Sincerely,
The :ff6mog: Pimp

[Zeugma 440]

Black_Dog > The way I see it, if more people can get past the "Video Game" in "Video Game Music" they'll be enlightened to a whole new genre that still seems almost "underground" in the states... It's exactly the same in Europe :p One has to look for specialized shops to get VGM, and they're only located in major cities.
Now I wonder... will VGM have a public if it starts spreading by mass distribution companies, like Virgin ?

It's rather hazardous, in my opinion, because VGM fans are not that numerous.
The company will definitely not make as much money as they would with the latest crap that can be heard on every radio station [insert your popular tune here] :wonder:

Any opinions about this ?

[Lucky 7]

Unfortunatly, I find myself buying all of my OSTs from online stores because the popularity of bootleg albums in real stores is absolutely disgusting. I told this one shop keeper about it, and he got all pissed at me for "trying to ruin his sales" because he was an ignorant asshole. Needless to say, I've never given him a single cent from my wallet.

Anyways, I'm really pissed about the mass opinion of VG music the guys at school have. They're stuck in the 16-bit age. And they thinks thats a bad thing. *Hugs his FFVI OST*. So I highly doubt that VG music will enter the mainstream for a long time. Which is a real shame if you ask me, because car radios just seem like a waste of space to me nowadays.

[Kilu]

But vgm entering mainstream could also ruin it. Companies would hire more known musicians to do the music for their games to get bigger sales, and lisenced soundtracks (EA, FIFA, Driver etc. everything that has lisenced artists as performers, performing the same music they sell in their own albums) would probably grow as well. It could mean the end of vgm we know and love.

Or atleast, that's how I see it.

[Lucky 7]

Hmm...I see your point.

Maybe thinks are better the way they are right now...?

[Kilu]

Well, it's not entirely good right now either, but going mainstream would probably make it worse. Some OSTs are just too damn hard to come by if you're not in Japan, and not all great games that have splendid musics even get OSTs.

[Zeugma 440]

Knowing what is done with regular mainstream music, Kilu's scenario could become real... My point was that it could make VGM spread more easily, but the danger is that only "popular" CDs get sold and the other get lost :(

As Kilu said, those which have the support of powerful editors (and even mainstream songs in their tracklist -woohoo, man ! my favourite crappy song in a game OST !- ) would sadly get an advantage on the others. Eventually, there is a risk that the current balance that exists between experimental and classic will be broken by this new 'mainstream' genre.

[Kaze Nigai]

I agree with Kilu also. Imagine playing one of your favorite games in a series, that's always had wonderful melodic music that you've listened to for hours on end before. The next game in the series comes out and half the main themes consist of someone rapping because it's what is popular it in the main stream. Wouldn't that be upsetting?

[Ality]

VGM is so diverse, that it can completely make it's own genre in each game made if wanted or can copy for whatever mood is needed.

*Hums the Turk Theme from FF7* Do Doo Dooo!!!

[Zedie9]

:D As I commented in the Bands Who Play VGM Thread, such groups, using traditionally rock or pop band instruments, might be able to bridge the gap between mainstream music and the vgm niche for the average listener. :spin:

[Black_Dog]

the wierd thing about all this is that it's hard to put VGM in it's own genre... i mean, c'mon... just look at all the different music.
Some games feature more classical themes and others feature more upbeat pop or rock themes. What's really great about VGM is that it is inspired by the game, not the current pop hits...

I mean, c'mon.. you didn't see Britney Spears or Ludacris on the Lord of the Rings movie soundtracks, did ya? just a little food for thought on the issue ;)

Sincerely,
The :ff6mog: Pimp

[Elhaym van Houten]

...to bridge the gap between mainstream music and the vgm niche for the average listener. :spin:I think game music remixes are great for that :).
Some of them sound really professional, and they feature a wide variety of styles...plus a lot of innovative interpretations and takes on the original themes.
Some time ago, I made a music sampler for a friends birthday. She doesn't even know what VGM is, but she liked all of the remixes ^^

Anyways, one of the reasons why I like video game music is just because it has such a broad range of different styles...
ok, or tries to emulate a lot of different styles (never ever start arguing about how good it is with someone who is a fan of a special style :D)
As for trends...VGM doesn't follow the trend of pop music, but don't you think it has it's own trends?
As for being inspired by the game - often VGM does fit and support the game pretty nicely, and can enhance it's emotional moments :)
but then, I also know enough examples where the VGM was a complete desaster, and did not fit the game at all. (But then, maybe I lack the inspirational idea or association the compser had ;) )

[Celeri]

"geeez, you're REALLY listening to beep-beep-beep all day long ?"
...that's the most common reaction out there... pretty sad. :ponder:

Personally, what I like in VGM is their inherent variety, and the fact that, since most of the time there is no singer and, some time ago, there were not "clean" instrument samples, composers focused much more on making cool themes and getting over hardware limitations.
The result is here : MANY great tunes which you can listen forever without getting bored... and, then, MANY cool albums ! :)

[Hierlark16]

I mainly like vgm to help me write. People have stated that the music helps depict emotions. So... if I'm writing about someone dying... I'll stick like a nostalgic song from FFV or something... or if the characters are getting inspired, I'll play cid's theme from ff7 or something from CT. It actually helps me grasp words that fit the sentences better and work nicely. VGM as an abstract audio thesauras :-P

[RainingRain]

Do you ever get strange looks from friends for listening to your favourite VGM?indeed I do, my friends often refer to the music I listen to as "funny songs".

for games that i've played before, it reminds me of the times i played.
for games I haven't played before, it depends on whether or not it sounds good - generally I think they do. for some tracks, I just happen to enjoy it so much that i sometimes think that it's from a game i played before :P

I dont really dig the OSTs of games i havent played, but most of the remix albums (eg Time & Space) I fully enjoy. a couple of reason i'd listen vgm albums instead of mainstream ones:
- unlike vgm, it is very hard to relate to mainstream ones (esp for albums like orchestral or jazz ones)
- as for pop music, it gets sickening after awhile. i can listen to the same few vgm albums over and over again and they'll still sound good. also, pop music lyrics sometimes make no sense and can't possibly relate to me (esp love songs or stuff like that)

[Zeugma 440]

Hierlark16> Yeah, same for me when I take the time to write something. Listening to an appropriate music really helps a lot !!

I really enjoy remixes because they provide a remixer's personal approach of the tune he decides to work on. Several remixers even produce very high quality, professional-sounding works that make me proud of the VGM community.
If you're curious, take time to listen to these masterpieces, because they are the proof that VGM also lives on the other side, the side of its fans. http://www.rpgamers.info/images/smilies/w00t.gif

- "Death on the Snowfield" (FF6 - "Terra's Theme" remixed by AmIEvil)
- "Pillar of Salt" (Xenogears - "Dazil" & "Omen" remixed by StarBLaSt)
- "Recollection (dynamis mix)" (FF9 - "Recollection" remixed by abg)
- "Into the Deep" (Submarine Attack remixed by Destiny)

[happy7117]

It's mood music, and it's off the beaten path of the regular standard music,
and it's totally relaxing, it expresses emotions in a way regular music sometimes can't!!!

[Locke Cole]

Its nice to see a range of responses, although we all seem to be in the same nutty boat. "mood music" is one way to refer to it I guess, as most of the game music I have has a feel or mood to it, and rarely has vocals. I find knowing the song from a game, makes it more enjoyable. For instance I thought the FF8 soundtrack sounded goofy when I first got it, but after playing the game it makes a lot more sense.

[Neo_Stythys]

Most of my friends listen to VGM also, so it's no big deal...
But those ones who don't try to stay away when i'm listening to it, says "It's The Devil's Music!"

[daniel]

quite simply it has talent....unlike britney etc etc. It sounds cool, it has mood. I hear people say "that's sad" then they go and sing a bit of britney....weird