Composers need to come up with unique ideas rather than Hollywood-style soundtracks…

Legendary video game music composer Nobuo Uematsu says he doesn’t think some modern video game soundtracks are as interesting as those in older games.

  • ThrowawayOnLemmy@lemmy.worldEnglish
    48·
    8 months ago

    He’s not wrong. Old school Nintendo and super Nintendo and Sega Genesis songs gets stuck in my head all the time. Same can’t be said of modern-day AAA games.

    • P03 Locke@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      7·
      8 months ago

      Yeah, take Jeremy Soule, for example. He’s talented, experienced, and composing all of these broad symphonic soundtracks for Elder Scrolls, Skyrim, and Harry Potter games.

      But, what’s the soundtrack of his that sticks out in my mind? Secret of Evermore. Underrated as fuck soundtrack for an underrated as fuck game. Back when he was forced to compose for a game with limited hardware and instrumentation, where he had to use distinct melodies to achieve a sound that sticks in everybody’s minds.

      Every Frame a Painting did a good video on this subject, as it pertains to the Marvel movies.

      • brsrklf@jlai.luEnglish
        3·
        8 months ago

        I think music has a very important place in games, and the thing about music in The Elder Scrolls is that it’s always been an afterthought.

        I mean, sure, Jeremy Soule composed some great tracks (though really, they were always a bit repetitive, and it only got worse since Oblivion). But no effort was made at all to get them to fit the game.

        Of course it’s not an easy task with the open-world design. But already in Morrowind, after a while the soundtrack was getting on my nerves. It was always there, with that overwhelming orchestration blaring when nothing much happened in game, or that melancholic theme starting in the middle of a gruesome underground dungeon. Everywhere sounds the same, until one enemy spots you and then it abruptly stops for another overused track. No matter if it’s a greater Daedra or a freaking mudcrab.

        That theme, you know the one because it’s become the Elder Scrolls theme, from Morrowind’s title screen to Oblivion’s to The DragonBorn Comes, I used to like it. Except after a few dozen hours being used without rhyme or reason in Morrowind, I already couldn’t stand it anymore.

    • Altima NEO@lemmy.zipEnglish
      7·
      8 months ago

      Yeah, games used to have bitchin soundtracks. I remember when we started putting in licensed music into it’s racing games with it’s “EA games trax”. It was terrible. I liked the bespoke music they used to put in need for speed games, or even the older burnout games.