The Power of Music - Vol. 2
Before I get started, you can listen to my musical take on 'The Witcher 2' here
Gaming has become such a massive part of our day to day lives. Developers have achieved remarkable feats of graphics processing and interaction possibilities. This coupled with deep and exciting storylines makes for a truly riveting gaming experience. However, The visual and contextual aspects are only half the story. It is the music and sound effects that complete the puzzle and make that game immersive.
There are so many partnerships of incredible gameplay and masterful musicianship, so here are some of my personal favourites.
Devil May Cry
This soundtrack was developed by Drum & Bass trio 'Noisia'. They took a hiatus from electronic music to try their hand at game music, and they delivered. The entire soundtrack is a masterpiece of impactful synthesis and eerie atmospherics.
The Last Guardian
This orchestral masterpiece by Takeshi Furukawa is both articulate and deeply moving. It suits the fantasy based story-line of the game and contributes so much more than the sum of it's parts.
Red dead Redemption
This soundtrack, composed by Bill Elm and Woody Jackson is a perfect harmony of an old Western style, partnered with modern influence and production techniques. Much like the game itself. Old values in the modern age.
A little while back, I wanted to experiment with writing my own musical interpretation on a games trailer. I chose 'The Witcher 2' as it is a tale of the supernatural, intertwined with Love, debauchery and War. The trailer is masterfully sequenced and gives an accurate visual synopsis of the game.
In my musical rendition, I wanted to maintain a sense of ambience whilst holding a relatively fast paced tempo to match the fast sequencing of the visual clips. This game is a tale of two worlds, and I wanted to subtly point to that by switching the influence of the music. The piece starts out as orchestral and ambient, then at around 1:12, modern sounding drums and bass kick in and the trailer takes on a whole new change of pace. Although I had no ability to change the timing of the clips, I did my best get the tempo of the music right so it fit the visual sequence. I ensured there was a significant musical change whenever there was a visual highlight.
Soundtracks really are a corner stone of good production, whether that be gaming, film or television. Writing to picture really does outline this importance and the influence we can have on the viewer. Please do share your favourite soundtracks in the comments section!
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You can read the first installment of 'The Power of Music' here: https://steemit.com/music/@boston1994/the-power-of-music-vol-1
Big Love
Jack