The Sound of Music

'Next-gen'... a term we've all become familiar with since the Xbox
360's release back in late 2005. It seems to have become synonymous with
a leap in visual fidelity, with most developers utilising the new
technology by cramming more and more polygons onto your screen.
Artificial Intelligence has seen a major improvement too, with enemies
able to react almost as if they're real, living human beings. And let us
not forget how much the online side of gaming has evolved these past 5
years. Around this time last year, MAG was released on the PS3, which let 256 people
play simultaneously...a huge feat of online network engineering! But what about
the music?

A game's soundtrack is, in my opinion, the thing that defines the game
itself. Looking back to 16-bit gaming, where memory constraints were
tight, music tended to be simple keyboard melodies, nothing more than an
archaic 'ringtone' today. But as the size of storage mediums is
increasing, soundtracks are becoming a much greater part in the overall
feel of the game. No longer is it just title-screen music, but instead
full blown, context sensitive ballads! The music ebbs and flows just as
you do, complementing your experience brilliantly. Of course, not all
games do it well, so I've decided to focus on my favourite soundtrack of
all...

Halo. Say what you like about the game, story progression,
graphics...it's a mixed bunch of reviews. But one common praise of Halo
is it's music. The composer, Marty O'Donnell, is a complete genius! He
has scored an epic masterpiece, and one which has evolved with each new
game. Halo 1 was all about the classical side, with the strings and
monks singing etc. This really went with the story, as the religious
side was revealed. In Halo 2, the tone changed slightly...whilst the
strings were still there, so too were the power riffs blasting from an
electric guitar, alongside external contributions from the likes of
Breaking Benjamin and Incubus. Gone were the monks, and although it
didn't please everybody, being a metal fan myself I welcomed the new
direction. Then Halo 3 came along...the end of the fight. Again, he
changed the musical style, ditching the electric guitar in favour of
heavier drums, a grand piano and...a return for the monks! All this, and
it still managed to retain the original tune. If that seems a lot,
that's because it is! It's rare that a game's musical adventure is
almost as exciting and varied as the adventure itself...but that it
was...and I for one feel priviliged to have laid ears on that
soundtrack.

Also worth a mention is the Elder Scrolls series, most notably
Morrowind and Oblivion. It creates a completely unique feel for the
game, and goes so well with the sword/magic style gameplay. Oblivion in
particular uses context-sensitive music to it's fullest. Get near an
enemy and the music changes from a light, beautiful ditty to a dark,
gritty and sombre piece. It can almost scare you at times!

Many games obviously throw in the music at the end of the mix, once the
rest of the game is built and working, but Bungie (Halo developers) and
Bethesda (Elder Scrolls) did it differently. The music was a big part
of the process from the very beginning, and I think it really paid off.
If more developers realised what a big part of gaming the music is, we
would all notice for sure! Maybe it's just me who appreciates a decent
soundtrack, I don't know...maybe I'm crazy? Feel free to let me know
down below...