The Music of Video Games

These past few months I have talked about very many aspects of video games; art, graphics, revamps, and much more. But one thing that I have failed to mention is one of the most important aspects of video games- the music. Gaming soundtracks have changed so much from the classic 8-bit tracks from Mario to the “barbaric choir” of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. There are many different soundtracks to many different games, and there is something for every single gamer.

A lot of gaming developers believe that the music makes the game. Composer Akira Yamaoka was hired to write the soundtrack for the Silent Hill series. This is what he said when asked in an interview about how his sound differs from other gaming composers:

When I make music for Silent Hill, I don’t really think about making music for games. Silent Hill is a horror game, and I want people to be scared. But at the same time I like to convey the message. So I don’t really think about making this music for this stage… I try to think about what message we want to convey to the players.

I am a HUGE Akira Yamaoka fan. Before ever reading this article I was able to clearly receive and understand the message that he was trying to convey. His style of music was intended for a survival horror series involving situations of terror, the ultimate nightmare that captures you on a psychological sense and shakes your inner core. He does is by combining some of the most interesting instruments. If you listen to a piece of his work you can hear the electric guitar, the scrapping of metal, the beat on the side of a trash can. It all combines to leave a terrifying piece of music. Here is Devil’s Laughter from Silent Hill: Shattered Memories…

While he can create pieces like this he also does a fantastic job at the more subtle, slower pieces. There is not much banging or grinding, or horrific laughter. Instead there is the sweet sound of a piano. In certain cases I find this to be more terrifying than the previous song. I suppose it is that psychological factor that playing in. You listen to this slow piece expecting for something loud and scary to jump out. Sometimes it does, and sometimes not. Here is Promise (Reprise) from Silent Hill 2…

The soundtrack makes the game. Without it the game can be flat and emotionless.

 

Yeah, I’ve heard of that.

Today while I was shopping for new video games, I stopped by one of the most popular video game retail stores, GameStop. I went into the store with a specific game on mind, L.A. Noire. I walked into the store where I was greeted by a very friendly employee. He welcomed me, asked what I was looking for, and asked what kind of games I like to play. I told him that I was a fan of survival horror even though I was well aware of L.A. Noire not being of that genre. The employee then began to tell me about various survival horror games that were going to be released soon. Of the games he listed, Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City and the re-release of Resident Evil 4 for the Xbox 360. I informed him that I was already well aware of those games since I was subscriber to GameInformer Magazine. But once I told him that I already knew the details of the game he proceeded to tell me what the games where about. So I was stuck there not knowing what to tell the guy, and had to suffer through a long explanation of something I was already aware of. After he gave was done talking the only thing I could respond with was, “Yeah, I’ve heard of that.” I ended up leaving the store without buying anything. Not because of the employee. I had discovered that this particular store was selling L.A. Noire for a higher price is all. I have noticed that whenever I go into these stores the employees are always so anxious to tell me about new games that are coming out, and despite the fact that I told them I was already aware of the game. It would seem as if the reasoning for it is because they WANT you to buy something from the store. Now I’m not saying that this is a bad marketing scheme. I’ve actually had quite a few good conversations with employees of the store. It’s just amusing to me that they always do that. But when I think about it, it has to be pretty fun getting to tell people all about the new games that are coming out, so I can’t really blame them for wanting to stop me and talk to me.

Guy Cihi and other former Silent Hill 2 voiceovers sign waiver to release original work in the new HD collection

In 2001 Silent Hill 2 was released and Silent Hill 3 was released in 2003. They were both very successful with fans of survival horror. With the constant update of gaming consoles Konami decided to re-release Silent Hill 2 and 3 in HD for the PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2011. While fans were excited to hear of a visually updated version of their favorite game, they were not happy to discover that the original voice overs were going to be re-recorded.

Silent Hill 2 was originally released on the PS2, but later was released for the Xbox and PC as well. The mocap and voice actors were not given residuals for those releases. Konami did not state in their contracts that they were to use their mocap footage and voice over work in other releases of the game. Guy Cihi said this:

To tell you the truth, I had no idea they were releasing a ‘making of’ video. They never told me. I found out later when a fan asked me about it… I hope that some day Konami management learns how to do right by the people who contribute so much to making their products… Konami has reused my performances without my permission.

So with the HD collection coming out that produces even more of a problem. Guy Cihi along with the other actors signed a contract for ONLY the PS2 release. Not for the Xbox, PC or HD collection. Konami had been refusing to pay the actors what was owed to them and instead thought it would be easier to record new voiceovers.However, Guy Cihi owns the rights to the mocap used in the HD collection and he can sue Konami for those rights.

After much debate between the original actors and Konami, a waiver was finally signed releasing the rights to the mocap and voice work for the HD collection release. It has not been said what the final agreement was but most likely Konami will be paying what is owed to the actors for their original work along with residuals for the new release, and the original voice work will remain in the new release. A win-win situation and great news for us Silent Hill fans! While there is no release date yet fans are expecting for it to be released around the same time as the new addition to the series, Silent Hill: Downpour.

Survival Horror and Handheld Gaming

Hours ago Tecmo announced a brand new survival horror video game to hit the 3DS titled Shinrei Camera. This got me thinking, I feel like handheld gaming takes away from the “horror” aspect of survival horror. While there is no official published definition of what survival horror is, Wikipedia provides us with a short explanation:

Survival horror is a subgenre of action-adventure video games inspired by horror fiction. These games make the player vulnerable by providing them with less ammunition and fewer heavy weapons than other action games…  Games make use of strong horror themes, and the player is often challenged to navigate dark maze-like environments, and react to unexpected attacks from enemies.

Over the past couple of years survival horror games have made their way to handhelds such as Silent Hill: Origins for the PSP, and Dementium for the Nintendo DS (both of which have not done very well), as well as many others, but is it a good idea? In the Wikipedia definition it states that players are expected to react to unexpected attacks from enemies. Handheld gaming can be great. It’s brought some of the greatest games of all time, and Pokemon in a ways helped handheld gaming take off. With the advances in technology we’ve seen the Gameboy turn into an 8-bit monochromatic display, to color, to 3D. And other gaming consoles have turned to handhelds such as Sony and the PSP as well as the new PS Vita. The thing about handhelds is that the screen is only so big. The DS screen measures in at 3.8 inches. Would it not seem hard to get the scare factor that survival horror has to offer? Seeing a ghost pop out from under a bed on a small screen that can fit in my pocket is not the same as seeing it happen on a 42″ flat screen television.

But now gaming is being offered in 3D. Having that ghost pop out of a bed might get to players more in 3D on a handheld than in 2D. As handhelds have developed so have the graphics. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception looks AMAZING on the PS Vita. The colors are vibrant, the graphics are smooth and flawless. It’s just as amazing as if it were on an HD flat screen television. So survival horror might pick back up very soon. As sales grow more these companies that are producing video games are going to want to broaden their horizons as is why the all-time classic Silent Hill has made it to every console except the DS. If it sells good on one, they will try to sell it on another. As this may upset some gamers (me included) it does have potential.

Will this change the world of gaming? Will 3D gaming help sales of less popular series? Guess we will find out this holiday!

How young is too young?

That is a popular question made by many parents of child gamers. Even though there are plenty of games out there marketed toward children such as the numerous Lego video games and Nicktoons Unite!, many children want to play the more mature video games like Mortal Kombat, or Mass Effect. Many parents are not okay with their children playing M-rated video games. And some of them are.

When I was 10 years old my mother came home from a day of work. As she entered the door she seemed to be carrying a small, square case in much excitement. That small case contained something that forever changed my view of video games. It was Silent Hill.

My mother said that she had borrowed this video game from a friend, and that it was supposed to be very scary. There were not very many survival horror games before 1999. There were a few, but Silent Hill seemed to help that genre of gaming take off. So when my mother told me about this game being scary I was excited because I had never played anything like it before. So there I was at the tender age of 10 playing survival horror.

As you can tell in the image this game is rated M for Mature. The ESRB gave Silent Hill its rating for Animated Blood and Gore, Animated Violence. There are a ton of parents out there that would have a fit if they knew their child was playing such a game. And because of that, many parents will try to have video games banned in hopes that their child will not get their hands on it. It all comes down to parenting skills in reality. Parents say they want to get involved in knowing what their child is playing. It is as simple as picking up the box, turning it over, and reading the ESRB rating in the bottom corner or every video game box. Standing in line at a video game store one day, a mother was going to purchase an M rated game for her 12 year old son. The clerk asked the mother, “You do know this is rated M for Mature, yes?” The mother looked shocked and said that she wasn’t aware and then asked what it was rated for. The clerk then told her it was for violence, sexual content, nudity, use of alcohol and drugs. The mother then got very angry with her son and left the store.

It is mothers like that, and fathers as well, that try to take the fun away from everyone. Because they don’t want to ask a simple question or do some small research for themselves they would much rather have as many video games banned as possible to avoid their child from playing it. My mother was more lenient with me, than my younger brother. I was more mature at the age of 10 and she knew that I would not act out on what I played in the game so she let me have it. My brother on the other hand got in trouble at school for imitating something from a violent video game he had played. Parents want to get more involved, then they should monitor their own child and decide for themselves whether it is okay for their child to play a stricter rated game. Those of us who are responsible gamers should not suffer the same punishment as those who are irresponsible or too young.

Now don’t get me wrong. I am not saying I would give my 10 year old child (if I had one) a game with ratings for sex, nudity, and extreme violence. But I would not forbid them from playing anything. I would inspect the game before letting them have it. I tend to remain open-minded about gaming since it was been apart of my life for near 15 years. If they’re too young to see the sex scene in Mass Effect then I would take it away from them until they were older. But if they want to play as a man with a cheetah for a face and compete to be the King of the Iron Fist, then my all means, go on ahead. So how young is too young? I guess that is for mom and dad to decide.