Ever since the very first video game background score, the music made for videogames has come a long way. These soundtracks are quite essential as they provide effects and create an atmosphere necessary for each game. The background music and soundtracks used in the videogames are an integral part of the entire set-up.

Evolution and history

Video games have become an inspiration and unsuspecting source for up-coming musicians. Nobuo Uematsu, a music composer, shot to fame in 2004, with a single performance of the soundtrack he composed for the widely played video game, Final Fantasy. The composer’s show created a riot in the box office as the tickets got sold out.

The 70′s: The music used in video games around 1970s was more of an onomatopoeic sound. It wasn’t very symphonic. For example, take the sounds used in the game Pong. The sound of the ball being hit back and forth is very plain.

The sound quality wasn’t all that great during the initial period when video games introduced commercial music. The early computing systems also had a finite amount of space and not much could be experimented with. As technology advanced, so did the sound and music in video games.

The 80′s: During the 1980s arcade games like Pac Man were quite famous and still are. The music used in these games sounded more like sounds. While playing these games you just unconsciously tuned out those ‘bleeps’ and ‘bloops’ the game made. But nonetheless, they were still fun and catchy.

As time progressed, the video games started basing their music on more serious themes and sounds like the Russian folk song in Tetris. With the personal computers becoming more powerful all this changes and video game music started resembling real music.

The music was no longer just blips and bleeps but now included everything from synthesized violins and guitars to bongos. Myst in 1993 made everyone realize the power of music in a video game. The music actually acted as an aide for players, guiding them along the entire game.

Functions

The main purpose of all great music is to change you heart rate by moving you and making you feel the music. Tommy Tallarico, a famous video game composer explains this concept by giving an example of the Space Invaders game. In the game, while the aliens got closer and closer the music got faster and faster. This increased your heart rate because you would panic.

Game programmers conducted a study on people playing this game without the sound. The people calmly played the game even when the aliens got closer and closer. This shows how significant the music and sound effects are in a video game. They also concluded that video game music is an integral part of the game and is not just a passive experience.

Video games are played by different age groups. So, marketing companies started making soundtracks for specific age groups. As time passes, this approach is quickly catching on. The video game music is infact more popular than if played otherwise. The same track wouldn’t have been all that famous if it hadn’t been part of video games.

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