Part four of our Rock On series spotlights three musical geniuses that have paved the way for the game music industry. Come meet the people who have turned your favorite games into melodic masterpieces.
Be sure to also check out:
Part 1 of our Rock On feature -- Five Great Guitar Hero Alternatives
Part 2 of our Rock On feature -- 10 Games With Great Soundtracks
Part 3 of our Rock On feature -- Five Upcoming Games With Killer Music
Video game soundtracks sure have come a long way since the moderately musical bleeps and bloops of yore. After years of music produced and programmed within the game engine, the ability to play music became a selling point for some games, which led to the amassing of popular songs and musical talent for in-game music. Then the phenomenon took the next step as game soundtracks have become albums unto themselves, further dovetailing gaming and music.
Meet three Masters Behind the Music that are leading the charge with merging together games and music.
Jesper Kyd
Composer/Producer
Notable Tunes:
- Hitman: Blood Money
- Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory
- Hitman: Contracts
Kyd's Hitman: Contracts soundtrack picked up the 2005 BAFTA Award (British Academy of Film and Television Arts-the U.K. equivalent of the Oscars) for Best Original Music. The award is part of a logical progression; as video games become more accepted as mainstream entertainment, right alongside movies and TV, so to do video game soundtracks--and Jesper Kyd is leading the way. Check out a recent interview with Kyd on
GameDaily where he details how he mends together the gamer and musician inside himself. "I try to write music I would want in the game as a gamer, so if I am happy with my music I know I am doing something right."
Nile Rodgers
Music Mogul
Notable Tunes:
- Halo 2: Original Soundtrack, Vol 1
- Perfect Dark Zero
Enter Nile Rodgers. The music industry vet, founding member of Chic ("Good Times," "Le Freak"), producer (Madonna, Mick Jagger, and many more), and film score composer (Beverly Hills Cop and Rush Hour 2, among others) founded
Sumthing Else Music Works. SEMW as a record label and distributor made game soundtracks its primary focus, to become a leader in the emerging niche. The outfit's latest project was Perfect Dark Zero, a prime example of the company's commitment to creating a soundtrack that not only works well with the game but can stand alone as an album. Rodgers produced the track himself, and David Clynick, who did the music for the first Perfect Dark game (for Nintendo 64), assumed composition duties again, this time assisted by MorrisonPoe and San Francisco house DJs/producers Kepi and Kat. "This is the beginning of the future of game soundtracks," notes Rodgers. "Perfect Dark Zero brings it."
Akira Yamaoka
Composer
Game Music Highlights:
- Silent Hill series
- Rumble Roses
- Contra: Shattered Soldier
Akira Yamaoka who help kicked off Play!-- a symphony world-tour that features music from some blockbuster videogame hits--is the producer of Silent Hill 3 and 4. He recently released his first solo album, and he worked on the music for the Silent Hill movie. In a recent interview on
GoGame Music Yamaoka expresses his dismay with current game music: I still am not fond of game music. There is not a single "artist" (game music) from the game industry yet and we are relying on tie-up music from the music industry, which is very sad. We need to take in to consideration, how to develop music/sound "artists" within our industry. I believe that we are in the same status as 4 years ago, and that makes me not very fond of game music.
