Jeremy Soule Interview

Having grown up loving the soundtrack of SOE, I got a chance to tell Jeremy that I loved Secret of Evermore at PLAY!. He gave me a long cruel stare of disbelief.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

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Probably amazed that you'd heard of it. Who, aside from die-hard Squeenix collectors and Jeremy Soule fans even remembers it any more?

Possibly. However, at that particular moment I was wondering if he was thinking about eating me...his eyes got real big, his eyebrows furled and a grimace overtook his expression.

I actually just thought I had cursed a blue streak in Church on Christmas Day. I kinda did a "Well, see ya later!" and got the hell out of there.

My meeting with Nobuo was even worse. I am telling you...

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Wait, wait, wait. They played a track from Secret of Evermore?

Nonono. I went to the VIP meet and greet, where I was able to tell him in person. They didn't actually play Secret of Evermore at PLAY, unfortunately.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I sympathize with Goldfish, to a degree. A very large degree...

I pride myself as an old-school gamer who is being left behind in the dust of tomorrow. Fancy graphics, cutting edge design...Meh. Most of my true joy in gaming is when looking behind me at the plethora of games which serve as a sort of 8 bit graveyard, of sorts, to a new shopping mall that is modern video games. It seems that video games are changing dramatically right now and they are becoming more cinematic, subtler and more drawn out.

However, I see nothing wrong with this, in and of itself. Video games are at a frontier where realism and interactivity are becoming more finely tuned. People are experimenting with this combination and unsurprisingly, good things are being done to further the medium. If anything, cinematic games are simply offering a new contender to the playing field. I appreciate having the choice of multiple game types.

Thats not to say that gameplay is no longer a part of gaming...Games will be games, because they are games. Yea. Old school gamers will always love old school games and likely there will always be a market for these exploits.

Goldfish, I think you might be the old school luddite and I can hardly blame you. (because I would have to blame myself as well)

It would be easy to assume that 8 bit games were the best that it got as there were many amazing gaming memories to be had in that time frame. Sadly, (if you choose to look at change as a bad thing) I think you and I are in the minority with how these past experiences are leading to how games are being made in the present.
Simply, developers can only develop what will sell and sadly, old school gaming isn't in much demand these days. I have no reason to think that there won't be some sort of egress at some point.

But to blame these transgressions of era upon the shoulders of Jeremy Soule simply implies too much generalizing for words. Simply put, gamers are getting what they want. No need to be vengeful...?

Times are changing and video games are exploiting basic human needs per the entertainment idiom. Money talks and economically, it is being proven that cinematic games have vastly "greater" potential than old school efforts in selling copies.
Soule can't be blamed for writing music that helps to musically sell a more interactive approach to gaming.

If you want to blame anyone for this, blame the consumer for continually buying these types of games. It is in this process that video gaming is in the state that it is.

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Jeremy Soule has grown up playing video games, just as all of us likely have. I think he is all too aware of the bullshit stigma that "games" usually attract and is therefore careful not to "impugn" the validity of games by referring to it in only those terms.

I have reason to assume that he doesn't have very fond memories of Secret of Evermore. I am sure that he is fighting to give videogames the respect they deserve, but that likely means changing people's ideas about what a game actually is, or more importantly, what it can be.

Perhaps it was the fear of his life's work being undermined which allows him to speak of games beyond one dimension...perhaps my point is moot.

At any rate, Soule is a very outspoken video game advocate and always will be. If anything, he is supporting a more contemporary view of video games that perhaps the layman will find no difficulties in appreciating. Perhaps this is good, perhaps not...but the scope of video games is widening from such influence and that can't be a terrible thing.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

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Soule:The job of the musical score is to reflect and enhance the various emotions experienced by the player. It's exactly like the soundtrack for a film - when you combine it with the story, characters and events portrayed on screen, it has a very powerful effect. Game music must continue to evolve in this direction in order for this entertainment medium to have lasting value.

Perhaps Soule is saying that video game music should better reflect the sum of its parts to make more poignant emotional music, as is often found in a good film...unless I am completely mistaken.

It seems to me that he is making more of a case that the music should work in congruence with the whole product (visuals, character, story, etc) than proposing an argument stating that music MUST to be a certain type in order to be progressively worthwhile. I don't think he was speaking in opposition to other types of musical setups, but rather how conventions of film music can best be utilized to aid and abet aspects of storytelling during gameplay to create a better connection between the game and the player. He is simply using film as an example.

I must also point to Final Fantasy VI, which is considered by many to be one of the great soundtracks in video game history. Consider that Final Fantasy VI was inspired by Star Wars motif development and is largely motivic, a convention which began in Wagnerian theater, long before film.
However, Final Fantasy VI emulates the 'musical setup' of Star Wars very heavily (bringing in film score conventions such as character themes, reprisals and symphonic orchestration) and is considered in many ways to be a mock up of John Williams early efforts.

Stupidly put, the Ring Cycle came first, then Star Wars, then Final Fantasy VI. This continuance of musical ideals in such elaborate forms does not belong to either film, nor video game music. It is simply an element of musicianship which rewards the participant for being attentive, thus increasing the likelihood of a connection and increasing the interactivity of the experience.

I believe Soule's comments favour the indelible emotional potential that cinematic music can create within a game.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by GoldfishX

Yes, but Final Fantasy VI also has much in common with the pop-influenced styles of much earlier game music as well. And frankly, I think its' strength comes from this (read: the strength of the individual compositions) than its' various reprisals, character themes and whatnot that you mentioned...

...

Thats very true. From a melodic standpoint, there is no fair way to compare Uematsu's finest work with that of Soule. Its a rather lopsided comparison, especially if melody is determined to be the most important characteristic in video game music writing. Melody is really what makes video game music so distinctive.

In the end, I'll take Final Fantasy VI and the strength of its musical principle over that of any film, theater production, etc.

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The wrath of the missing comma.

Sorry about that! Its good to know that even if Jeremy pretends not to like SOE, he has supporters of his early work.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?