What is it in game music that you like so much and how could it be better?

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1. If you had to describe what VGM is to someone ignorant on the subject, what would you say?

Music which appears in or is composed for a video game, be it bloops and bleeps or ornate orchestral movements performed by the LSO. I'd likely bring up the film comparison, that even though this stuff was written for entertainment media it's still music through and through and can be listened to on a standalone basis (the soundtrack concept comes across pretty easy).

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2. Why do you listen to game music on a stand-alone basis? What elements do you like or dislike from it?

Ha, I was just mentioning something to Shively on a similiar note. I have a warm appreciation for music in practically any form it wants to present itself. Only later in life did I think about it and realize that openness to many musical styles stemmed from a life of gaming and proximity to the sheer variety found in game music. That eclectic mix exists even more so with games of today and is always providing something fresh and exciting to listen to. Often within a single game title I'm treated to a whirlwind tour of musical adventure, be it dramatic accompaniment, credit ballads, simple background tunes, action fare, or any number of genres throughout.

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3. Do you listen to music from games you haven't played?

Yes. Come to think of it, sometimes listening to the music makes me want to track down that game and give it a go.

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4. What percentage does VGM represent on your playlist vs. non-game music? If applicable, what kind of music do you listen to outside of VGM? If you don't listen to mainstream music (i.e. not VGM, film, or anime soundtracks), why is that so?

I don't actually make use of playlists but VGM would represent one of the larger percentages if I were to add it all together. Outside of VGM my life's "playlist" has been chiefly classical and all the stuff from 1950-1980, followed up by film scores, jazz, world or ethnic, new age (do we even call it that anymore?), and finally the electronic world (downtempo, trance, house, chill-out, etc.etc.) I do have a lot of the Western mainstream fare, though I don't listen to it all that much. It's chiefly to keep up with what's going on out there, though I have to admit the 80's and 90's tunes can be pretty damn catchy at times.

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5. How do you feel about music that was not published as an official album? How much of a problem is it to you if you want to listen to it? Also, do you actually buy official albums or strictly download them illegally (or a mix of both)? Do you think these albums are adequately priced?

Haha, I think all albums are overpriced. I pretty much buy everything used and cd's only when they're in the $3-4 range or below. So my physical VGM albums are a very small party indeed. Don't care a whiff whether it's published officially or not, as I'm just as much at home listening to game music from some Options sound test if that's the way the only way to hear it.

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6. Which genres/styles do you mainly listen to? Which do you avoid?

Almost anything. The only ones I avoid are particularly redundant beat tracks (an example I can think of off hand would be Smuggler's Run 2).

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7. If one of these genres also exists in non-game music, do you also listen to it from that category? If not, why?

Nope. Even within the electronic sub-genres you can find some really robust, melodic stuff that doesn't resort to just endless thumping about.

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8. Video gaming had a reputation for a long time of being a childish or geeky hobby, and a part of it persists today. Inevitably, to a certain extent, the music also fell under this denigrative categorization (especially retro chiptunes). Do you think VGM is as valid as any other music from a listener's point of view? Additionally, are you fully comfortable about mentioning you listen to VGM when you discuss with someone who isn't into gaming?

Yes and yes. Even better when I have some particularly overpowering orchestral work I can let them listen to. It hardly ever comes up in conversation, though. I don't proactively go about trying to convert people or anything as I think it's mainly just an element of culture that will ingrain itself more and more as the generations pass.

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9. How would you compare game music from the past (aka chiptunes, up to the SNES era) and modern material?

I regard the music of that period through a thick filter nostalgia so, in my instance, it's pretty much impossible not to enjoy it. Trying hard to be objective, I think most could listen to them now and appreciate how much those musicians did with so very little but ultimately the layered, evocative music of today -- a lot of times with real instruments involved -- wins out in the end.

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10. During its infancy, VGM was unique in part because of its electronic sound coming from limited sound chips. Today, any kind of instruments can be used and thus this uniqueness doesn't always persist. Do you believe VGM should sound different from other music categories? If so, how could this be achieved nowadays?

VGM should match the intent of its composer or production team, or simply fit the framework of its environment (story, mood, themes, accompaniment, etc.). Just like any other music.

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11. Most gamers don't particularly care about game music (or at least, to the extent we do). Thus, it's most probably not part of their playlists. Some producers believe that players would prefer to hear their favorite mainstream songs while playing rather than original music, hence the use of licensed material. What is your opinion about this?

If the developer is truly concerned in that way about what players want to listen to they ought to allow the player full control in setting up a playlist, using whatever songs the player has available to provide. Otherwise I'd prefer original content composed explicitly for that title (and there are certainly exceptions to this, such as in a case like Homeworld's choral inclusion of Barber's famous Adagio). On a similiar note, movie soundtracks do me no good. I can get top 40 hits from any radio station, but I'm much more intrigued and energized by the dramatic score which grounds so much of what happens storywise.

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12. Other producers, which aren't as radical, may still hire a composer, yet ask him/her to create something that sounds extremely close to popular music. This does not make highly unique VGM, yet it can still be very enjoyable and is a creative process. Do you see a problem in this?

Not really since non-VGM has to contend with the business side of things too. There will always be that give-and-take when dealing with commercially driven media.

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13. A popular trend these days (notably in the West) is to make games that are very cinematic in nature, mimicking Hollywood down to the use of (usually) orchestral cinematic music. How do you feel about this? Since these two media are converging when it comes to telling a story on screen, should games (and their music) be any different from films? If so, how?

As mentioned earlier, the music should fit with the vision of the project, whether the project is displayed in theaters nationwide or pumped out in Live's latest arcade hit.

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14. Certain producers and composers believe that the perfect music should not be noticeable unless it's not there. Another way to formulate this would be to say that the music shouldn't be in the forefront to avoid distracting the player. In practice, this often results in the use of an adaptative music system, playing an ambient (see "usually unmelodic") track when nothing special is going on and then loading a more dynamic cue when action kicks in. When listened to on a stand alone basis, these soundtracks often make an inconsistent experience (unless for huge ambient fans). What do you think about this?

As far as standalone listening is concerned, the only thought I have on this is that I usually only listen to those "featureless" tracks if I've played and enjoyed its source game beforehand.

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15. VGM is inevitably linked to the games it comes from. In fact, it's created to suit them in the first place! Is there any soundtrack which you regard very lowly from a listener point of view, but that you found worked well in-game? If possible, how could it have been more enjoyable to listen to while still working as well in-game?

The earlier mentioned Smuggler's Run 2. It's pretty hard to notice any repetitiveness when you're careening down mountainsides in some overpowered buggy while being chased by ten law enforcement vehicles. Outside the game any kind of variety would help. It's possible to swing your electronic beat box this way and that way and garner listener attention alongside player excitation.

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16. Do you think there is too much music sounding the same? If so, could this be because there are too many similar games? If the games weren't to change, how could the music become different without sounding out of place?

Eh.... One could also say Baroque music is all the same, or bluegrass or rap is all the same. Sure there are similiar styles or genre trademarks to be found, but the power and scope of the musician is limitless and, from what I've heard so far, offers no end of variety

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17. Do you notice any difference between VGM created in Japan, America and Europe? If so, what does one do better or worse than the others, and vice versa?

Japan has the best synth work and perhaps the most experimental edge to their music. They also feel free to jump between various musical styles in a single game, where Western tracks seem to stick with a specific, perhaps more cohesive mood or musical framework throughout.

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18. VGM is a lot more popular in Japan than it is in the West, with album releases being a good indicator. How could things get better in the West on that matter?

Time.

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19. If you had to sum up in three words what you expect from VGM, which would you choose?

Variety | Original | Delight

Jam it back in, in the dark.