Your Game Music is Bland and You Should Feel Bad

[Martinchee]

Let's NOT forget the (probably previously mentioned) moment in Saints Row The Third where you do some killing in one of the earlier missions while this plays:

 

[Myoukochou]

Oh, I don't know about that. I'm currently playing Hotline: Miami, and the soundtrack on that is the glacé cherry on top of a beautifully-iced cake of neon-soaked death.

Perhaps it is just that we forgot the forgettable soundtracks, because they were forgettable.

 

[Ausdoerrt]

As a musician and composer, I have to say: I don't think a theme song being "humable" is a very good metric when determining how effective a soundtrack is. By all definition, a soundtrack's job is to compliment, not overburden. In the retro days of memorable, catchy tunes, game soundtracks were the most prominent sound effect - nowadays, aural atmosphere is achieved by so many disciplines that the soundtrack's prominence would act against it.

Orchestrations have produced many memorable game soundtracks, don't get me wrong. I think Halo Reach's is actually the best Halo soundtrack, Super Mario Galaxy has twice provided exhilarating scores, and games like Asura's Wrath and Rayman Origins have provided a uniqueness in full orchestral scores quite unlike their peers.

Not every game needs an orchestral score, this much is true. And simpler is often better, this too is true. But orchestral soundtracks have provided some of the best music in videogames, and I don't think I'm alone in thinking that.

Your post has a point, but I don't entirely agree.

First of all, the era of prominent soundtracks is not quite over, and it works fabulously even in larger, AAA titles. Arc System Works games have already been mentioned, and I think it's a good example where a strong tune reinforces rather than distracts from gameplay.

Secondly, there are many more ways to achieve atmosphere with music without using an oh-so-familiar Hollywood-style soundtrack. For example, chamber music (Arcanum) or ambient (Fallout 1/2, Torment, TOEE).

Finally, having an orchestral soundtrack doesn't mean it has to be bland. Listen to any of battle tunes for Last Remnant: the OST has strong orchestral influences (albeit also rock/metal influences as well); it's "epic", and yet utterly memorable: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njI2fT4d2CY&list=PL75DA4CF0DA460A52


To sum up, Extra Credits, as usual, offers occasionally decent ideas, overly simplified "layman's" description and poor examples. But the observation about the popularity of "singl-alongs" is definitely true, even outside game music. Thus, "humable" isn't quite right, but IMO having at least a few tunes with a prominent, memorable melody does a lot for a game's music quality. And that can be true for absolutely any style of music from classical to techno to metal.

P.S. I'm also a music player and, to an extent, a band composer myself, if that matters any

 

[Torchiest]

I know this thread is old and dead, but I wanted to add my agreement about The Elder Scrolls theme song. That piece is amazing, catchy, and extremely popular. It's also quite hummable. A couple other amazing soundtracks are the ones for FTL: Faster Than Light and Terraria. Both are extremely fun games that the music really adds a lot to.