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January ‘08 Round Table - UPDATE 01/31
By Corvus | January 31, 2008
Here we are in our third year of the Round Table. It’s hard to believe that we’ve lasted so long, three years is a lifetime on the web. I attribute the RT’s success to the excellent participants that submit posts on a regular basis and the audience that has read so faithfully (I know you’re out there!).
We’ve covered topics ranging from the very serious to the very frivolous and there has always been a lot to chew over and think about when we’re done. To launch the new year I thought I’d start with a few Round Tables that touch on a design topic we haven’t discussed before. Hopefully we’ve got some new readers who may even be interested in making a contribution! This month we’re starting with a theme that would warm the cockles of Alf Clausen’s heart…
January ‘08
These are the Soundtracks of our Lives From the early days of 8 bit music, to Trent Reznor’s affiliation with Quake, to publishers paying big money for Hollywood composers to score their latest AAA titles, it’s clear that game soundtracks play an important part in our videogame experiences. This month’s Round Table invites you to discuss why music is so important to gameplay, or why it isn’t. What soundtracks have pulled you into a game, or which have pushed you out? How could videogame soundtracks be improved, or what are you doing to improve them yourself? The only boundary I’m going to draw on this month’s topic is that your post must be about music, not audio and effects (that topic will most likely show up next month).
Right out of the gate, we’ve got two new participants at this year’s inaugural Round Table!
First we have Max of WorldMaker.net with a nice overview of videogame soundtracks and their relationship to movie soundtracks in his post These Are the Soundtracks of our Lives (gotta love that post title!).
Hot on his heels is Andrew of… well, Andrew’s Site, who highlights the broad spectrum of roles that soundtrack music plays in videogames and the diversity of the musical styles that have been used in his post, Feeling the videogame music vibe.
Be sure to stop by both their blogs and welcome them to their very first Round Table!
Hot on the heals of two new contributors, come two of our most faithful contributors.
Chris Bateman of Only a Game reminisces about some of the very first videogame soundtracks in a post about Rob Hubbard.
Jason of Unfettered Blather expresses a preference for providing his own soundtrack and wonders why it’s not always possible in My Own Private Immigrant Song.
I wrote a piece on… I’m not sure… the emotional resonance and power of synchronicity, perhaps? Anyway if you missed it, click over and give Smiles Like a Reptile a read.
Krystian has kicked the topic up a notch with a post so full of material worthy of mentioning that I’m going to take the cop out and highlight that he poses the question, “Could the guy ask the girl for her telephone number using only music? Could she answer?” Be sure to visit his blog for, Loom: Music as Part of Gameplay.
Honorable mentions for this month’s Round Table go to Brainy Gamer’s post, Music to My Ear, and to the IGF 2008 Finalist, Audiosurf. I recently submitted a review of Audiosurf to the Escapist. I’ll be sure to mention if they post it.
Jason Preston has tossed his two cents onto the table with a post he’s titled The State of Music in Videogames (for lack of a better title)
UPDATE
Another new entry closes our table for the month! Chris of The Artful Gamer posts an examination of the dramatic impact of LucasArt’s iMUSE music system in Dramatic Genius: LucasArts and iMUSE.
Stay tuned later today for February’s Round Table topic!
Tagged:Round Table, videogame soundtracks. |
January 9th, 2008 at 11:31 am
Bad, bad timing on our part since you just posted the Honeycomb Progress Report.
January 9th, 2008 at 11:34 am
Not at all! I’m always posting something or the other. I figure people will read what they’re looking to find, so it doesn’t much matter when the RT post gets bumped to the top by new entries.
January 26th, 2008 at 9:16 pm
Since it’s wrapping up, I’d like to say the entries were fun to read
I’ll keep tabs if there are late ones of course 
I’m also planning to read the archives. At the very least it’d be something to do over GDC - 3 years of stuff is a lot of good stuff to read
And my site name is pretty damn boring isn’t it? I’ll need to think of something, perhaps including the infamous “British Wit” I sometimes hear I’m meant to have.
January 27th, 2008 at 5:42 am
Hopefully you’ll join us for next month’s topic as well, Andrew (and the next and the next).
Wait a minute… you need something to do over GDC? Wow. Isn’t GDC enough to do over GDC?
And I quite I like the elegant simplicity of Andrew’s Site. It has a fresh sort of lack of pretension.
January 29th, 2008 at 11:04 am
The problem with GDC is the really long flight really
so I’ll be bookmark reading then.