The History & Evolution of Video Game Music

    - The definition of a video game soundtrack:

A video game original soundtrack or video game OST is a list of musical tracks that’s been put into a game to reflect the game’s atmosphere.

It consists of songs or instrumental tracks which are made exclusively for the game (e.g. the track “With My Mind” by the rock band Cold which was recorded specifically for the “Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy” OST (2004)) or a collection of licensed tracks (e.g. “Guerrilla Radio” by Rage Against the Machine which was featured on the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 Soundtrack (2000) and “Determined” by the metal band Mudvayne which was featured on Need For Speed Underground 2 soundtrack (2004)).   

-  The inception of video game music (1970’s – 1980’s)

Image credit:PAULIUS

Video game music had emerged ever since video games reached its status as a popular form of entertainment in the late 70’s.

Back then, video game music was nowhere as complex and immersive as modern video game soundtracks and due to the limitations of computers and consoles during that era, the soundtrack sounded like a collection of different beep sounds that were looped to portray the game’s theme. (e.g. Atari 2600’s Pac Man (1980) and Space Invaders (1978) soundtracks)

One of the most popular styles during the late 70s’ until the mid to late-80s’ was Chiptune which is making video game music using programmable sound generator (PSG) sound chips or synthesizers.

The most well-known games that utilised the technology to its fullest during that period were: The Oregon Trail (1985), Ultima VI (1984), Super Mario Bros. 3, and Contra (1987)

My personal favourite soundtrack during that era is without doubt Super Mario Bros. (1985) soundtrack on the NES which took fully advantage of the hardware and brought the game to life.

     -  The Revolutionary period (late 1980s’ -late 1990s’)

Image credit: Major Third

 During the 16-bit era, the hybrid approach (sampled and tone) to music composing continued to be used.

The Sega Genesis offered advanced graphics over the NES and improved sound synthesis features which had led to a much more complex tunes in its games (e.g. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992), Streets of Rage 2 (1992), and The Revenge of Shinobi (1989))

Once the CD technology had evolved with the increasing power of computers and video game consoles in the mid-90s’, games started to become story driven experiences instead of just going from point A to point B, which led the developers to step up their game in making soundtracks for their games that live up to the advanced technologies.

Games like Super Mario 64 (1996), Quake (1996), Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater (1999), and Spyro the Dragon (1998) included CD quality video game soundtracks that consisted of a variety of genres, from classical music all the way to heavy metal.

 - The Evolution: (Early and mid-2000s’)

 In the early 2000’s with the rise of the 6th generation consoles, things have taken a massive leap forward in many aspects of video games especially graphics and audio quality in comparison to the previous generation thanks to programs like THX provides game publishers and developers with standards for how audio and video production facilities should be designed and maintained, as well as how production equipment is installed and performs.

This had led to a much wider variety of video game usage, you could listen to the soundtrack while you are at the main menu or during the gameplay. In addition, you could create your own playlist using your own music in the original Xbox and on PCs.

During the Mid-2000s’ the 7th generation consoles started to include more enhanced audio technologies into their systems like Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio, and Dolby Pro Logic II.

For PCs, they kept replying on third-party devices for in-game sound reproduction, and SoundBlaster is one of the main players in the entertainment audio expansion card business.

      - The Future: (2010s’ and beyond)

         

      In the 2010’s with the inception of virtual reality technology, video game music isn’t about only listening to a plethora of songs while you are gaming, it’s about how truly immersive it can be in a VR environment.

      Games like Beat Saber which has become a phenomenon in music rhythm games despite the genre had become redundant after the 7th generation of consoles.

      It perfectly combines the energy of games like Guitar Hero, and Wii Sports with the advanced VR technology to provide a fun musical immersive experience.

      With games like Fortnite hosting actual musical concerts for real life artists and the constant development in VR and AR technologies, I believe the video game music will become an almost lively part of our gaming experiences.

     Thank you for reading! Listen to my podcast "Living With Bassel" where I talk about Life, Music, Video Games, and more!