Classical Music in Video Games

[Chameleon]

So I just found this article in a book:
(It's in Spanish but I'll try to translate it for you)

"Just when we all thought classical music was long gone, the genre comes alive in a new and unexpected form.

One of the new terrains in which the genre has appeared in is in video games. Years ago their melodies were metallic or simple far away sounds that could turn us crazy until we decided to lower the volume. But now those times have been definitely left behind, and the achievements in video game technology have been followed by a refinement in their soundtracks as well.

The first composer to include classical music in games has been japanese composer Nabuo Uematsu, composer of the Square Enix company and of their famous Final Fantasy franchise.

This type of composition needs to solve specific problems. One of them is time. As we never know for how long a player will be in a specific place, the challenge is to make length and melody change according to how players act. But in spite of all these challenges, this type of music has also achieved a high degree of harmonic complexity.

It is also worth noticing that this compositions are directed to a really wide audience, that does not generally enjoy classical music shows. In the recent years some symphonic orchestras have been successful in approaching companies and video game composers to offer concerts as a soundtrack to popular series such as Final Fantasy, Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda, combined with amazing graphics and complex gameplay."

What do you think about this? Are you fond of this recent classical music revolution in video games? Or would you rather prefer electronic/rock/chiptune music on videogames? Do you think it'll make classical music popular in the future? Say what you will! We'll be hearing.

 

[Hanyou]

Not sure how recent this is. I seem to recall a couple of old-school arcade or computer games using actual classical music, though I could just be imagining it. I just remember hearing 8-bit Mozart and Beethoven aplenty.

I'm not sure exactly what the definition of "classical" music is, though. It always escapes me. Is it anything symphonic? Does neoclassical count (if so, then Castlevania ought to win some sort of award)? Is it determined by the instruments used?

There are different styles, too. You have Philip Glass' minimalism, and I'm pretty sure that's classical, but it's not usually invoked. Baroque is popular and instantly recognizable as classical, but neoclassical also crosses over into that realm frequently.

Let's go back to Castlevania. Lords of Shadow had the benefit of an orchestra, but it was used for boring stuff like this, which basically sounds like all the least interesting parts of the Lord of the Rings score, the ones that were left off the official soundtrack CDs. This is the best track I've heard from the entire game, probably because it's trying to be Shadow of the Colossus at this point, but still failing miserably. The Genesis chip's staggering limitations, meanwhile, still helped suitably articulate this masterpiece, though Michiru Yamane, who's responsible for most of the best Castlevania stuff, is just a damn good composer in her own right, so an orchestra probably wouldn't hinder her.

Which is more classical? I'm not sure. I do know that orchestras can't cover for the weaknesses of uninteresting compositions, and it seems like they just might make it all worse.

I'm not a musical scholar, so I can't pinpoint what's what necessarily, but I'm also not sure I can agree with the article. I think classical music has been with video games since they became popular, and it remains with them. They just have the benefits of real orchestras now, so you get symphonic classical music, which means it sounds just like a movie soundtrack. With games like Super Mario Galaxy and Skyward Sword, this works beautifully. For franchises like Castlevania, it seems like it's plain awful. Not to mention, Final Fantasy soundtracks aren't want they were in the golden era of 1-6.

Perhaps I've misunderstood the article, but I'm just not aware of any classical music revolution in video games.

Also, how is classical music "long gone?"