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Anime, Editorial, Game Music

Video Game Soundtrack Collectors on Facebook

March 14, 2019 | Ryan Paquet | 2 Comments Share this

Over the past couple of months I have not had much time to write articles here at OSV. Although I haven’t been writing about game music I have been engaged with many collectors of game music through a group on Facebook called Video Game Soundtrack Collectors. The group was created in November 2018, and has grown to over 160 members who have been sharing images of their video game music collections.

Included amongst the Facebook group are OSV alumni and members of The Materia Collective who are very passionate collectors. For me, being a member of this group has allowed me to discuss and share details of my favorite anime and game soundtracks with fellow enthusiasts. I’ve also helped others track down some items, and was at long last able to acquire a CD I’d been seeking for years with a help of a member living in Japan. You may recall I wrote about the album Passion released by the Eminence Symphony Orchestra in an article titled Lost in Time: The Chrono Cross Arranged Album. After posting about my desire to own this album, a group member located it and it’s now a treasured CD in my collection.

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Although I’m not a big fan of Facebook as a platform, I am a member of the group under an alias account. If you are a video game soundtrack collector, on CD, vinyl or have a love of game music I encourage you to check out this group. You can access the group as long as you have a Facebook account at the link below, you’ll be prompted with a couple questions prior to being granted access: What is your favorite game soundtrack, and what is your more sought after game soundtrack?

Facebook Group Link: Video Game Soundtrack Collectors

I hope to see you there. Are you a member of another soundtrack collectors group? Please tell us about it!
Game Music, Miscellaneous

Community Question: What do You think of Super Mario Odyssey’s Music?

November 11, 2017 | Shawn Sackenheim | 1 Comment Share this

As of this writing I’ve just completed one of Super Mario Odyssey’s most self-referential areas, the Metro Kingdom, AKA New Donk City. If you’ve seen practically any footage of the game up to this point then you’ve probably heard the swingin’ vocal theme from that world, “Jump Up, Super Star!”. That song has been buzzing in my head since E3 as I’ve been eagerly anticipating the rest of the Nintendo soundtrack and the full game. But now that it’s here I’m shocked to find myself saying: I’m just not that into you.

Granted, I don’t know how much of the game is ahead of me but in any other Mario title I’d have a playlist full of favorite themes after a dozen hours. So far I’ve only earmarked two songs that I really like, but on the upside this disconcerting focus on the soundtrack has tuned my ear to the game’s surprising lack of music.

There isn’t a consistent soundtrack bopping along in the background of most of the game’s worlds. There has typically been an initial space outside of the major platforming areas where you’re introduced to the visual style, characters, and mechanics of each world. In these outskirts you’ll largely hear only environmental sounds with the music building in layers as you near the center of activity. From there entirely new tunes come into play as you enter warp pipes or duck into hidden corners. It may not be my favorite Mario soundtrack but I can’t fault them on the technical sound design: it’s been very effective even if it’s not so catchy.

What about you, fellow Odyssey players, what’s your take on Mario’s latest soundtrack? Let us know your overall thoughts or individual favorite songs in the comments below.
Game Music, Miscellaneous

Community Question: What Artists have You discovered through games?

October 14, 2017 | Shawn Sackenheim | 4 Comments Share this

In a recent press release announcing that composer Tobias Gustavsson had joined Paradox Interactive as Head of Music, Chief Product Officer Johan Sjöberg put into words something I’ve been thinking about for years.

“Music becomes iconic when it appears in the right game, whether it’s an original composition for that game or not. How many of us remember ‘Superman’ or ‘All I Want’ as ‘The songs from Tony Hawk and Crazy Taxi?’”

I still prefer original music in my games but in some contexts a licensed song can make the perfect fit. Over the years they’ve also been my lens to the world of popular (and not-so-popular) music. So, putting aside our proclivities for original compositions I’d like to ask the community:

What are some songs, artists, or bands
you’ve discovered because of video games?

Naturally, dance and rhythm games are packed with licensed music and I’ve discovered so many artists and bands from the likes of Dance Dance Revolution, Pump it Up, Eye Toy: Groove, Rock Band and Dance Central. But for my example I’ll skip those and dig back a little farther for just one story.

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Doujin, Game Music

Get Your Fill of Fun Straight Game Covers with Extra Lives

August 8, 2017 | Brenna Wilkes | 3 Comments Share this

We currently reside in a community filled with fantastic game music bands from all over the world that span almost all genres. When you have dozens (if not at this point, hundreds) of bands and musicians that dedicate themselves to covering and arranging game music from the Atari all the way through to the current generation of gaming, it can sometimes be a bit hard to catch everything. Extra Lives is a band out of Los Angeles that is a simple, straight cover band that doesn’t do anything fancy; they just do really fantastic covers of music from all sorts of games.

The four-man band has been releasing their covers regularly to Youtube for the past year, touching upon everything from Chrono Trigger to Final Fantasy 4 to Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and more. One might be keen to wonder why, with all the bands out there doing remixing and arranging of game music into grand metal, rock or orchestral variations, should a band that just does straight covers be something to pay much mind to? There is a simple charm to bands that not only play covers, but play them well. Bands like The Minibosses became the legends they are breaking into the field of game music bands with straight covers, and sometimes it’s nice to go back to those roots.

It’s also nice to find new bands that straight their legs a bit and cover songs that might otherwise go completely uncovered, such as The Adventures of Bayou Billy.

The band recently performed with Kirby’s Dream Band during their first live performance, and hopefully will be doing more in the future. You can check out all of their video on their Youtube channel and check back for new videos regularly.

What are you opinions of straight cover bands as opposed to bands that do more arranged game music? Let us know in the comments.
Game Music, Gear, Miscellaneous

Community Question: Is it time to move on from MP3?

May 31, 2017 | Shawn Sackenheim | 8 Comments Share this

While the recent headlines touting “The MP3 is DEAD!!” have over-sensationalized the real news, it got me thinking about my own digital collection again. So I’ll ask you, dear readers, the same thing I asked myself: is it time to move on from MP3?

Sadly, I am not much farther along in my quest to reorganize my music collection than I was when I asked for reader responses in 2015. Over the last two years I’ve been sporadically re-ripping CDs as 320kbps MP3s but with the “death knell” headlines I finally decided to take a look at other formats, namely AAC/m4a.

I’m no audiophile when it comes to sound. My ancient MP2 files are just now sounding crusty to my ears but AAC has impressed me with smaller file sizes. Support is also more widespread than the last time I peeked out from my MP3 safe zone: all the apps, programs, and even consoles I might use to play digital files now support it. So that’s where I’m at right now, surrounded by my CD collection once again.

How about you? What’s your format of choice? What do you think about the MP3 news or even the future of digital music files? Let us know in the comments.
Miscellaneous, Music Production

PopCap Layoffs Highlight the Difficulties of Game Audio Careers

May 4, 2017 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on PopCap Layoffs Highlight the Difficulties of Game Audio Careers Share this

Recently, PopCap Games announced a wave of layoffs at their Seattle development branch to “refocus on new titles and key projects”. There was no confirmation of how many where laid off or what departments saw the cut in staff, but at least one member of their audio team announced their position had been the victim of the downsizing.

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Doujin, Game Music, Miscellaneous

VGM Band Spotlight: Moiré Effect

April 18, 2017 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on VGM Band Spotlight: Moiré Effect Share this VGM Band Spotlight: Moiré Effect

The video game music scene is a vast one, with a growing community that continues to bolster itself regularly. Certainly with events whose core is centered around video game music, such as MAGFest and Gamer’s Rhapsody, as well as the niche industry of game music expanding through both fan projects and composer collaborations, new names pop up in the scene regularly. This is especially true with new performers and bands that dedicate themselves to the celebration of video game music.

Enter Moiré Effect. What is Moiré Effect? Well, ask a visualist and it’s the spacing effect when two sets of patterns are laid on top of one another. So, what does this have to do with video game music? According to the band, it didn’t start out with a dedication to games music and beyond.

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