Video Game Music

Events, Game Music

Game Music Connect 2015 Date Announced

March 31, 2015 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Game Music Connect 2015 Date Announced Share this Game Music Connect 2015 Date Announced

If you’re looking for a reason to nip over to England this fall, the date for this year’s Game Music Connect has just been announced for September 15, 2015 in London at the Southbank Centre!

For the uninitiated, Game Music Connect is the video game music industry’s equivalent to the Game Developers Conference, features workshops and symposiums dedicated to various facets of the game music industry. This year’s big focus is “Scoring Virtual Reality”, and will explore the role of music in VR environments and how music and design must interact to bring the entire experience together (Something interesting for those who followed the recent [NUREN] Kickstarter and wanted to know how music is tackled within VR games). Other workshops include “Sample Library Creation”, “Mixing Mockups” and more! Beyond the event founders James Hannigan (Harry Potter games, Command & Conquer) and John Broomhall (X-COM, Forza 5), last year’s event also featured industry guests such as Jason Graves (Dead Space, The Order: 1886) Gary Schyman (Bioshock Infinite, Dante’s Inferno) and more!

With this being it’s third year, Game Music Connect hopes to continue bringing together pro and semi-pro musicians and composers of game music to share talks about their experiences, showcase demo reels, participate in demonstrations and more. Tickets and info for the event can be found on the event’s website and feature an early bird deal until May 31st for those wanting to get in on the event early.

Game Music Connect 2015 – Website | Facebook

Source: Top Dollar PR
Game Music, Miscellaneous

Game Music Radio Roundup: Go-To VGM Streams for Your Listening Pleasure

March 28, 2015 | Brenna Wilkes | 1 Comment Share this

We’re in that age where we want everything at our fingertips without the need to go searching too extensively. We subscribe to feeds and bookmark databases so we always know where we can go for all of our information and news on any particular topic.

Streaming has become a popular thing in this age where traditional radio is becoming quickly antiquated. When you have the ability to create and stream nearly any amount of any genre of music, why limit yourself to stations that cater to a larger demographic? Video game music is no different, with entire online stations dedicated to just game music and VGM arrangements. So where are some of the best places to go to get your steady game music fix?

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Game Music, Reviews

Sweepingly Beautiful and Engrossing: Ori and The Blind Forest Original Soundtrack (Review)

March 18, 2015 | Ryan Paquet | 1 Comment Share this

The soundtrack to Ori and the Blind Forest is breathtaking and wonderfully crafted. The music was composed by Gareth Coker and performed by the Nashville Music Scoring Orchestra, with additional soloists. I have been listening to it for the past week and can’t seem get enough of it. The game designers describe the game as a Metroidvania-style platformer, and that they were heavily influenced by the works of Studio Ghibli/Hayao Miyazaki, and films like The Lion King and The Iron Giant.

Below, you’ll hear the music from the trailer for the game. The soundtrack consists of 32 solid tracks and has a playtime of 88:51. In this review I will highlight my thoughts on what makes this score special, if any musical elements of the designer’s influences show up in the score, and why its worth your listening time.

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Game Music, Reviews

LIGHTNING STRIKES AGAIN: Video Games Live Level 4 (Review)

March 16, 2015 | Ryan Paquet | 5 Comments Share this

The album Video Games Live Level 4 is the result of a second Kickstarter campaign run by Tommy Tallarico that was successfully funded on November 28, 2014. The album was released digitally to funders on February 18, 2014, and physical copies are shipping out in April 2015. I was able to pick up a physical copy at their recent show in Ottawa, Canada. The album offers 12 tracks that are of excellent quality and offers a new take on some classic video game themes. If you haven’t already picked up this album, hopefully my review will make your decision easier.

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Game Music, Reviews

Shadowy Electronica Beauty with Oblitus Soundtrack (Review)

March 7, 2015 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Shadowy Electronica Beauty with Oblitus Soundtrack (Review) Share this

Let it never be said that 2D is dead in terms of ambient games. The advent of independent games has opened up new avenues for young developers who grew up in the mid-late ’80s and early ’90s to throw-back to the games we grew up with. With games such as Shadow of the Beast creating surreal atmospheres back then, and more recent games such as Dark Souls doing so in 3D, it’s the logical step to attempt combining elements of such games into new spiritual successors, both in terms of scenery and sound. That’s how you end up with games such as Oblitus.

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Game Music, Reviews

A Supernatural Cinematic Soundtrack – The Order: 1886 OST (Review)

February 25, 2015 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on A Supernatural Cinematic Soundtrack – The Order: 1886 OST (Review) Share this

It’s seems to be a good time to be a supernatural and horror-based game right now. With games like NightCry being funded on Kickstarter, Resident Evil Revelations 2 being release episodically and Bloodborne right around the corner, it’s nice for horror buffs like myself to see a verity of creepy stuff being released. The Order: 1886 skirts this same genre, being a supernatural/action FPS with a fair helping of grimdark tones. Having the composer of Dead Space and F.E.A.R. 3 at the helm of the soundtrack certainly doesn’t hurt in the creation of the general atmosphere of the game either, one would wager.

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Miscellaneous

Operation: 1-Up Launched to Help Fellow VG Music Fan in Need

February 23, 2015 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Operation: 1-Up Launched to Help Fellow VG Music Fan in Need Share this

One thing I love about the video game and VGM community is the often overwhelming outpouring of support for fellow fans and enthusiasts. In this case, 16-year old music and video game fan John (aka:DarthAurelius) was diagnosed with inexplicable total renal failure. Neither of John’s kidneys are working properly and he has been confined to needing regular dialysis treatments to help flush toxins out of his blood like his kidneys should be doing. Now, this is an ailment that afflicts many, young and old, within our world every day. John, it appears, has some guardian angels looking to help at least this one young man have a second lease on life.

Operation 1-UP is a charity arrangement album looking to help contribute to the raising of funds that John needs to help acquire a new kidney. Medical treatment both prior to and after receiving a new kidney is not cheap, especially when waiting on a donor list and needing dialysis multiple times a week for several hours. Thus, a group of musicians and gaming fans have created a 21-track arrangement album dedicated to helping raise awareness of John’s condition and help bridge the gap between well-wishers and John’s medical treatment goals. Artists such as Super Guitar Bros., MissionGuitar, Motion Ocean and several others have donated arrangements from Super Metroid, Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy VII and more towards the cause.

You can check out the album and cause for yourself and either pick up the album or throw a bit of money towards John’s treatment and help out.

Operation: 1-UP – Loudr | GoFundMe | Twitter

You can also learn about other programs to help fight Kidney Disease and organ donation at the National Kidney Foundation.