Is the west even trying when it comes to video game music?

That guy who did the rimworld soundtrack was pretty good.

Damn Gooks are ugly

>>382293730
Jeremy Soule
Mark Morgan
Mick Gordon
Matt Uelman
The five guys who did the WoW soundtrack
UT 99 composer

>>382293730
toby fox

>>382293730
>nip games
>not having the most gobshite tier music in videogames, that's painfully over-produced with no sense of minimalism, just like their character designs

soule, kirkhope, brower, gregson-williams, etc

west beats the shit out of japan

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>>382294383
This. Nip music is the most overbloated garbage I've ever had the pain to listen to. They can't into atmosphere.

>>382293730

Jesper Kydd

>>382294352
Unironically this. Even the japs went "woah sugoi" on the soundtrack to the point that actual composers made fan albums

>>382294250
>>382294383
Soule I'll give you.

>Kirkhope
When is the last time you ever went to actually listen to one of his songs? They fit the games they were in, but they're hardly memorable nor do they stand out on their own

>Gregson-Williams
Doesn't really count, he's not primarily a game composer - that's like saying who's the best video game voice actor and claiming Mads Mikkelson

>Blizzard
>memorable music

>>382294352
Fair point

>>382293730
Danny Baranowsky
Souleye
Darren Korb
Lifeformed
Landon Podbielski

Ys, FF, Guilty Gear all have amazing soundtracks.

The west has the DK soundtrack and uhhhh

>>382293730
>the west

what does this mean?

virt

>>382293730
Frank Klepacki has some pretty damn good tracks in C&C and RA

>>382294748
>>382294748
>They fit the games they were in
How is this a criticism? It's fucking GAME music, primarily made for the GAME.


>Blizzard
>not memorable
Vanilla WoW's soundrack alone blows out any saturated garbage from nipland

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>Using Western music theory and Western instruments to write 40 second background loops for electronic (Western) computer (Western) games (Western)
>OP: "Is the west even trying?"

>>382294925
The whole world.

>>382295386
>when it comes to video game music

Fuck off off-topic shitposter.

>>382294616
>Even the japs went "woah sugoi" on the soundtrack to the point that actual composers made fan albums
Must be nice to be in that position, the people who you once emulated and looked up to reproducing and praising your work

Western video game soundtracks are basically just poor man's movie soundtracks
Japan tries more to make music that fits video games specifically

this is made more clear by Western video game often using licensed music whereas Japanese games almost always use entirely original music
the same fact is made even more obvious in the genre that actually focuses on music i.e. rhythm games
Western rhythm games use almost entirely licensed music whereas Japanese ones use almost entirely original music
there's also something to be said for the fact that using licensed music including in advertisement campaigns costs way more and is one of the reasons why video game budgets in the West have gotten so inflated which is a huge problem that is destroying the quality of the Western industry
there is a reason a game like GTAV is the most expensive game ever made

We've got Mike Morasky

>>382293730
>every MGS ost was made by a man of which nationality?

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>>382293730
>Didn't include Keiki Kobayashi
Reset this twisted game
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGjwXI0n5-I

>>382294352
I knew someone was gonna say this. If Toby was a good composer, he wouldn't constantly reuse the same 5 leitmotifs when it isn't even thematically relevant.

>>382293730
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qsp3Z25u6VI

>>382295706
Probably horrifying. I'd imagine it'd be like being Win Butler of Arcade Fire in 2004. You finally released your first album, and then David Fucking Bowie shows up at your doorstep calling your debut album the second coming of christ. And you're happy that people like it, but deep down you know that this is going to wind up defining you for better or for worse, and that no matter what you go on to do next you will never fill those shoeprints left by your first professional release.

>west has john cage

>east has screaming japanese man

are you even trying asia??????????

>>382295875
>no megalith
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZBoiW460nU

>no CUM HISTORIA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1Qkzj5bStU

nigga do you even dance with the angels?

>>382295851
MGS was made entirely by japs
MGS2 was HGW
MGS3 was split between a jap and HGW
MGS4 was (mostly) HGW
MGS5 was licensed music

Take a shot every time you hear a Picardy third in a Japanese game.

>>382295932
If you listened to Toby's earlier work on the Worst Webcomic Known To Man you'd know Toby's a fucking master of leitmotifs, both in crafting them and in shifting them in subtle and not so subtle ways to completely change the context and meanings of his songs.

If I were to be so arrogant I'd compare it to how John Williams uses lietmotifs throughout his works.

>>382293730
I think you're forgetting the West's greatest video game composer, Tommy Talarico.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kcF7E69C6Q
So this is the power of Japanese composition....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2U9MIKA4uV8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9HJpwhpbjM

>>382295743
this. it's pretty hard to make a good game when all your budget is in advertising and licensing rights


I think a good, western example of a soundtrack done right was Furi, which was a game broken up into chapters and featured a different artist for each level.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CGMk_roNaE

>>382294383
Wow someone else who feels this way. Every time I listen to nip game soundtracks my ears are raped by multiple women screaming at the top of their lungs while generic orchestra is playing. It's horrible. The only nip soundtracks I can stand is from old shit like the SNES.

>people are unironically posting call of duty music
holy shit

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>>382296523
>call of duty is bad

Post yfw you realize Japanese music is all just aping western 80s dance music in some way

>>382296390
carpenter brut is neat

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The west has Ari Pulkkinen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZh_QHezYZM

>a games quality of gameplay somehow has anything to do with the soundtrack

>>382296007
He probably won't make another notable game, but his musical ability has been pretty consistent I think. I've followed his work for a long time.

Why has nobody posted Robin Beanland

>>382296649

all music apes earlier styles of music

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>a soundtrack made for a 15 year old game with a budget of no dollars
vs
>AAA game soundtracks made by Japan, "the only country that makes good videogames"

Where were you when weebs got BTFO?

>>382297146
Also forgot the mention that it's not even a fucking game but a mod

>ctrl + f
>jake kaufman
>0 results
For shame.

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>>382296829
>Finn
>Western

>>382297535
western = not japan

>>382295743
>Western rhythm games use almost entirely licensed music whereas Japanese ones use almost entirely original music
examples? project diva is all entirely pre-existing vocaloid songs as far as i'm aware. ouendan was all pre-existing songs. theatrhythm was pre-existing songs. what rhythm games are using originals?

>>382297326
See
>>382294996

Eric Brosius
Alexander Brandon
Mark Morgan

>>382297728
>what rhythm games are using originals?
the best ones
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHV27o66RDc

>>382294925
"the west" in video game terms means everywhere that's not a home country of asians.

So no Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam.
But yes to EVERYWHERE else.

>>382297728

Bemani the ones who literally invented the rhythm genre and also still the most prolific rhythm game developers in the industry
they use a lot of in house artists (many of which just perform under multiple different names) and always have for the 2 decades now they've been around
they do occasionally use licensed music as well but the majority is original

most of the games you mention are significantly newer even Rhythm Heaven is older and that series also uses entirely original music
also Theatrhythm doesn't use licensed music it uses music from FF games which is original music that SE created
I think Project Diva is the same way too isn't it? I'm not sure about that one but doesn't Sega still make all the vocaloid music themselves
Pretty much the only two big Japanese rhythm game series that use primarily licensed music are Ouendan and Taiko which you missed

>even music from nip dlc is better than main game shit in western games
https://youtu.be/Sl0cjfYTja0

Why doesn't anyone ever post Ace Combat music that isn't final mission latin lyrics orchestra shit?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtfBZjCcnF4

>>382296135
the biggest meme i've heard repeatedly over and over in japanese music is the suspended V chord (resolved relatively quickly of course). they fucking love that

>>382293730
Inon Zur

>>382294383
>painfully over-produced with no sense of minimalism, just like their character designs
Yeah, and just like their character designs, it varies wildly in style depending on the game.
Same goes for the west.
If there's a difference, it's that Japan makes less games that more minimalist or ambient stuff would suit well than the west does, generally speaking.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rj9zFI5uSGc
Is this enough minimalism?

>>382294512
>They can't into atmosphere.
Absolutely retarded. What the fuck are soundtracks to games like Silent Hill or Metroid Prime?

That guy that composed for Fable, Russell Shaw, is pretty good

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YVIb9lH4Do

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9J2PXS4bSpQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtPK3xjuQRY

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>no Tom Salta
>better halo music than the shit from that faggot 343 hired
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0D2zFo3nAdg
>god-tier GRAW OST
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJbtB62gyyo&index=3&list=PLEBD64254B3282CAF
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0V1uZAyZYE&list=PLEBD64254B3282CAF&index=4

>>382300523
What is a suspended V chord? Can I get an example?

Daggerfall and Runescape had better OSTs than 99% of Jap games desu.

The quality of music in vidya kind of amazes me.
Just from the cynical business side of things its strange to think they'd recognize the value of a good composer when other things like quality writing even in rpgs get utterly neglected.

>>382293730
both have different approaches to how music is used

the east tend to make the music a part of the experience, which is why they're loud and in your face

the west makes them to just be background mood setting ambient noise, which is why they don't stick out much

Jesper Kyd

>>382303660
Even indie games manage to have amazing music fairly frequently.
It really seems like it's the easiest part of a game to do well.

>>382303660
You're thinking about it from the wrong side.

The reason why good writers don't write for video games is because they can instead write for any number of more prestigious things Novels, screenplays, ect.
On the other hand, if you want to compose non-lyrical music, and you don't want to constantly turnout the exact same drivel that makes an average film OST (seriously, the majority of film music is incredibly formulaic), then composing for video games is basically the top tier where you get creative freedom.

>>382303828
Western scores tend to be nice sound orchestral stuff, but it's never really memorable for the most part.
I personally find it to be too all encompassing, like they had an entire orchestra there and just had to use everything at once and it becomes homogeneous.

This is assuming that it's not a modern shooter and they just have electron droning and booping

>>382303660
I feel like a good soundtrack is more important in games than a good story is.

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>>382293730
>Mark Morgan
>The guy who did Silver Surfer nes ost
>His brother
This seems sarcastic but really,

>>382293730
You forgot Yuzo Koshiro and Masashi Hamauzu.
Whoever did Halo CE's OST was good too, also Ecco the Dolphin and Ecco 2, whoever they were (I know Spenser Nilson did some of it).

>>382295386
>>Using Western music theory and Western instruments to write 40 second background loops for electronic (Western) computer (Western) games (Western)
so what part of japanese music makes it japanese then?

>>382293730
i often see david wise and robin beanland overshadowed by grant kirkhope

>>382293730
Isnt he knida old for such edgy look?

>>382293730
>Martin O'Donnell
>David Wise

???
Who?

>>382304187

...the Halo composer was already mentioned. Shows how much you know about video game composers.

Payday 1 and 2 both have very good soundtracks.

The Mass Effect composers did a good job

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIW9Dc-ZfnU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WV56iJ9KFlw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RO7K4W-c9g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5GHQNnPUuo

>>382293730
Nobuo Uematsu went to shit after FFX

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>>382304310
I don't know anything about video game composers, I just remember liking Halo's OST.
I wasn't trying to jump into any arguments here anon, I just know a few who made the OST of my favorite games.

>>382304460
you should.

>>382304513
Why

>>382304442
He still makes some pretty hype battle themes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aKB5l2MvpI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_betnUPq-uQ

>>382303223
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqZaFDA7PXY&t=22s i was going to use this as an example but it turns out my memory of this song was faulty, it's a actually a picardy third (what that other anon mentioned). i'll be damned. i wonder if i've been hearing picardy thirds all this time when i thought i was hearing suspended Vs?
https://soundcloud.com/ruined_sounds/suspended-v
here's a quick example. the chord at the end is a suspended V, resolving to a regular V chord. it's also an example of a half cadence (a cadence is a moment of relative repose in music). adding the suspension adds tension/drama, which is then released when you resolve it.

>>382304165
>The guy who did Silver Surfer nes ost
Tim Follin.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2nWuGoRU0s

>>382304686
explaining further, the V is a roman numeral. it means the chord is built on the fifth note of the scale. the V chord is very important in western music. the only chord more important is the I chord, built on the first note of the scale. a picardy third is when a song is in a minor key but you end on a major I chord rather than the expected minor I chord. this gives a feeling of peace or hope amid gloomy surroundings. that chrono trigger tune is an example, i can write up another piano example really quick to make it more obvious if you'd like.

>>382304586
His music is just so uninspired and boring nowadays I mean it's like he's been making the same songs for the past 15 years.

That's nice and all, but does the east or the west use more uncommon time signatures in their video game music?

This is important.

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>>382304978
>high contrast
>monotone

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>anything non-japanese is western

Whoever did the Deus Ex HR score is pretty damn good

>>382293730
The rising star of western vidya music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gmuJWuQ2Yk

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>>382304978
>The music sounds too "high contrast" to me
What in the world are you talking about?

>>382304686
>>382305145
https://soundcloud.com/ruined_sounds/picardy-third here's the picardy third example. once again, it comes at the end and is suspended at first (to add drama/tension) then resolved. in anime and games it's usually a lot spicier than this, i kept it simple.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nbCDdkbVHo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69-J2m_GyhI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RTO4qPEm64
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vExrfVyKHg

game had a fucking top notch soundtrack

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpCfQ4Ixcmc

>>382305258
i can't think of any examples of either except i seem to remember mother3 having a track or two in a weird time signature just to fuck up your combos. also switching back and forth between different meters.

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>>382293730
Who is Mark Morgan?
Scrub.

>>382304232
On Yooka Laylee there were huge jumps in quality between Wise's and Kirkhope's music. Wise is just so much better

>>382305258
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpOVKbM7vlA&list=PLAA62D4D273C751B6&index=13

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1fPUejOTB8

>>382297146
He did that f2p Deus Ex game too.

>>382295386
/thread

>>382306876
There's plenty of examples on both sides.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nug6wur2UH4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxAKSyMPNZk

>>382294383
BotW exists, blowing your argument away.

>>382293730
the west can't into fun, quirky tunes as much anymore like nips do. everything has to be either orchestral pieces, metal/dubstep (i put them in same category), hip hop, or licensed music. nips, though, they'll dive into jazz, ska, classical, the western ones i've mentioned earlier, even bossa nova, and much more that sometimes even gives off "other-worldly" feelings

>>382293730
Gregory Soules

>>382293730
Bill Elm + Woody Jackson
>Red Dead Redemption
Stephen Rippy
>Age of Empires & spinoffs
Jerry Martin
>SimCity 3000

>>382307636
that's not even music.

Trevor Morris

>>382293730
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSQZqVsaKWY

Rito game's music department is full of big names like the guys behind lord of the rings and star wars music

>>382293730
Robin Beanland, you fucking queer. He's the fucking best.

>>382296523
just because a game is mediocre/bad doesn't mean it has bad music.

>>382308220
Why do they put so much work in the log-in screen?
I could understand trailers, or something.

But this is literally just the the place where you log-in after launching the game.

>Follin only mentioned ONCE
Come the fuck on.
David Wise,Tim Follin, Toby Fox and Tee Lopez off the top of my head are all god tier. I want to mention Richard Jaques but his stuff has been super spotty lately compared to his older work.
It is slim pickins comparatively but they exist.

which FF BOSSA NOVA'd better
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2v_qbBt4sc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kcz5V7qvidc

>>382307805
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulbNbpha_5k

>>382293730
The Black Mages I and II were so fucking good.

III was trash and the Papas or whatever is just so meh and not memorable.

Did he release anything recently? What else should I listen to if I liked The Black Mages I & II.

>>382309031
yeah, like, that was good

>>382293730

Grant Kirkhope

Except when his music is paired up with David Wise like Yooka Laylee that does nothing but make Grants sound like shit

>>382294352

Undertale was as good as it is because of his music

Asgore's music is really fucking good

>>382309140
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jV4WrCW-5Lw

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OD4E_YsZ2-A

>>382294748
>>Blizzard
>>memorable music

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2evIg-aYw8

Are you retarded? What games have music more memorable than this? Super Mario Brothers?

Devolver

David Arkenstone
Michael McCain
Griffin Cohen
FlyByNo

>>382309214
Kirkhope is good but he's nowhere close to the top tiers.

There was a period where Ubisoft seemed keen on having amazing music in their games.
I mean hell, in one year, they put out XIII, Beyond Good and Evil, Rayman 3, and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.
Also, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory has one of the best soundtracks of all time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glftUqxT8k0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTdcJWDNsao
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQEGT50-I3Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgsFAqIxGwk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsxhy_9iijg

Just ridiculous.

>>382295932
so you're saying he's a good composer.

>>382293730
Hollywood composers > all those old chinks.

>>382304275
O'Donnell's the guy who did the Flintstone Kids vitamin jingle.

>>382293730
>not including kenji ito
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TyRXFx7mLA

What about the Persona guy, Shoji Meguro?

>>382293730
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djyY4ON0L8U

Michael Giacchino was primarily a vidya composer before he moved on to blockbusters.

>>382293730
we have virt
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-p1pCG634Ag

>>382295932
The only one I can think of that doesn't fit is Napstablook's house being in Spider Dance.

The rest seem to fit pretty well

>>382295125
CnC was always one of my favourites when it comes to western VGM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b5X69vREAg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sB_0wRrZSp8

Alexander Brandon