While I have always been a fan of Williams and Goldsmith and Horner and all the movie greats that I grew up with, and I've also come in contact with a lot of brilliant classical music throughout the years, it was game soundtracks that truly sparked my interest in writing orchestral music. To this day that's where my heart is, and I don't know exactly why.
Anyway, I have a selection of favorites that I always return to:
1.
Outcast. Lennie Moore's score for this game is beyond amazing. This is literally THE game that made me want to do game soundtracks.
2. Basically anything by Jeremy Soule.
Morrowind, Oblivion and Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2 in particular.
3.
Baldur's Gate &
Baldur's Gate II. While I prefer Howard Drossin's sequel soundtrack with its lovely folky parts over Michael Hoenig's original music, they're both important parts of the same franchise and sound.
4.
Dragon Age Origins. I had never heard of Inon Zur before this game, but the soundtrack blew my mind. In fact I think the music is better than the game itself.
I've had shorter flings with other game soundtracks (Age of Wonders I/II/SM, Fable, Archlord, WoW) but they haven't lasted the same way as the above.
So... I'm guessing I have missed a lot over the years. What's your favorite game scores?
1.
Heroes of Might and Magic III. Out of all games I've played, this one has had the biggest impact on my musicianship. Played it in the early noughties and got the music permanently stuck in my head. It's amazing. At times, it sounds almost like a lost tone poem from the 1800s (not that I would have know what that was back then).
2.
The Monkey Island Games. The scores are a true melting pot of genres. I've only played the first three, (couldn't get the fourth one working and never bothered with the fifth), and out of them the third one has the most orchestral stuff in it. If there's anything I can say, these soundtracks show how to set the mood with melody. Of course the arrangements are top notch as well. Bonus points for rearranging the music on the fly as you move around and do things in the games.
3.
King of Dragon Pass. The soundtrack isn't orchestral, but rather sounds like it was based on early music. That's another musical style I love to work in and sometimes blend with a more typical orchestral setting. I've been replaying all of the above occasionally, but I've yet to replay KoDP.
These three are the ones where the soundtracks have stuck with me for the longest.
Also, I've missed out on a whole lot too. With shops like Steam and GOG being around, though, I'm not sure that's something you have to live with for the rest of your life.
Thanks for the suggestions Otto! I actually have both HOMMIII and the first two Monkey Island games (the former on a CD somewhere, and the latter on floppies...). I was never into HOMM though, so I must admit I never paid much attention to the music. I remember Monkey Island having great music but it's been ages since I heard it.
King of Dragon Pass sounds really cool, I'm also a big fan of trad/early music and using such influences in an orchestral context.
Here's a recent discovery (and a free to d/l soundtrack to boot):
Spellforce Breath of Winter. Maybe not the best game music I've heard but definitely worth a listen.
I picked up Pillars of Eternity a couple of weeks back (in fact,
it is still on sale), and not only is it right up my alley in terms of gameplay and style -- it has a lovely soundtrack to boot. Check this out:
I have plenty of recommendations on this topic but I want to check out some of the above mentions that I haven't already heard before accosting everyone with my own suggestions.
I love and can second Jeremy Soule, Heroes of Might and Magic 3, and Baldur's Gate. I've been listening to the Icewind Dale OST a lot lately, actually, and Otto and I have discussed King of Dragon Pass, which is awesome from what I've heard and definitely on my "Real soon to acquire" list.
I will share this track, though, at least for its formative importance to me (certainly one of THE soundtracks that made me really want to make music at all). I first heard the old school SNES version of this OST when I was about seven years old and my brother rented the game Ogre Battle V: March of the Black Queen (yes, the games are named after Queen songs). This is a little more updated version for a later game in the series that I never played, but it does the track justice lifting it out of the limitations of the SNES sounds to what I think the composers would have wanted it to be all along.
I suppose it's nothing special in comparison to most fantasy scores, just the usual heroic epic stuff, but I still love it twenty-three years later
Much of the rest of the OST is great too. Many memorable tracks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgpnZMAoaPM
(02-19-2017, 07:04 PM)Mattias Westlund Wrote: [ -> ]I picked up Pillars of Eternity a couple of weeks back (in fact, it is still on sale), and not only is it right up my alley in terms of gameplay and style -- it has a lovely soundtrack to boot. Check this out:
I've wanted to play this game for a while now. I'm glad it has a nice soundtrack, too! Always a plus... Another one to add to the list...
Ooh, The Dark Eye games, especially the ones by Daedalic Entertainment, have been on my list since forever. I never checked out the music, though.
Caesar III is another familiar one. I love that game. The soundtrack is a bit strange, though. The first two city themes are promising. They're deep, moody, and evocative of a high culture long gone. But then the music just turns to a B-movie version of Ben-Hur. I haven't found a lot about the music, but my uneducated guess is that the composer was suddenly forced to rush the soundtrack. (EDIT: Compare
this to
this.)
As to King of Dragon Pass, I read that Stan LePard played all the woodwinds on a physical modelling synth. Some of the patches sound somewhat like particular instruments, others sound like nothing you could find in this world. I think it fits well with the whole worldbuilding aspect of the fantasy genre.
My very favorite album of video game music is the Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary CD that was bundled with Skyward Sword. Creative, beautifully crafted orchestrations, well performed by a live orchestra. Unfortunately it doesn't look like you can buy it directly, but people have put it up on both YouTube and SoundCloud.
(02-22-2017, 12:27 AM)Otto Halmén Wrote: [ -> ]As to King of Dragon Pass, I read that Stan LePard played all the woodwinds on a physical modelling synth. Some of the patches sound somewhat like particular instruments, others sound like nothing you could find in this world. I think it fits well with the whole worldbuilding aspect of the fantasy genre.
I wonder if that was the Technics WSA1... as far as I know, it is one of the few hardware physical modelling synths.