Quinta Anita

video gaming culture

Evolution of Video Game Soundtracks, Merchandising Marvels, and Mindful Gaming Adventures
Adventures Gaming

Evolution of Video Game Soundtracks, Merchandising Marvels, and Mindful Gaming Adventures

The Days Of “Bleep, Bloop”

As children, many of us will have played video games that relied entirely on gameplay to make them popular. Some of the earlier video games had absolutely no incidental music, and any sound that they did include was (theoretically) made by the onscreen character, the weapon they were using, and the characters in hot pursuit. Where games did have music, it was frequently barely distinguishable from the other sounds, and it was all a mess of bleeps and bloops.

Perhaps it is a consequence of innovation that video games began to be sold on CDs, which held a lot more information and allowed a much freer hand with the sound, but video games now are frequently accompanied by specifically written music written and scored by professionals. Like a lot of music, some of it is still unlistenable bilge – but some of it is surprisingly good and adds to the game. In other cases, the soundtrack is provided by established bands – either original content or known hits – and there has been an innovation of “in-game radio stations”, familiar to fans of Grand Theft Auto.

This is, in its way, a real flip from the period in the 1990s when someone thought it would be a good idea to use video game music samples to make dance tracks. Games such as Tetris and Super Mario Brothers were subjected to this treatment, and one hopes that the person who thought it was a good idea is now getting the help he needs.

Obligatory Merchandising – Where Would We Be Without It?

Not so long ago, when a movie was completed and released for the public to watch, there was a very simple pattern to things. The movie was scripted, then edited, then recorded and directed, then cut and shown to a test audience, then tidied up and released to a waiting public. Visit https://quinta-anita.com/the-next-level-gaming-rift-supremacy-review/ to read about The Next Level Gaming, Rift Supremacy Review.

Now, pretty much no blockbuster movie is complete without a tie-in video game. Well, some are, of course. An 1800s costume drama where all of the action is in what is said (and left unsaid) will not work particularly well in a gaming context. Every action movie, however, requires its own video game.

In truth, a good movie does not necessarily make for a good game. You can like the character and appreciate the storyline, but for a video game to work, it needs to have a real sense of interaction between what the gamer does and the eventual climax. Movie merchandisers do realize that someone might enjoy a game so much that they will go and see the movie or buy it on DVD, so the better software houses do tend to get the contracts to make the tie-in games these days.

One thing that is commonly recognized by gamers, however, is the fact that quite often a movie tie-in video game is very heavily based on an existing game, but with the familiar characters, settings and storyline all but superimposed onto the game. Selling to a gaming audience is not the same as selling to movie fans, and this is a risky stratagem. The best movie tie-ins remain those which are developed synergistically at the same time as the movie is being made.

Testing Your Mind – The Video Games Where No-one Gets Shot

The popular view of video games seems to be that they entail someone sitting with a controller in their hands, shooting people on a screen. Of course, this is a simplistic view, and there are several other kinds of video games.

However, the ones which fit in with a stereotypical idea of what the games entail tend to involve controlling someone’s physical activity in a very simplistic way. Many video games, however, are based on a more considered, statistical way of getting to an end goal. It doesn’t fit in with the “rots your brain” crowd’s idea of what gaming entails, but never mind.

Sports management simulations are very popular. Perhaps the most popular of all is the soccer management game, Football Manager. Unlike a great many sports simulations, at no point in this game do you control a player and choose his immediate path to the goal. Instead, you take all of the duties of a soccer manager and try to create a winning team. You sign players, you choose tactics, you give motivational team talks and you try to analyse the computer-generated opponent to get the best results.

As this game gets developed and updated at least once a year, new elements are added. It is possible to release a statement designed to play mind games with your opponent before a big match, and players who aren’t getting much time on the field will express their disillusionment with you. It cannot be long before the game develops to a point where you leak stories to the press about players who are annoying you – but there is such a thing as “too realistic”.