When videogame music inspires Art and Design
Here we highlight videogame music that inspired selected Art and Design projects, suggesting how and why this music relates to the work. Become a Listener and Reader for the next five minutes.
There is something sacred about the music we listen to while working. It was while listening to music that my early love for drawing was cemented. At secondary school, I particularly enjoyed our Graphics lessons. The teacher positioned a CD player at the front of the class and we were invited to bring our own albums and mixtapes. For these lessons, we were setting the soundtrack to our creative working environment.
The teacher positioned a CD player at the front of the class and we were invited on occasion to bring our own albums and mixtapes.
Beyond the classroom enclave, I learnt to appreciate the special role that music can play in fostering a creative mindset. For Artists and Designers, who largely practice forms of spiritual and intellectual labour, music can be a calming influence. Music can help us to focus on the task at hand, while inspiring and motivating us to create our best work. At its apex, the right music can help us to feel the content of our subjects or assignments. Here I will go even further and suggest that many artworks simply would not have existed without their correlating soundtracks. I am acutely aware that drawing and visual mediums are inherently silent and without voice in their manifest nature. In our multimedia age, we are accustomed more than ever to images that are carried by music.
Music can help us to focus on the task at hand, while inspiring and motivating us to create our best work.
In recent years, the rise of the videogame industry has made videogame music mainstream. Notable examples of this include real music festivals centred around videogame music, the lore of retro videogame nostalgia online and popular Indie band Sea Power (formerly British Sea Power) winning BAFTAS for the soundtrack to the Dystopian 'Disco Elysium'. Although my music listening habits are not exclusively reserved to videogame music, it can be noted that videogame soundtracks are much more readily available now due to their proliferation of YouTube and Spotify.
Videogame music evokes nostalgia for simpler times, it is generally instrumental in nature (without overbearing lyrics) and the production standards can range from lofi to big budget. The point is that there are countless examples of well composed videogame music, all of which are designed to promote memorable, atmospheric and engaging experiences. Soundtracks are also interesting because as a genre of music, they are always tied to a visual reference point (i.e. a particular film or distinct game aesthetic).
The point is that there are countless examples of well composed videogame music, all of which are designed to promote memorable, atmospheric and engaging experiences.
The following list of videogame music includes both individual songs and complete scores, all of which have served as instrumental aides (forgive the pun) in the creation of specific Art and Design projects.
'Aquatic Ambience' (Donkey Kong Country) - Albatross
The theme music 'Aquatic Ambience' features in the following levels of Donkey Kong Country: Coral Capers, Clam City, Croctopus Chase and Poison Pond. I first witnessed the technicolour brilliance of Donkey Kong Country at my cousin's house. Side-scrolling platformer games are by definition earthbound, save for the rare exception when our heroes take to the sky or plunges into the water. The ocean itself is largely unchartered and 'Aquatic Ambience' deploys melody, instrumentation and sound effects to render true this utterly mysterious place that is the deep blue.
Become an Advocate for ‘Albatross’ here.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Canal Map
Jeremy Soule's Skyrim soundtrack rises and falls with the landscape of the soul, taking listeners through mountaintop highs to medieval lows. Skyrim is an open world experience that draws its very identity from natural landscapes, encapsulating a variety of natural features, wildlife, cultures, human built structures, landmarks and mysterious hidden enclaves. The music itself is language of storytelling, folklore, legend and historical reference. Jeremy Soule captures the 'old world' through traditional instruments, style and themes.
Become a Navigator of ‘Canal Map’ here.
'Egyptian' (Goldeneye 007) - Egyptian Meeting Rooms
Goldeneye 007's MIDI driven sound originates from a time when 3D graphics were being pioneered and rendered for widespread application in videogame environments. The eerie and boundless infinity of virtual space opened the imagination not only to the abstract and ethereal qualities of its vector-constrained and texture-mapped stage sets but also indirectly towards the unmapped and shadowy peripheries beyond the edge of the virtual sandbox. The entire Goldeneye 007 soundtrack seems to play at this sense of unparalleled and artificial spaciousness, unfolding the mystery and possibility of endless vanishing points superseded only by the mask of endless winding corridors flanked by polygonal bodyguards.
Become an Explorer of ‘Egyptian Meeting Rooms’ here.
Faster Than Light - Growing Cultures
The wildly successful Kickstarter campaign that cemented the destiny of FTL (Faster Than Light) also enabled the creators to commission a fully fledged soundtrack, composed entirely by Ben Prunty. The sound palette beautifully layers seemingly two dimensional and minimalist instrumentation, suggesting the relative silence of deep space while highlighting the precious and fragile technologies that maintain our human presence there (even if, to the greater extent, they are imagined).
Become a Cultivator of ‘Growing Cultures’ here.
'Tidal Tempest' (Sonic CD) - Gamer’s Clock
Sonic the Hedgehog has always appealed to people's sense of fun. Sonic navigates colourful and mind bending race circuits, carried around at high velocities by an equally hypnotic, bouncy and melodic soundtrack. This blending of visual and audio stimuli is akin to pop culture itself; a cocktail mixer of everything that is colourful, lively and energetic. Indeed, where the lines blur between music and games, fans have found striking similarities when listening to the melodies and riffs of Sonic the Hedgehog and a number chart-topping songs.
Become a Collector of ‘Gamer’s Clock’ here.
Of course, for Artists and Designers, there can be endless sources of inspiration. In this post, I’ve highlighted songs and entire albums from videogame soundtracks that had a strong influence on selected Art and Design projects. With embedded YouTube and Spotify players provided, I’d highly recommend listening through song by song, while you peruse each project in a separate tab.
Are you a creator who loves videogame music? What are some examples of music that inspires you? Do you listen to music while creating or do you prefer peace and quiet? If you can see a comment box, why not tell the world?
The author, obviously very busy at work.
Writer’s AI Disclaimer: No part of this article was written by or with the assistance of ‘Artificial Intellegence’ or any existing LLM technologies.
