![]() There are twists and turns that are dependent on player choices, and using simple keyboard or mouse commands players will be asked to react to situations. It may stick with you in ways you’d never expect.Unlike the Borderlands shooter games, Tales of the Borderlands is a storytelling adventure where players choose how the story plays out. The next time you are playing a game and hear a song, think about how the music is impacting the moment. The music in games I’ve played showed me the importance of how soundtracks make great video game moments epic and memorable, from making emotional associations with songs to video games like Life is Strange to exposing me to an unexpected new realm of music like The Clash. After dropping into my first half-pipe in the introductory skate park of Skate 2, The Clash’s Death or Glory began to play and I began my deep dive into one of my all-time favorite bands, ravenously digesting every song from London Calling that I could. I will never forget these moments because they help fill out the scenes of these great video game set pieces in my memory but also because they introduced me to incredible new artists that I may never have discovered otherwise. Immediately called to my mind is earning my first 100% in Guitar Hero while tearing through Killer Queen by Queen and crossing into Mexico for the first time in Red Dead Redemption as Jose Gonzalez’s Far Away gently faded into my childhood bedroom, filling me with excitement and disbelief as I realized that John Marston’s story was really just beginning. ![]() What’s most important however, are the mental connections you make between the music in games and the memories you make in those moments. And when I think of how Episode 5 of Tales from the Borderlands began, with Rhys and Fiona falling to Pandora with no hope, I’ll never forget James Blake’s haunted coo ringing in my ears. It was the lowest point for those characters. I can feel the fear I had for Rhys and Fiona as they crashed to terra firma and lost Loader Bot to the machinations of Handsome Jack. When I hear the song Retrograde by James Blake, suddenly I am watching Rhys descend to Pandora again. Similarly, some songs remind me of the anxiety I felt at the potential direction the story was taking. Whenever I picture Max Caufield and Chloe Price, I always hear the familiar tones of To All of You and think of the tragedy of their tumultuous relationship. And because of the autonomy the player has in action out the moment, the music becomes seared into physical and auditory components of their memory. ![]() Music in games is so memorable because unlike film, most times, you are directing the action on screen as a song scores the moment. I see Max Caufield, walking into the hallway of Blackwell Academy and beginning one of the most emotionally stirring stories I have ever experienced in a game. Sometimes, if I close my eyes and concentrate especially hard, I can almost recall exactly what happened on my screen when the opening notes of To All of You by Syd Matters played during the opening moments of Life is Strange. But what I always remember most vividly is the music in games that flow throughout these special scenes, each note of the song ringing at precisely the right moment. Sometimes you feel the rumble in your controller as that big boss thunders into view, the vibrations letting you know something special is about to go down. You see the cinematics, you glance at the HUD and gauge your health and mana, and generally learn how to react to the games mechanics. You can intake the game most directly using your sight. In video games, we only have three senses.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |