The Art of Video Games

[Songbird]

Yesterday's e-mail update featured an interview with Tommy. Nothing that us true blue... or should I say true green VGL people, wouldn't know by now, but here's how it goes.

The Art of Video Games
The People Behind the Video Games: Tommy Tallarico

The Art of Video Games exhibition (opening March 16, 2012) will highlight some of the most influential artists, designers, writers, and composers across five eras of game development. One of the people we interviewed was Tommy Tallarico, musician, composer, and founder of Video Games Live. Tommy has worked on the music for more than 275 game titles over the last two decades, including Earthworm Jim, Metroid Prime, and Advent Rising. Here is an excerpt from our interview with Tommy, which we conducted during the 2011 Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.

Why did you decide to work with music and specifically with music for video games?
In 1977 when I was nine years old, I saw the film Star Wars. I heard this incredible music, this symphonic music. That was the first time I really paid attention to a symphony, to an orchestra. And I said what is that? That's what I want to do. I would read articles, no Internet back then, so I'd go to the library and get magazines and look up John Williams and read interviews. He would talk about Mozart and Beethoven. Well, who are those guys? And then I would literally sit down and listen. Once I heard Beethoven, it was just mind boggling. The music was speaking to me and it was taking me over.

We're now seeing the same exact thing happening with video games. I played a show, and the oboe player came up to me. She's a woman in her late forties, early fifties, and she goes, "I've got to tell you about my seventeen year old son. I've been playing in the orchestra now for over twenty years. And I've wanted my son to come and see me play for so long. And he's never come to see a performance except tonight. And not only is he here tonight, but he brought all his friends along. He's so proud of his mom who's going to be playing the music to Halo and Metal Gear Solid." She had tears in her eyes.

Where do you draw inspiration from when composing music for video games?
When I'm working on scores for games and composing music, emotion is the most important thing. I don't want to know what level we're in, that's secondary to me. A lot of times people get trapped into... oh, we're in the ice levels, so play some high tinkly bits. And, oh, it's the lava level, make it dark. And, oh, jungle level, let's bring up the bongos.

To me, melody is the most important thing. Once you create the melody line - and it can be five or six notes - once you have that, you can emote anything. I want to know what the emotion is. Am I being chased? Or am I chasing somebody? Am I supposed to be super happy? Or am I really sad? Am I scared? Or am I inquisitive? Am I trying to find the key? What's that going to sound like? Because that's going to be different than if I'm about to get jumped by a big monster. You can make the Mario melody sound scary. You can make it sound sad. You can make it sound happy and bluesy. You can make it sound big and orchestral. So to me, it's all about the emotion. Then after that's taken care of, if we happen to be in the jungle maybe I'll bring in a bongo.

What is the most challenging aspect of your work?
Games have become so massive now, and there are so many things you can do. In the old days, it's like, hey, we've got ten levels. Cool. I'll write you ten, one minute songs. We'll do looping songs. And we'll do one for the menu and one for the credit screen at the end. And we need about fifty sound effects. Cool, done. You're there. Now, you have 100 hours of game play, 25,000 lines of dialogue, 7,000 different sound effects. We're doing things now that Beethoven and Mozart never dreamed would be possible.

We're able to branch out interactively. I can layer different elements depending on what's happening on screen and what the player is doing. The player becomes the conductor on stage.

The massiveness of it all is overwhelming. No time ever in the history of the world has more music been played more times than in video games right now. I've always said if Beethoven were alive today, he'd be a video game composer.


After that it mentions a way to get a 20% discount off of a ticket for Strathmore's concert. Here's how it goes... "hope I don't get in trouble for this."

SPECIAL OFFER FOR FANS OF THE SMITHSONIAN AMERICAN ART MUSEUM
20% Off Tickets to Video Games Live at the Music Center at Strathmore (North Bethesda, MD)

April 7, 2012 at 2 & 8PM
(Order Now! Special Priced Ticket Offer Valid Only Through December 31)

To Order with Discount - 3 Easy Steps
1. Log in or create an account at www.strathmore.org using Source Code 2221.
2. Go to the April 7 on the calendar.
3. Prices will reflect promotional 20% discount. Add tickets to your cart and check out.

[DancingFlameDragon]

Nice interview; the part about setting the mood for certain levels is pretty interesting.

And I'm almost tempted to take up that discount offer! I actually think that getting to Bethesda, MD on a Saturday in the middle of the afternoon would be easier than getting to Red Bank, NJ on a Wednesday evening. I still doubt I'd do it but it would be pretty funny, and not completely insane (there's an Acela express that gets to Bethesda in about 3 hours...)

[Songbird]

Okay, a bunch of info came out the other day and I really don't want to repost everything here so here is a link to them.

GameFest - To be honest, I thought there would be more big shots at the event considering the occasion.

Other events occur essentially a month later...
April 29, Concert by University of Maryland's Gamer Symphony Orchestra
May 4, Symposium - Video Games: Beyond Play
May 5, Concert by the 21st Century Consort, Music of Games

There's also a book about the exhibit - The Art of Video Games; from Pac-Man to Mass Effect

[DancingFlameDragon]

I just got the email about this as well! I really wish I could go (sounds pretty interesting, and they even encourage cosplay!). Unfortunately it's in Washington DC and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to go that weekend.
I mean, Washington DC can be a day trip (only about 4 hours away by train), but I'm not sure it'd be worth paying and taking the trip just to go for a few hours :/

[Songbird]

If anyone has some free time they're going to have a live stream today 1-5* pm EST about how video games affect various parts of life: See here for description and here for the stream.

*They say 1-5, but other things say it ends at 4:30 so I don't know.