PAX Prime 2012 | Behind the Music

A game needs a good story and characters to match. Another key element into the mixture is music. A fantastic musical score can mean everything to a game. It sets the tone and emotion to a game, sometimes without the need of dialogue. Once a cord is struck, you instantly know if it’s from Halo, Legend of Zelda, a Mario game or Final Fantasy. It is these pieces of music that can trigger the emotion felt during a certain scene in a game, be it happy or sad. Instruments that can sing you a story, even when you close your eyes and it doesn’t even matter if you’re a fan of that particular series or not.

I was able to attend the Behind the Music panel at PAX Prime with Jesper Kyd (Assassin’s Creed), Micheal McCann (Deus Ex), Inon Zur (Dragon Age) and Sam Hulick (Mass Effect), all fantastic composers that bring life to the games we know and love. Those who attended the panel at PAX Prime was greeted with a surpise guest who was Martin O’Donnell, most known for his work with the Halo series.

They went into how they got into the industry and how it has changed since the early video game days when it was easier to just loop a track over and over again and no one would second guess it. In today’s video games, the music truly weaves the story together, taking it to new heights that would have thought impossible to reach, lets say in the 1980’s. Yes, there is a place in my heart for 8bit music, but nothing can move you than a beautifully done piece, be it with vocals or without from the games of today.

Take pieces such as Wake Me When You Need Me from Halo 3 or the more recognizable Legend of Zelda Suite or Final Fantasy VIII‘s Liberi Fatali.  Each piece can tell the story or trigger a memory for a gamer, even when listening to the music via headphones and not while playing the game.

Composing music can come from a beautiful accident or a long thought out process. Either way, a composer can never tell if their piece will be the one that carries the game or series. If it will be the one that generations from now will hear a single note and just know what game it is, regardless if they played it or not.

Share this article:

Facebook
Twitter
Reddit
Pocket
Email
Tumblr
Final Checkpoint Podcast
Full Circle Podcast
Latest Posts

Share this article:

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Tumblr
Email
WhatsApp

Recent Posts

The LG transparent tv from CES displayed in a high rise apartment CES

LG at CES 2025

Every year CES comes around and every year, LG has a great booth. They may be one of the most consistent companies when it comes to showing technology at the ...
Six Days in Fallujah Key Art. Two soldiers preparing for breech Features

Real Warfare with Six Days in Fallujah

Six Days in Fallujah was originally announced in 2009. It is a first-person shooter based on the 2004 conflict in Iraq. It was met with much opposition because it is ...
The Mad Catz M.2.X Pro Force Feedback racing wheel Gaming

Level Up You Racing Experience With the Mad Catz M.2.X. Pro Racing Wheel

Mad Catz, the company known for their fight sticks, is releasing a new force feedback racing wheel. The Mad Catz M.2.X. Pro force feedback racing wheel is the perfect plug-and-play ...
Three fortnite character overlooking the map Features

How Fortnite Hurt The Gaming Industry

When Fortnite was initially released in 2017, it was a PVE defense game that didn’t seem like it would be around for long. With the growing popularity of games in ...
Master Chief holding his helmet. Halo Infinite Features

What Halo Infinite Should Have Been

https://youtu.be/Cagxj2RchQI?si=_fFf3fs_fsh7d0Fq Many people have a gaming franchise that changed their life in some way. I have life-long friendships that have been formed while playing games like Mario Kart and Golden ...
Gaming News

Should You Buy A Meta Quest 3S?

https://youtu.be/EVSbA2Yxx2k?si=G2KXmPguAB_45u5n Meta recencetly heald their Meta Connect conference and announced some excited things if you’re into VR and AR. The Meta Quest 2 was once the hottest item in their ...