VGM Of The Day #2 Planescape Torment: Main Theme

One of the most important songs in your game should be the main theme, if you are going to spend weeks working on composing one song in your game it should be the main theme because The main theme is just that important. A good main theme should leave a a good first expression; the song should blow you away at the title screen and when it's done it should make you want to start the game. Another thing a main theme should do is that it should set the mood or feel of the game. The main theme should represent the game, meaning the feel of the game should match the feel of the main theme. To put it simply, if your game is epic your main theme better be epic. If you want a good example let me present Planescape Torment

Right when you start the game you go through all of the company logo's that we are all familiar with then we get to the intro cutscene which is great. Once we get to the title screen the song begins and it's like a match made in heaven. It starts out with a bell toll and then these voices come in chanting. A buildup starts; with the tone of it ascending and at the end it has a quick climax and then the song truly begins. It continues on with a slow and calm pace kinda like the beginning  of the game where you making your way out of the morgue.

Suddenly out of nowhere this epic chanting comes in and takes over. The chanting is like a mixture of an epic and awe type of feeling; I believe this section is all about game world; walking out of the morgue and into Sigil; that feeling that you just entered a big world and you are just a small part of it. another possibility is that it could be about The Nameless One; mainly his actions, his relationships with the other characters or the mystery of his past.

Finally, the last section has a more aggressive feel to it. This most likely represents all the conflict in the game which can be as simple as the combat with enemies or the conflict The Nameless One has with himself. After that the song slowly and quietly ends leaving you to reflect.

You see, every section of that song is important to the game; each telling a part of the story. Each section is different but they all fit together like a puzzle. This is a great example of what a main theme can and should do. If your main theme can't do this; then why exactly is it your main theme in the first place? When you're composing the main theme, you have to have the entire game in mind to make sure that it gives off the same theme and emotions. If you do that people will remember it and if they remember the theme, there is a good chance they will remember the game associated with it.


Note: Once again I didn't upload the song it was actually done on this guys channel.

VGM Of The Day #1 Unreal Tournament: Game Of The Year Edition: Razorback

This marks the very first post of the VGM of the day series, It is pretty much were everyday I put up a Video Game Tune I like and share it. I am not going to lie this is inspired by the Youtube channel Supradarky he started his list a few year back and you can find his channel here. so on with the very first entry.

Most people that know me would probably think that my first post would be something from a Mario, Zelda or even a Final Fantasy game. This entry is specifically for you

Even though Unreal Tournament is mainly a multiplayer FPS; Epic games didn't make that an excuse for just throwing in some half ass songs into the game. Thanks to that way of thinking, we get stuff like this in the game.

This tracks starts out slow like it's waiting for you to start and at around the ten second mark, it explodes in to some awesome guitar riffs. That ten seconds is just enough time to start the match, find a weapon and start using it on your opponents. This makes it not only a good transition for the song, but also for what's going on in the game.

It goes on for awhile with some mix of guitar and electronic sounds leaving you to rack up your frag count. Then out of nowhere at the two minute mark this techno bit comes in and takes over the whole song; practically leaving the guitar in the background. It doesn't really sound like this sort of change should work, but it does beautifully.

This happens to be my favorite track in the game because not only is it a good song by itself, but it just works so well in the game making both the game and the song compliment each other. This is what video game music should strive to be and why it is the first entry on my list.

Note: The video of the song is not something I uploaded my self, it was actually done by ultdave. Check him out, as he has the entire UT soundtrack on his channel.

Also check out Supradarky's channel, this guys has over a thousand entry's (which is still going) so you are pretty much guaranteed to find something you enjoy or at least remember.

First Entry

Hello there, this marks the very first entry of my Blog. I have no idea if I brought you here through something like Facebook or if you found it thanks to the mysterious magic of internet search engines, but I am glad you found it. This Blog is mainly going to be about video games, but I may go to other topics if I feel like it.

I don’t really know what this Blog is going to amount to or even who is going to read it. I guess we will see what happens and hope for the best.