• Limonene@lemmy.world
    3·
    2 hours ago

    Counterpoint: The Crosscode soundtrack.

    Forest level: accordion, guitar, only a bit of flute, no violin.

    Forest level 2: accordion, choir, and xylophone.

    Forest level 3: steel drums, guitar, some other kind of guitar.

    Ice level: flutes, bass guitar.

    Ice dungeon: french horn, synthy violin.

    Lava level: (none)

    Desert level: Exactly what OP said.

    Desert town: Totally different from what OP said.

    Beach level: guitar, flute, piano, very little steel drums, no ukulele.

  • F/15/Cali@threads.net@sh.itjust.works
    5·
    5 hours ago

    I don’t mean to offend anyone but I cannot respect you as a human being, let alone a sentient organism, if you enjoy video game music at any time other than whilst playing a video game.

    “I like the music in doom, it’s weirdly ambient despite being so aggressive.” Perfectly fine, even respectable. “I was listening to the mortal kombat soundtrack the other day…” You are lesser than a sea cucumber.

    • Nefara@lemmy.world
      9·
      4 hours ago

      Was the last time you listened to game music when it was all chip and midi? There’s some beautiful and moving music in games.

      • Aqarius@lemmy.world
        3·
        3 hours ago

        Hell, even with the chip tunes alone, it’s amazing what people managed to squeeze out of two sines, a saw, and a square channel. Bloody Tears comes to mind. Or Willy’s theme from Megaman 2.

      • F/15/Cali@threads.net@sh.itjust.works
        1·
        3 hours ago

        It’s excellent for the setting it was made for, but is lacking compared to the collected discography of generations of musicians tuned to at-home listening.

        I listen to opera at the opera. I listen to symphonies at the symphony, or at home if I’m particularly nostalgic. I listen to game music when I’m playing games. Each has an environment crafted around it to maximize enjoyment. I can’t even listen to edm without dimming the lights.

        Listening to a game soundtrack made to evoke specific emotions at specific times? It feels like the point was wholly missed and vast horizons entirely ignored.

    • kartoffelsaft@programming.dev
      3·
      4 hours ago

      I could sympathize with your point if VGM was still the blips and blops of cheap midi synths like it was in Doom’s hayday. Heck, I still someshat sympathize with the idea that VGM just doesn’t work as well as albums for making a pure listening experience because the game inherently restricts it’s format (though I’d say it depends on the game). But VGM by [current year] has gotten so good I must ask what VGM you have heard. Would you make the same claim for film soundtracks?

      Unsolicited VGM suggestions that I think prove my point

      Expedition 33, Neon White, Ultrakill, Team Fortress 2, Hyper Light Drifter

      • gurty@lemmy.worldOP
        1·
        2 hours ago

        Its almost a cliche to say it at this point, but Clair Obscur’s soundtrack is incredible.

      • F/15/Cali@threads.net@sh.itjust.works
        1·
        3 hours ago

        I do feel the same way about movie soundtracks. My partner pulled the full interstellar soundtrack into their chill out playlist and I wince a little every time.

        I liked the music in bioshock, shadow of the colossus, kingdom hearts 3, horizon, undertale, etc., quite a lot. But devoting time to listening to it, rather than modern music made for home listening just doesn’t appeal to me. It feels like pulling out a jigsaw when you need a dremel. Like, you can do that, certainly, but there are infinitely better options

  • sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    11·
    9 hours ago

    Ok uh, barely related, but:

    Is there an actual name for the genre of music of Half Life 2, Ep1/2, Alyx?

    Its like… progressive rock but sometimes also hardrock guitar riffs, but also with … basically ‘experimental’ industrial/techno usually mixed in quite well, and then also very often with essentially breakbeat drumming, and a lot of it also uses some pretty uncommon time signatures and switchups.

    And then sometimes there is either classical instrumentation, or, essentially some kind of filtered or synth version of it.

    … I literally fail to describe it succinctly, I don’t know how, I’m not aware of anything else that really sounds consistently like it.

      • sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        3·
        7 hours ago

        I mean, NiN and industrial in general has many elements in common with it…

        I dunno, its less … orthodox, in time signatures, than basically all NiN I can remember listening to, with the exception of Ghosts.

        Ghosts has a lot more just… weird timings, but they’re also paired with melodies and chords that are dissonant or off in some way…

        Not much of Ghosts is high tempo, ‘action-y’, and HL2’s melodies are actually not as odd and dissonant, they’re more conventional, just often played with unconventional instruments/synths.

        And, NiN’s drumming, cymbals and such is usually nowhere near as frantic.

        … Maybe I just don’t have a wide enough industrial palette, and I guess maybe yeah, ‘HL2 style’ is best described as a subgenre of industrial?

          • MIDItheKID@lemmy.world
            2·
            5 hours ago

            An of course their logo was on the ammo crates for the nail gun. Because if you have an automatic nail gun, nine inch nails make the perfect ammo. You’re not going to kill shamblers with 23ga pin nails.

          • sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
            2·
            6 hours ago

            Yeah, there is no denying that NiN and industrial in general was… running through the blood of the late 90s / early 00s FPS pioneers.

            Heck, not even just FPS:

            Frank ‘Motherfucking’ Klepacki.

            … who the fuck comes up with both Hell March… and IndustroFunk?

            He just like invented a subgenre, as a song.

          • sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
            1·
            7 hours ago

            You’re good at this.

            Yeah, actually, this is pretty close, if you had these guys make ‘instrumentals’, no lyrics songs.

            Like if you took all of the differing elements, and patterns of maybe 3 of their songs, and essentially remixed them into one song, stripped out the vocals… that would approximately be pretty close to a good deal of HL2 songs, imo.

            Maybe increase the range of effects and synths used a bit, but yeah, this is pretty close.

            I guess the main difference left that I can think of is that… a lot of this kind of 90s/00s industrial, it will be built kind of around a guitar riff, like the distored/noise guitar is kind of the foundation, the thing that is basically always there, keeping the tempo, driving the song.

            But a lot of HL2 songs will… kind of swap this idea: The driving melody is synthetic, the guitar is used for the occasional/repeated kind of bits of flavor.

            … I feel like I don’t music theory to know the right words, lol.

            • MIDItheKID@lemmy.world
              3·
              7 hours ago

              Oohh oh oh… Check out “The Algorithm”

              I think that might be the closest to what you are looking for that I can think of. It’s a little metal on the drums, but it’s got way more synth lead stuff.

              While a bit different from what your asking for, you should also check out Master Boot Record - it’s a bit more chip tune metal. It’s fun though

              I think you were asking about the genre of music, and I don’t have an answer for you off the top of my head, but if you want to go on the journey of electronic music genres and sub genres and sub sub genres and learn about types of music and artists you might like, strap on your ear goggles and head on over to Ishkur’s guide to electronic music:https://music.ishkur.com/

              I have lost hours of my life there before.

              Edit: quick dive into Ishkur’s guide, and I think what you’re looking for is called “Aggrotech”

              • sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
                1·
                7 hours ago

                Ok, I was going to edit this in to my last comment, but you already replied, so:

                https://youtube.com/watch?v=9F030ERnQ84&list=PL059AC88C849E7A20&index=24

                ‘You’re Not Supposed to Be Here’

                Ok so we open with… I think:

                Either a very distorted bass guitar or synth… and… a marimba?

                At about 10 seconds we start the action, angry synth and … drum kit that includes a steel drum?

                We’ve also got another kind of haunting synth doing a more complex melody…

                Then at about 35 seconds, the song basically explodes into… all the synths are here (maybe some are guitars with lots of effects/delays/fades?) now, big sound range from the synths/possible guitars…

                And then at about 55 seconds, slight lull, piano is here now,

                Some synths/guitars? are still going, piano is somber, breakbeat drumming is intense … thats quite a juxtapostion…

                Synths get more prominent, piano fades out…

                Then by about 1:35 we downplay the synths a bit, piano is sad again… drumming is still happening.

                Ok, then by about 1:55, pretty sure this is a guitar, that uses a delay pedal/effect to basically punctuate itself for 1-2 second melodic bursts, gets accomoanied by either another heavily modified guitar or synth untill…

                About 2:25, sad piano is back again, to basically play us out, but the breakbeat drumming is still here, untill it isn’t, and we actually fade out on bass guitar/synth… and the marimba.

                This is a 2:41 song.

                It took me like 15 minutes to attempt to comprehend what is happening.

                I do know Master Boot Record and yeah I agree, its more like chiptune metal…

                I will have to check out The Algorithm and Ishkur’s site… though probably tomorrow.

                I know that if I start now, I will not get to sleep untill 4 am.

                • MIDItheKID@lemmy.world
                  2·
                  6 hours ago

                  Yeah this is pretty forward on the Acid Bass, made famous by the TB-303. While that track doesn’t sound exactly like a 303, definitely reminiscent of it, and the 303 finds its way into a lot of industrial. This track is pretty cinematic, which fits it right into that “video game soundtrack” vibe that doesn’t exist much outside of games. I’m bored right now though, so I’m going to go down some rabbit holes and maybe find something for you to listen to. This type of music is right up my alley, so I might discover some new stuff to listen to myself.

                  Edit: check this shit: Celldweller - Soundtrack for the Voices in My Head

                  I think I might be moving in the wrong direction, but some of it is right.

                  I think that’s the best I can do without getting into some pretty avant garde indie SoundCloud stuff.

    • MIDItheKID@lemmy.world
      7·
      7 hours ago

      I dunno… According to this, Gerudo Valley should have a sitar and zurna flute, but instead the flamenco jam comes in hot with the Spanish guitar and trumpet.

      • Buddahriffic@lemmy.world
        3·
        5 hours ago

        Different kind of dessert.

        Zitar and zurna flute for deserts with camels and sand dunes. Spanish guitar, trumpet, and I think drum rim? for deserts with cliffs and tumbleweeds.

        • Buddahriffic@lemmy.world
          1·
          5 hours ago

          I was thinking Metroid Prime as I read those, at least for lava and ice levels. I think that was a different composer but on the same (or better) level.