Why the 8-bit music in video-games is often acknowledged as the best?

If you've been gaming for around 20 or more years, then you might've notice the evolution in video-games on all fronts; music, storytelling, graphics, game-play, length, art styles, connectivity, formats, sound, etc.  The former, one of the most subjective and rich components of video-games, has found –despite all the improvements in technology- continuously brought back to its roots.

But why is that? Why is that, tunes we have the most fond memories of, are the ones from our earliest gaming experiences?  The easiest answer could be -nostalgia value-, and it would be partially correct, but is not that simple. Plenty of us can listen to a track from classic 8 bit games that haven’t heard before and still like it as much as someone that listened to it 15 years ago (example♪)… well that’s because is good, duh! (Well, not every single one). But why is that we gave it that attribute? Not just to a particular song but to a whole era of this style of music.

The answers lies within video-game history, specially on its technological limitations, but specially on its technological limitations in sound; Not that long ago (or maybe that long ago, but I don’t want to admit that I´m getting old) video-games were composed of the simplest of geometrical shapes, the square (technically they still are) called pixel, they had the advantage at the time over vector games for having color proprieties, the more pixels and colors on screen, the more resources took  from the format in which they came (very limited for today standards). The sound would also take an important percentage of these formats, to the point that early sounds, - “sounds” being a generous word here-, were given the role of feedback to the player, not music whatsoever. 

Space invaders is the first game that try implementing musical rhythm with these punishing limitations. And punishing it was, I wouldn't go as far as calling music to 4 notes that repeats over and over; but it was a first try (sample♪).

Castlevania Rondo of Blood ♫ (sample)

Before moving further, I consider necessary a mutual understanding that, when gamers refer to 8-bit music, are technically wrong, since we include with this concept, music from NES to turbografx 16 or even neo-geo; right before, or just about the beginnings of the CD format on gaming, many of which weren't 8- bit systems or technically hadn't 8-bit music. But we do so because they all share certain characteristics that composers had to implement in order to include pleasant music in video-games and perhaps the answer to our ladder question.

Ninja Gaiden II ♫ (sample)

So…The way that composers worked around these limitations were very ingenious, most of them applied a simple concept -less is more- ; instead of presenting fully developed orchestral pieces with many instruments or voice (that weren't possible to reproduce on a faithful way at the time), they focused on the melody of such songs and gave it a protagonist role (sample♪). The reason being, that the most popular system for that time (and the one that gave a breath of fresh air to the industry), the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), out of 5 channels it has for audio, 3 are a great choice for making melodies and 2 for percussion or noise. The following video (which I didn't make) helps to understand these concepts:

By definition the melody is the most recognized part of a song, and fewer elements made for musical compositions easy to grasp, remember and enjoy.

Koichi Sugiyama

From that point forward music was an integral part of gaming, especially in japan where its influence gathers around the best talents to create masterpieces such as this one♪

Nintendo would maintain the lead in gaming music with its Super Nintendo and created, alongside Sony and Ken Kutaragi, a sound chip way ahead the competition, that made possible memorable music (sample♪) with a greater set of tools for composers, that were able to expand on genres (sample♪). 

But despite the hardware advancements, gaming music before the CD media, was consistent on its own style, at the time composers had developed certain skill to work within these boundaries and it was more cost efficiently for companies to keep doing so, at the same time fans had developed a familiarity with it; That, leaded to a genre, or term called 8-bit music:

Easy to identify pieces with limited synthesized sounds; Music that can be stuck in your head long after the gaming session is done, that enhances the gaming itself and sets a mood for the whole experience or a situation at hand.

Mario 

With this in mind would be hard not to grow certain love for at least a couple of these tunes, many of which have had a cover treatment from fans and musicians alike throughout the years, and kept fresh the memories of these music. All of this, reasons why most of us think so highly of it, it’s not good just for being good, but for being a pioneer on a pioneer form of art, for sorting difficulties that no other media had faced before with music; Because, despite borrowing from many music genres, it differentiates from the rest by making each genre its own, and while may not be relevant to some, it still is an interesting -GAMING TOPIC- to take on… Thank you for being awesome. 

The art of creating more than just games: Vanillaware’s crown

A studio founded by former Atlus employees from which game director George Kamitani stands out by having also worked on Square-Enix and Capcom in projects of vital experience, such as Dungeons and dragons: Tower of doom and Shadow Over Mystara. 

Vanillaware has made a name of itself by presenting on each of its games a great focus on art and animation, usually inspired on fantasy or mythological themes, with an excellent execution.  (If you are interested, the guys at Art-Eater did a great analysis on the influential material of one of the promotional trailers for “Dragons Crown” their latest title). 

The achievement whoever, goes not simply in making the concept art for the game, but in the seamlessly transition between art and game play, creating a feeling on the player of having an interactive experience in these motion paintings.  With some animation and coding tricks, as well as several countless hand draw frames, the world and characters comes to life without sacrificing one stroke of art.

Merit to Vanillaware’s  artwork , which style stands out form any other of the media, they have portrayed masterfully occidental and eastern mythologies as they have shown in the different games, such as Grand knights Story and Muramasa the Demon Blade by adding a style easy to distinguish from others or the source material; In their Japanese heritage is still present the anime or manga influence by portraying characters with proportions similar to the ones used on those media, as well as their face features; they tend to the use of broad brushes of color that makes for an interesting result to say the least, as if watercolor and oleo were blend together, East and Occident; however, we can find that their work is definitely influenced by that of FrankFrazetta (click to see his work), a famous fantasy illustrator in the 70s and 80s. 

But a game is not just pretty visuals, despite of how good they may be. And here is where the expertise of George Kamitani comes to place, despite of the games claimed to be fairly simplistic and usually too ambitious, the studio shows with authority the compression they have over the genre they are implementing, usually with the addition of role play elements in 2d.  

Odin sphere, their first title, a side scrolling action RPG set within Nordic mythologies  is a clear continuation of ideas form a game called Princess Crown on Sega’s Saturn, from when the studio was called Puraguru.  It not only delivers on a fluid and engaging gameplay experience, but also on a solid and genuinely interesting plot and writing, filled with awesome artwork and music. 

Shortly after, they started working on GrimGrimoire an RTS on a magic thematic experience with a rock-papers-scissors system to balance the unit types. Just as their first game, it was praised by its aesthetics, voice acting, writing and solid game mechanics.

Muramasa the Demon Blade: with the use of only 2 buttons, is other masterpiece form the studios. Set in the Genroku Japanese era, with fantasy elements of course, is regarded as one of the best of the company; a metroid-vannia side scrolling game with fast and fluid combat system, easy to learn hard to master. This highly polished title shows the experience they've accumulated with their previous games in all regards,  their animation and artistic techniques reached new heights that they will further improve on their most expensive and ambitious title…

Dragon’s Crown, many firsts for the studio also meant a full circle for George Kamitani, having previously worked on dungeons and dragons for Capcom, this too, a 2d beat ‘em up 4 player title set in a sword and magic medieval world, the first game from vanillaware with online coop and the first game they do in HD. It of course had a long development cycle and due the meager and late updates, at one point was believed to be canned; also flamed by the over-the-top features of several of the playable characters, mainly the ones of the sorceress class, whether some may or may not like, did not affect in any way the quality of art direction this game has. 

Never before we have seen so many frames on the screen by one of the studio’s titles and not only the number is the impressive feat, but the care and detail in which every one of this were made. It has all the features that makes so aesthetically appealing every vanillaware’s title and exponentially improve on them. 

The game-play, as I stated early has the basics of an arcade classic 4 player beat ‘em up, but as is staple with vanillaware, it manages to add a leveling up system, optional quest and loot, among other features; a game where preparation is as important as execution; and execute you will, every class controls notoriously different, finding the one you feel most comfortable and learning it is very reminiscent of those arcade sessions, but the RPG elements really mix things up and adds length to an otherwise brief experience. 

During the development of the story mode you’ll met characters portrayed in beautiful paintings with elegant and subtle animation while the narrator describes the situation. This works wonders with the game story-line and lets your imagination fly in each of this small encounters. 

On an interview made to Kamitani before launching Muramasa the Demon’s Blade on 2009 said that the company had grown to 21 employees, whom he described as “Basically, 100% artists”; at that time a small studio, no doubt.

But despite of it, that fact represents the strong focus they have towards art, all features that they apply in every single one of their titles talks of a company that does more than just games,  they speak directly to the player by infusing him with a rich art-style and narrative not only in motion by words, but with music and scenarios carefully created, that says as much of the world that we are playing in as one of J. R. R. Tolkien books. The game-play facilitates all this features and implements element from classic sensitivities of gaming that few major studios dare to keep alive.

By taking a brief look at this studio’s work, when people ask me if I see games as art, I really have no doubts when I answer yes, perhaps you will too, after appreciating the same things as did, answer in the same fashion; and while may not be relevant to some, it still is an interesting -GAMING TOPIC- to take on… Thank you for being awesome. 

What types of games are better for you? (shorty)

More than often you'll find that some of your friends like certain kind of games that you have no interest for, and you wonder, why he/she likes so much to play  first person shooters online?, or why despite that I recommended a friend to play one of the best racing games out there, he/she prefers instead to keep playing those RPGs?

To answer these questions you must first ask to yourself:  Why is that I like to play some video games more than others?

Video games as a form of entertainment fill certain necessities in our lives, besides having fun. Whether be social, for a sense achievement or freedom.

In the social aspect of gaming, people who play online games more than others, are the ones that like to FEEL that their actions have repercussions on other individuals, they connect via those actions and share their experiences with people seeking the same thing.

Gran theft Auto V

But perhaps, the routine won’t allow you to have as much control over things as you want, so gaming could be an alternative to fill your sense of freedom and autonomy; Games in which the developers focus their efforts to make you FEEL that you have an overall control on doing as much or as little as you want and in the way you see fit are optimal for such task. Take for example open world games, RPGs, or simulators.

Project Diva F

On the other hand, people that like to FEEL that they mastered something are more drawn to games that require high precision and skill; Games where any mistake will require a do over, like: SHMUPS, platformers, rhythm, puzzles, etc. These games give them a sense of achievement, that they can overcome any challenge they game throws at them with their very own skills and wits.

AC 2, Red Dead R, GTA IV.

With this concepts you may now be able to know, not just why do you enjoy to play certain games more than others, but they might help you to understand your friends on a more personal level; By knowing which games they like the most, you will know which feelings they are craving for.  And while may not be relevant to some, it still is an interesting -GAMING TOPIC- to take on… Thank you for being awesome.

The Action-adventure genre

Up to this date, the video game industry is THE form of art that have had the biggest and fastest growth since its appearance, it’s a blend of many other art forms and every day developers finds new ways to tell their stories or convey feelings to the player, but there is one genre that since its birth has integrated the best that this media has to offer.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

The broadest video game genre of them all, it gets its name from combining various game elements, mainly… action and adventure (whoa! who saw that one coming huh?) but more than often RPG and puzzle integration as well. Mmm, but that pretty much means that it has elements of every game genre (except from spo...rr...tsss...) so let’s say that the action adventure genre is like -white light- that blends all the colors into one consistent beam..what? ok ok…We’ll start by defining its 2 main components:

1st – Adventure:  the most relevant elements of an adventure game are problem or puzzle solving, exploration through the environments and it finds heavily influenced by literature or movies on its narrative, which usually is the main motivation to progress in the game; Is rare or absent any direct control of the characters on screen with this genre, but instead you will issue them orders, choice dialog options and items to use at specific moments.

Dear Esther

Is then safe to say that games such as, the secret of monkey island, Grim Fandango and more recently the walking dead, are fine examples and they are usually referred as -point and click adventure-, ooor as I play them:-click everything on the screen until something happens adventure-. Keep in mind that the genre is not limited to those games, more recently the indie developers has granted us with first person adventure games, such as Dear Esther.

Star Soldier

2nd -Action: One simple and consistent problem…there is something ought to hurt you, destroy it or it will destroy you. It is a more ‘’physical’’ experience, you will have direct control of your avatar and it emphasizes hand-eye coordination and reaction time from the player.

It spawns different sub-genre such as fighting games, pew pews.. I mean! shooters ..and platformers.

Of course as I said early , those are the basics from which an action-adventure game draws elements from, but not limited to them, the most common addition are role-play mechanics.

Suikoden V

So let’s define briefly the core mechanics of this genre of video games, the RPG:  based on the same principles as pen and paper RPGs the player takes the Role of a fictional character, or group of characters, on a quest, the story of such quest is, ( just like in an adventure game) the main gear that moves the player to continue to see the game through… or bore the shit out of him, whoever in this case we will be able to improve attributes of the characters that we are controlling, via levels of experience accumulated, gained usually by fighting foes. Or enhancing their equipment with new pieces of armor and weapons, this, in order to face the tougher challengers that the quest presents to us; to put it bluntly this game genre emphasizes preparation over hand-eye-coordination, it recompenses the time a player puts into it, the more you play it the stronger your characters will be… is like going to the gym…a gym filled with emo Japanese teenagers.

The Legend of Zelda

So, where did the action-adventure genre started? …Well ...once upon a time BUM! Zelda. By the mind of Shigeru Miyamoto in collaboration with Takashi Tezuka and Eiji Aonuma in 1986 they created the biggest and most beloved franchises in gaming. It blends seamlessly for the first time the diverse game play elements we just talked about. Inspired by trips that Shigeru used to take as a child to the hillsides where he grew up, this game masterfully presents the player with choices, adventure, empowerment and problem solving, while in the process, creating a genre and making Nintendo profitable for 27 years.

I won’t go into much detail in why this franchise is so fine regarded, I might save It for a later post, but, I will say that, this is where console gaming started to flex some legs… and arms… and freaking wings!

Requiring several sessions to beat and discover its secrets, gave players a true sense of progress, not just in the enemies you fought, but constant and persistent enhancements on the protagonist and its equipment. You feel connected to the world, the character you control, the ones you met, the places you explored, the challenges you have overcome and the improvements in your very own skills at doing so. This description might as well be suited too, for the most part, to another game genre that we covered, the RPG.

Batman Arkham City

Then why an action-adventure game could not simply be an RPG? if those tent to transmit a similar sense of progress and achievement to the player... or does it even matter what genre any video game is in? Short answer no,  but you already are at this point in the article so at least you are curiou…wait …no, no no don’t click on another page, ..To be fair it used to be easy---er to set apart an RPG from an action adventure game but every day the line gets blurrier as they tent to draw elements from one to another, take for example lighting returns …yes I know, only the 2 people who played would know what I am taking about (Spoilers: is good), or even further complicating things, mass effect 2 and 3. This games, especially the ladder, although is referred as an action-rpg, draws stuff from so many genres that it might well be fitted as an action-adventure game, because it’s usually the broadest of videogames genres by definition. Therefore sometimes could be difficult to set them apart, and not just from rpgs, but from some platformers and contemporary shot bangs… I mean.. shootars.

But regardless, for the most part, an action-adventure game is one that, by letting the player explore the game world, tasks him to solve problems with the tools the game presents to him(whatever they might be), not by grinding levels, but skill, both logical and mechanical.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

By this point, you may already notice that several great action-adventure games belong to this category: your prince of Persias, zeldas, batman arkhams, assassins creeds, darksiders, bioshocks, soul reavers, tomb raiders, grand theft autos, etc. So you have an idea now, how inclusive this game genre is, perhaps several of your favorite games belong in this category, is possible that some of them might have spawn new subgenres, maybe you found out why you don’t like ANY of those games (you monster), and while may not be relevant to some, it still is an interesting -GAMING TOPIC- to take on… Thank you for being awesome.