Research Information on "How Video Games Changed Popular Music"

Source: http://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/how-video-games-changed-popular-music

Importance: Very Useful

• Around the time of the Atari 2600, video game music used to be composed by the developers
• Not enough memory to hold complex soundtracks
• Many games didn't have music
• 1984- By the time Kondo worked at Nintendo, hardware capabilities evolved
• Kondo decided the sound-design in Super Mario Bros should emphasize the experience of the player
• Kondo caused video games to become both a visual and audial experience
• As technology grew to the 16-bit era, music became a way to make ones game distinct from the others
• Major game companies began hiring musicians for their games, even hiring popular musicians for their work
• Soundtracks reached outside the realm of video games
• Ex: Final Fantasy soundtrack grew popular enough to be played in concerts

This article provides some more information on how video game music grew to be of more importance to the general public, though it still lacks information on the hardware aspect. It lists how video game music was seen in different ways before today, but doesn't explain how the audio capabilities of hardware affected video game music. It's useful, but leaves areas untouched.

Research Information on "A Brief History of Video Game Music"

Source: http://www.mfiles.co.uk/video-game-music-history.htm

Importance: Very Useful

• Koji Kondo's soundtrack for Super Mario Bros on NES revolutionized the video game music genre
• Didn't start it though
• Kondo utilized clever techniques not done before
• noise channel in the NES sound chip created percussion
•  Distinct sounds given to the melody, harmony, bass, percussion
• 1990s- Personal Computer rising in gaming
• 1991- PC game Myst was composed using synthesizers
• First PC game with music that won an award
• Computer MIDIs also used to produce music
• Ex: 1993- FPS Doom
• 1998- Heart of Darkness changed the course of video game music, was the first soundtrack in a video game recorded from an actual orchestra
• More and more video game series' received fame for their soundtracks
• Grew to the point where famous musicians tried their hand on video game music
• Video game soundtracks were being released on CD

This article is more useful than the previous one by giving some important figures and also pointing out some milestones in how video games were perceived, such as the first PC game to have a soundtrack receive an award. Though, this still doesn't focus too much on the hardware aspect of video game music. It's likely that I'll need to investigate further to find everything I need.

Research information on "The Evolution of Video Game Music"

Source: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89565567

Importance: Interesting

• Video games didn't always have music
• Ex: 1970s Pong
• Music implemented to set mood
• Ex: Space Invaders- "Music" grew faster as aliens got closer
• Limited by hardware initially
• Implementation of CD-ROMs for video game medium caused video game music to resemble real music

This article was interesting in relation to the topic I'm researching, though it's not entirely essential. The article provides only a small amount of information, and doesn't really give a good idea of the evolution of video game music by itself. Overall, this article provided some information, but not enough to give me a good idea of my topic. It's a good start, but it leaves many open areas that need further exploring, such as what kinds of limitations the hardware in gaming systens had.