Gaming needs more of this...

[Smeghead]

Don't most games HAVE licensed music now? I kinda miss all the specially composed stuff. I cudn't imagine playing Sonic Adventure to anything other than the games OST. Yet for other games like Crazy Taxi Offspring was bang on the mark, if the game suits licensed music use it, but I think it's a lazy way for developers to add audio to the game. A few buff SFX, and a big licensed group = great advert to the groups fans to buy the game, and means they don't need to spend the time composing the music in house.

Resident Evil to Britney Spears? hmmm...

Some games just need a specially done score.

[Concept]

sorry Ady. i think GTA Vice City is one the finest examples of licensed music to date.

Agreed. Vice City not only has the finest licenced music to date, I'd go as far to say it has one of the best videogame soundtracks ever produced.

Sound effects, voice acting, music... The whole vibe, pull and feel as a whole comes together really well. And looking at each individual slice and section of sound in the game, compared to others in the action/crime-based genre, it's practically light years ahead of the competition.

[InsideOutBoy]

Grand Theft Auto will lose something if it only uses licensed tracks from now on. Some of the original songs in the previous games have been marvellous and they deserve to be included in any sequels.

For the most part though, licensed music will never take off in videogames. The movie business rarely uses licensed tracks during the actual film, preferring original scores, and in games its even harder as you can?t have the song end after 3 minutes if the player hasn?t finished whatever he?s doing.

Still, I?d still love to see licensed tracks be used sparingly but more creatively. The use of Beethoven (?) at the opening of Conker?s Bad Fur Day worked very well, but it?s the only instance I can think where a non-sports videogame has actually used a licensed tune.

[Smeghead]

Grand Theft Auto will lose something if it only uses licensed tracks from now on. Some of the original songs in the previous games have been marvellous and they deserve to be included in any sequels.

For the most part though, licensed music will never take off in videogames. The movie business rarely uses licensed tracks during the actual film, preferring original scores, and in games its even harder as you can’t have the song end after 3 minutes if the player hasn’t finished whatever he’s doing.

Still, I’d still love to see licensed tracks be used sparingly but more creatively. The use of Beethoven (?) at the opening of Conker’s Bad Fur Day worked very well, but it’s the only instance I can think where a non-sports videogame has actually used a licensed tune.

Crazy Taxi?
Nomad Soul?
Kingdom Hearts?

there are a fair few m8. a good 40% at least of games now have licensed music in some shape or form.

[Ady]

Hmm... some interesting points, though again I do feel that many of you have misunderstood what I was trying to say. And yes, licensed music can be cynically exploited by a lazy devco as a flimsy USP (and that obviously isn't a good thing), but that's not really the point.

It's about subtlety and context (which is what I feel many of you have failed to grasp). Imagine an adventure game where you walk into a cafe and you hear a tune by X in the background. Or a cut scene where part of another tune by certain artist plays (the song picked to fit a particular emotional context). Licensed music used in this way would be great.

It's also about about imagination. Nobody's saying the next Final Fantasy game should be chock full of all the latest chart toppers, nobody's saying a horror game should sacrifice a tense orchestral score at the expense of Nickleback. That's lazy and it's dumb.

'Real world' music can and should be used to suit the context of a game. The first two respondents to this thread seem have the best understanding of where I'm coming from on this.

[Squirtle]

Surely JSR and JSRF have the best use of proper songs. I hate that type of music, mainly, but love it with that game.

Ho-hum.

[FreeStephen]

sorry Ady. i think GTA Vice City is one the finest examples of licensed music to date.

Agreed. Vice City not only has the finest licenced music to date, I'd go as far to say it has one of the best videogame soundtracks ever produced.

Pity the frame rate ruins the game. For me the best soundtrack of any game is Gran Turismo 3, I turn off the music when playing in game to hear the realistic engines. My only complaint is that when you tune the cars they get very generic sounds.

[vertigo]

Agreed. It's just not as immersive to have S Club Juniors blasting at as you explore Tallon IV..

Funny you should mention that, the other day whilst mopping up the loose ends of said game, I was subjected to fight scenes interspersed with "Close to you" from the other room. Why do birds suddenly appear? Because they want you to fry them with your Plasma Beam, that's why.

[Scythe]

I would love Rez 2 to have a soundtrack designed from the ground up by Derrick May or Underground Resistance.....

[Ady]

I would love Rez 2 to have a soundtrack designed from the ground up by Derrick May or Underground Resistance.....

Aha! I knew you'd get me...

Yes, that would be great. Or how about a game where recognised musicians have a creative input in how their music is used? The potential is there...

[Scythe]

I would love Rez 2 to have a soundtrack designed from the ground up by Derrick May or Underground Resistance.....

Aha! I knew you'd get me...

Yes, that would be great. Or how about a game where recognised musicians have a creative input in how their music is used? The potential is there...

Definitley, I think it will start happening more and more, as software houses try and differentiate their products from their competitors...

I got flamed on Edge for saying Rez's music although a step in the right direction was still too generic, can you imagine a proper detroit soundtrack with more depth and complexity to the sounds you can add and how you layer them...!! (Maybe Minters trying this with Unity?)

[Andy_T]

not sure if this is his name, J Saul Kane? anyway the guy behind the mighty Depth Charge and others. he's an avid gamer, i remember reading an interview with him & the accompanying photo with his extensive import collection on display. i reckon he'd love to get involved with a videogame project . probably something involving Hong Kong killers and filthy whores!

going to back to what you were saying before Ady about walking into a bar, song playing in the background... it'd be interesting to use a song in a more ironic way even. i'm thinking of something like that scene in Resevoir Dogs where what's happening on screen and the song really shouldn't go but the juxtaposition just creates even more unease.

[Scythe]

[quote="Andy_T"]not sure if this is his name, J Saul Kane? anyway the guy behind the mighty Depth Charge and others. he's an avid gamer, i remember reading an interview with him & the accompanying photo with his extensive import collection on display. i reckon he'd love to get involved with a videogame project . probably something involving Hong Kong killers and filthy whores!

Yeah, thats him...his obvious love of the 'scene' would probably help a lot in the design process....who wouldn't wanna get involved in a project with that subject matter!! 8)

[Andy_T]

was reminded of this thread whilst playing Splinter Cell recently. there's a level where you have to infiltrate the CIA Headquarters and uncover the mole who has leaked info to terrorists, right? so, it's all very tech noir and moody, very 24. anyways, whilst creeping down a darkened corridor i came across a guard in some kind of a recreational area, he was having a conversation on his phone or walkie talkie with a colleague and a radio in the room had some nondescript twangy AOR playing and i thought to myself, situations like this represent the perfect opportunity for licensed music. how cool would it be if the radio was playing a known song, or the channels could be changed even according to the individual guard's taste. not only would it inject some real life into a largely artificial simulation, it would add character even charisma to the NPC's.

[Greng]

Videogame music should be crafted relative to the action in the game. Putting famous artists on the roster has limited applications, mostly 'realistic' adventures, racing and perhaps sports games.