Geek Beat: Do You Make Your Own Game Soundtracks?
Okay, so this might be a bit of weird question, but do any of you make your own soundtracks for games? I don’t mean like enabling custom soundtrack options within games per se, but rather having a CD, a playlist, or a particular artist that you listen to while playing a certain game.
Listening to music while gaming isn’t anything new thing, I know, and most of the time you’ll have the in-game music to dance in your ears which is perfectly and, most of the time, awesomely beyond adequate; but sometimes, your own music is called for. Take World of Warcraft for example, when you’re grinding, going ten to the dozen in Battlegrounds, hitting up the LFR or generally whenever you PUG on your own. My personal blend of tuneage – which is not limited to just music, but also including various podcasts – is Motörhead for running randoms and PVP, and The 5.6.7.8’s for LFR. Eclectic? Quite, and yes, you’re going to copy me now, I know.
Beginning my new gaming-crack of Final Fantasy XIII-2, to which I fully expect to dump all my free time into for the foreseeable future, roused the subject and sent me spiralling back to February 2007. Final Fantasy XII was released, finally, in Europe – sidebar but not really, such an underrated entry in the series, and one that should definitely be re-released as many passed it by in the PS2’s twilight days in favour of the PS3 – all was good with the world except that my house was being renovated, but at least I could finally perv over Fran in all her polygonal bunny-eared glory. It was then that I almost stumbled upon the notion of actively making my own game soundtrack. I’d been recently introduced to the brilliance of Martha Wainwright, and while I, as a Final Fantasy fanboy, pretty much hold the soundtracks of the series as sacrament and proclaim any who dare speak ill as heretics, I decided to mute the audio in favour of playing Wainwright’s self-titled debut album.
It worked. Almost a revelation, it seemed to fit perfectly with the sweeping vistas of Dalmasca and the tone of the overarching political storyline, which was a complete surprise in of itself. The imagery of wandering the affluent streets of Rabanastre and the working-class, rundown sewer-city of Lowtown beneath was complimented and extenuated so miraculously with the song “Factory.” Traversing the still quite beautiful Giza Plains, and moving onward through the Golmore Jungle to Mount. Bur-Omisace felt rightly epic, and Wainwright “Far Away,” “These Flowers,” and “When The Day Is Short” only furthered the scale and scope of the journey and mirrored the zones. Rather than pick the tracks individually, I’d just let the album run and never once did it seem a weird, forced upon juxtaposition. Then, when it the final song “Dis, Quand Reviendras-tu?” – which, particularly from Ashe’s point of view, could have made for an excellent theme-song for the game – I’d simply go back and start the album from the beginning.
Of course, I’d pause the music whenever Fran spoke in a cut scene. I’m telling you, that voice? Damn.
Perhaps, in this case with this game and artist, it’s just me; but whenever Martha shuffles on my iPod, I’m immediately taken back to this stunning if believed contentious entry in one of my favourite games series. As for FFXIII-2, I haven’t as of yet decided whether to find a bespoke accompaniment, and I think I’ll stick with the in-game soundtrack for a bit longer. One, it’s really good if a bit different, and two, the flourishes of how the currently playing song changes to a remixy version when you encounter an enemy is kind of cool.
Are you the same? Do you have a particular favourite album or artist that you pair up with a game to make your very own soundtrack?
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