Finding Inspiration in a Theme

I came across an interview of composer Christopher Tin on Polygon the other day, and it gave me a chance to ruminate on how great of an impact video game music has on my gaming experience. 

While I realize a lot of people my age are very fond of certain classic video game themes, such as that of Super Mario Brothers, I was a bit too old for the original NES and Super NES. So, Mario and The Legend of Zelda never really resonated with me. 

I suppose you could say that I was of the Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man era, where the music was limited to a 4-5 second ditty at the beginning of the game:

As well as the intermission themes:

Still, you get the idea. Things were a bit minimalist back then, and not because the creators didn't want to add music, it's just there were limitations to the technology (and the associated cost).

Well, and that for a lot of arcade video games found at the check lane area of grocery and discount stores the sound was actually turned off*, so unless you went to an actual arcade you may not have heard the music at all. 

My first real encounter with a video game's soundtrack beyond a short little ditty was that theme for Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar.

This is the version I was familiar with, for

the Commodore 64.

It's not a very deep theme by any stretch of the imagination, but when my college roommate began playing the game for the first time, the sound was a revelation. 

You could draw a straight line from an Ultima IV through games such as Wing Commander and X-Wing, through Diablo and Baldur's Gate, up through Civ IV's Baba Yetu to today's games. There's always something in there to draw inspiration from, and while some people play video games with the soundtrack muted, the music is well worth a listen.

***

I guess that it was inevitable, but all the above was prelude to the announcement that the (now) venerable Battle Bards podcast has ended. Eleven years is a long time for a podcast's run, and Syp, Syl, and Steff gave us years of great video game music. I know it was only Syp and Syl for the past few years, but I'll always think of the three of them when I think of Battle Bards.

My personal favorite of their podcasts was very early in their podcast career: their interview with Chance Thomas, the composer of LOTRO's Riders of Rohan Soundtrack. Were it not for that interview, I'd not have gotten up the nerve to contact Mr. Thomas and see how I could purchase the score to Theme for Rohan, as it seemed to me that it could be adapted to a high school orchestra.**

I'm amazed how young Taylor Davis looks

in this video. I guess we've all gotten older in

the 12 years since this video first aired.

I wish the Bards luck in their future endeavors, and I'll miss their voices.

Now to listen so some more music...

*I don't know if my experience was the same as others, but there were always complaints about the noise from arcade video games, so the sound was frequently turned down/switched off at the request of the store owners.

**Mr. Thomas did confirm that the piece could be adapted for high school (or even middle school).

#Blaugust2024

Raising a Pint in Salute

While longevity in a blog is one thing, longevity in a podcast is quite another.

The time it takes to publish a blog post is pretty minimal compared to the effort it takes to pull together a podcast. From a technical aspect alone, there's the design, the equipment/software, and the editing to create a polished finished product. While you can run both on a minimal budget, the hours spent working on a blog pale to those spent on a podcast.*

Therefore, I wanted to take some time to salute two podcasts that reached significant milestones: The Twisted Nether Blogcast and the Battle Bards podcast.

***

You may be cool, but not Blog Azeroth cool.

Twisted Nether is a live blogcast that has just reached its 9th anniversary. Fimlys, Hydra, and Zabine run the WoW focused show --which is the face of Blog Azeroth-- and are frequently joined by bloggers across the WoW-verse. (Full disclosure: I was a guest on Episode 166, recorded live on April 28, 2012. Back then it was just Fimlys and Hydra running the show, and I'm very glad I got to know them through TN.) TN encourages listeners to join the live blogcast and comment in the live comment section, and while the recording time is frequently at odd hours for Eastern North America, I heartily recommend listening in on a live blogcast.

Through TN I've met several fellow bloggers who have since become friends, including Ancient from Tome of the Ancient. If you're curious about WoW comings and goings, I heartily recommend Twisted Nether for an entertaining look at WoW from people who love it so much that they run a live show in the late hours Sunday nights (EST).

However, I did learn one thing about a live blogcast: don't make a quip that can be construed as being awkward. In my case, it was the final question round, and I made a quip about not having heard these questions before. If you've heard Twisted Nether, you've heard the questions, so it wasn't so much as amusing as awkward, and I should have known better than to try to say that. Still, Fim and Hydra were fantastic hosts, and even though I no longer play WoW, if I'd the chance to go back on just to talk with them, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

***

Something about that lute reminds me of
the LOTRO Minstrel class. Just sayin'.

Battle Bards is an MMO podcast created by three people who truly love MMO music, and will be dropping their 100th episode shortly (if it hasn't dropped already. EtA: Here it is!!!).

While the music might be a minor aspect to MMOs in general, the thrill of that first loading screen with the stirring soundtrack blaring through the speakers is a fond memory to even the most hardened MMO gamer. To that end, the team of Syp, Stef, and Syl --the Battle Bards-- scour the MMO world for the interesting and unusual as well as comparing themes among various MMOs.

I've been a long time listener to Battle Bards, in no small part because a) I'm a music lover and b) my long time blogger friend Syl is a host. While I agree or disagree with the Bards' selections, I do find something interesting each episode. However, looking back at the podcasts, I believe that Battle Bards really hit their stride on their fourth episode, the interview with LOTRO composer Chance Thomas. Chance was an engaging guest, and the Bards performed a great job in exploring the music of LOTRO and the process Chance works through when composing a piece. At that point, the podcast became more than just a discussion about favorite pieces and began hitting on the nuts and bolts of the music itself.

The Battle Bards demonstrate in spades that all you need is a love of the music to explore the amazing world of MMO soundtracks.

*By comparison, the livestreaming of a game takes less effort. Once the software and equipment are configured, all you have to do is bring your creative self and play away. Once a livestream graduates into a vlog, however, editing begins to assert itself.