Q: Nobuo Uematsu (Square-Enix) and Koji Kondo (Nintendo) are regarded highly as the two greatest composers in video game music. What are your thoughts on that?
What do you think about game companies bringing in outside sources (i.e. rock and R&B groups) to record music for games? I find that today's game composers are taking a backseat to the hottest bands in the music industry and all I see from that is good, original talent, going to waste. Does something like that pose a threat to your job? (Uptown SlimJim)
Dave W: The two you mention are both great musicians who have obviously been very influential in defining video game music. As for your other question, I look on this in the same light as film soundtracks. The music is there to support the story. If a piece of music from a band supports the action perfectly, great, use it. However, it's probably not going to work too well supporting something that requires a little more subtlety, such as progressing the story. Many films use both.
Jamie: I'm a fan of both composers, particularly Koji Kondo. His music is so simple yet memorable and always suits the game style perfectly. I thought the Wind Waker soundtrack was great, especially the Dragon Roost Island theme!
As for bands in games
I think it's OK to feature artists that suit that a particular genre, e.g. rock/punk/rap in snowboarding games, but for story-based games the music helps define the characters and immerse the player in the game world. Here at Rare we have a musician per game which enables us to write music and customise it to match the game perfectly. I don't think this would be possible using well-known bands.
Dave C: Muhammad Ali and Joe Louis are highly regarded as the two greatest boxers of all time. What are your thoughts on that?
