If so, how long will it take and what will it take to become so?
When all of us for whom “video game music” means Pac-Man Fever have died off?
It depends on what you mean by “serious”.
There are orchestral concerts of videogame music.
Musicologists do research on videogame music.
Does that count?
I guess when mainstream music awards start adding an award for “Best Video Game Track”?
How can it be a genre, though? Couldn’t anything be video game music? It just seems like saying that movie music is a genre, but that could mean anything from Whitney Houston to John Williams.
Video game music is really no different than movie music. You have your orchestral stuff that is more or less “new classical music” and you have your licensed songs from commercial musicians just like Pretty in Pink, Titanic, The Bodyguard just like any other famous movie soundtrack does.
As for awards, the Grammys offers awards for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media, Best Score Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media and Best Song Written for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media. Video game soundtracks would qualify for all of those categories.
8-bit flavoured pop is a “serious” genre.
So is the question is less about video game music as a serious genre and more about will people start rewarding/recognizing video game music?
The OP may be talking about 8/16-bit digital stuff, which is sort of a genre unto its own.
It’s also one that stopped producing new material, at least in the original medium, about 15 years ago. So the answer there would be “never”. I still think it’s fun though.
Mainstream music awards still don’t have awards yet for classical music, or new-age classical.
I don’t think the entire problem is that its not seen as “serious”, simply that it’s not as popular. And it’s not popular because some people don’t consider it serious.
Until video games rival movies as serious art, and it would be difficult due to the interactivity factor, video game music will not join the mainstream
?? Lots and lots of people are making 8/16 bit music - on original hardware, too. A google search for “8-bit music” brings up lots of hits. It is definitely a valid electronica subgenre with plenty of stuff going on. There are even 8/16 bit music festivals.
Video game music is a genre by itself, definitively. I basing this off the review of the Mines of Moria soundtrack where the difference between movie music and game music is stated as:
From here.
I believe if one ask around on the overclocked remix board (http://www.ocremix.org) the remixers would probably come up with a better response than I did.
Oh, I know. It’s a bit of a flash in the pan though, dontcha think? It’s enjoying some creativity at the moment because the people who grew up listening to it are now of an age where they can do that kind of thing, but right behind us is a generation that has never heard it and probably will find it as irritating as disco is to me.
Just my opinion, of course.
I have a hard time viewing video game soundtracks as a ‘genre’, there’s too much variation in them. Also, most of the time they are not meant to be ‘songs’ as much as an atmospheric background.
This is interesting and relevant
I think the reason you give for the popularity of the genre [eta: i.e: 8/16 bit music] right now is spot on, and I do think that it will fade in the future, like any other musical genre. And then it’ll resurrect in another form in 20 years or so…
I am not even sure that I am willing to recognize “video game music” as such as a proper genre. The diversity is incredibly wide - as wide as different types of games - and contains much more variation than anyone would normally allow within one genre of music.
I think Wave Race 64’s music was pretty amazing - a lot of Philip Glass-esque arpeggios and complex synthesizer riffs. It’s definitely background music, not a “serious genre,” but for video game music it’s one of the best.
Final Fantasy’s music is on a whole different level.
I agree that it ought not to be a genre unto itself.
However, I do wish that such music would be respected within the music genre it occupies.
Other video games with good soundtracks:
Donkey Kong Country (1, 2, & 3)
Super Mario Galaxy
Mother 3 (and probably the other two, but I wouldn’t know)
Super Smash Bros Brawl (if you can unlock them all)
the entire sound track made by one world famous dj…does that count?
(much love for Amon Tobin)