In a time where video games are becoming more realistic and immersive, it is only natural that the music in these games is becoming more realistic as well. This is where Game Theory steps in. Starting as a small business, Game Theory records video game music, specifically from Nintendo games, and turns it into real life experiences.
The founder of the company, Malcolm Brown, started working on his project while studying at St. Louis University. He wanted to make video game music more accessible to the public and through his business, he has been able to do just that.
The first album this company released was dedicated entirely to Zelda: Ocarina of Time. It included all the music from the popular game ranging from “Saria’s Song” to “Gerudo Valley.” Since then, the business has generated over $50,000 in sales and over $20,000 profit since its start three years ago.
As a student owned and operated business, Game Theory’s success shows that with hard work and dedication, any student can start their own business. While starting a business may seem like an overwhelming task, with the right tools and support system any small idea can turn into something extraordinary.
Video game companies are constantly looking for ways to make their games more immersive for the player, whether it be through innovative control methods like the Wii U GamePad or the Oculus Rift, or by creating a fictional world that players can become lost in. It’s not unheard of for video game music to take center stage; in fact, live concerts and tours focused on video game music are becoming increasingly popular. One such tour is The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses.
But what if you could take these experiences outside of a traditional concert hall setting? And what if you could experience the real-life locations that inspired many of these games? A group of entrepreneurs in Tokyo have come up with an ingenious way to do just that. Game Sound Safari is a company that aims to create a ‘walking experience’ based around video game music. What does this mean exactly? Well, to put it simply: it’s a walking tour around Tokyo, visiting locations that are famously featured in video game soundtracks.
The idea for Game Sound Safari came about in 2013 when three friends decided to take a trip around Tokyo together and listen to Final Fantasy VII’s soundtrack using a GPS system called GPS Tour Conductor (manufactured by Japanese company Vi
The concept of video game music that is not a simple loop, has taken off in popularity over the past few years. While some games such as Pokemon and Super Mario have kept their simple loops, others such as Zelda and Mario Kart have dedicated time to making memorable pieces that people can enjoy outside of the game. These songs tend to be orchestral pieces or at least pieces with a large variety of instruments. However the trend has somewhat died out over the last couple years with most new games opting to stay with simpler tunes.
However a new company known as Video Game Pianist is taking these old songs and bringing them back to life. The pianist goes by Martin Leung who will take some of your favorite classic songs and play them on his piano or organ. He even does live shows where he plays these songs for an audience. There is no sheet music for most of these songs so he must memorize them by ear. While this job may seem easy, it requires a great deal of commitment and skill to master each hand separately along with playing multiple notes at once. He truly brings the video game music out into reality
The music from video games may be more popular than ever, but it still has a problem. “Video game music is often considered to be the ‘lesser’ of the entertainment world,” said Andrew Aversa, a composer and producer known by his stage name Zircon. “It’s seen as disposable, a ‘nice to have.'”
That’s part of why Aversa launched Level 99, a company that produces live events where gamers can enjoy and interact with music from their favorite games. The concept was born out of his frustration at hearing all the great video game music around him and seeing so few ways to celebrate it.
Aversa has been working in the industry since 2004, when he founded OverClocked ReMix, an online community dedicated to remixing classic video game soundtracks. He later began composing music for games including “Sonic Rush Adventure” and “Fire Emblem Awakening.” But even though he was creating new work in the genre, he saw very few events for fans who wanted to hear existing music performed in person.
“We had trouble getting people interested,” Aversa said, recalling early attempts to put on events before Level 99 existed. “You’d have these amazing performances with some of the best musicians on earth, and
In 2012, a company called Video Games Live (VGL) was created to take music from video games and perform it live in concert. The company has been around for four years, but it’s still not perfect. It has had many performances, one of which was in Salt Lake City at the Abravanel Hall in 2013. In this performance, I was amazed at the amount of energy the whole show had. I loved the way they incorporated live action with the music. There were thousands of people at this concert, most of them were young adults like myself.
The company is still growing and developing new ways to make their concerts better. They have recently brought out a new segment called Level 2 (L2) which allows fans to interact with each other while they listen to music from their favorite games played by an orchestra on stage. This level allows fans to get up close and personal with the musicians and conductors as well as hear all of the instruments working together without being drowned out by sound effects or voice acting that may come through speakers.
After seeing VGL’s performance at PAX East 2013, I decided I wanted to create my own interactive concert experience using music from my favorite games like “Halo”, “Super Mario Bros” or “Zelda
It’s late and I’m at an arcade in the back of a 7-Eleven, the lights of Tokyo flashing by outside the windows. The music is playing loudly and it’s time for another round of Dance Dance Revolution. But instead of standing on a plastic mat and pressing button prompts, I’m standing on stage in front of a crowd. And instead of simulated arrows, I’m furiously strumming my guitar, trying to play along with the song as best I can. This is Takarazuka Revue, Japan’s answer to Guitar Hero or Rock Band that lets you live out your rock star dreams without having to learn how to play an instrument.
The game is the brainchild of Shigeto Aoyagi, who founded his company Takara Tomy A.R.T.S in 2008 at age 22. The company’s first title was a Love Plus simulation game for Nintendo DS called Tamagotchi no Narikiri Channel (which literally translates to “Tamagotchi Costume Channel”) that let players dress up their virtual girlfriends in different outfits and accessories.”I thought about what kind of game I would want to make,” Aoyagi told The Verge over email through a translator. “And I remembered being a little kid
When I was a kid, I’d always look forward to visiting my grandparents. There was no particular reason for this; I just liked seeing the house and the town where my mom grew up.
Of course, there were other things that made me look forward to those trips. I’d always get a little extra allowance while I was there, and there was also a music shop nearby that sold all kinds of cool instruments.
But still, at the end of the day, it wasn’t anything super special. In fact, it was just like any other average music shop… except for one thing: they had an arcade in the back.
I don’t remember what specific games they had when I went. But I know they had arcades because my mom told me they did before we ever went there. She said they even had a Donkey Kong machine in the back.
I could’ve cared less about Donkey Kong at that point in my life, but hearing about it sparked something inside me nonetheless. Maybe it’s because Donkey Kong was one of the first video games ever created. Maybe it’s because it’s such an iconic franchise—even today, over 30 years after its release date!
Whatever the reason may be, I just couldn’t wait to get my hands