Indie Games

Tags

braid, EA, editorials, from dust, hipster, indie games, minecraft, notch, rants, super meat boy, sword & sworcery, video games

Let me make it a point to start off by saying: I’m a closet hipster.

I wear the Buddy Holly glasses,  still dress like an art student (though one could say with a little pin-up mixed in), listen to NPR for both the news and to hear of new music, write poetry, am heavily into photography, paint occasionally, and King Crimson* is my favorite band. I don’t, however, drink PBR as I am no longer an underage drinker. I have refined tastes in beer and wine (as well as cheese).

*one could argue King Crimson is too mainstream

So when one tells me they like “indie games” several things pop into mind – do they mean games like Braid or Super Meat Boy? Do they mean any number of abominations in the Xbox Live Indie Game Marketplace? Or maybe they mean games like From Dust and Sword and Sworcery: EP?

Music In Gaming

Tags

editorials, music, soundtracks, video games

If there is one aspect in gaming that tends to be glossed over, it’s the music. This has always disturbed me in particular; as if I needed more fodder for my hatred of the music industry giant it has become. I tend to take it as a personal slight. After all, why shouldn’t music get the respect it deserves, regardless of the medium?

Both my parents were very musical people. My mother taught me how to sing, and my father taught me to play piano. I have fond memories of sharing music with both of them. Now, I never became the next Liberace or Callas, but I did grow up with a fond appreciation for a variety of music.

Before the advent of greater technology and a more cinematic way of presenting games, there were MIDI’s. I think most of us remember those good old days, and think back fondly on those times when music in gaming sounded more like a robot than a full symphonic, or even just a piano. Whereas our imagination can fill in the blanks visually, it is much harder to accomplish aurally. After all, our most valued sense is sight.