Some video games have music that you keep with you, in your heart or your mind, for a very long time. These BGM's may profoundly affect the way you play or look back on the game. This certaintly happened to me with the music in Disgaea, The Last Story, and, most of all, Persona. What makes these any better, or more memorable than other BGM's, and why would it matter?
Some video game music is especially memorable, even compared to regular old radio music. I believe this has to do with the context. It could form a sort of memory connection with your favorite parts of a game, which is may be why many people remember the battle theme of the last boss of a game because it is a tense and difficult battle, and usually one of the easiest to remember parts of a game. However, games also tend to try to use the "coolest" BGM at their disposal for the final boss fight as well, which could also be why it is easier to remember. I believe that gaming companies should do more research into how various BGM's become earworms, and what is required to create successful, memorable, and impactful BGM's as compared to regular music.
Why is it important that these companies know this? For one, it is to appeal to the players. If someone is spending fifty to one-hundred hours playing a game, they want it to sound nice. This would help the games creators create a top notch game, one that could gain them many awards or sales. Every little thing that makes the game just a little better contributes to it's popularity. Secondly, if the game companies could make effective, affective, and beautiful BGM's, they could gain additional money by selling CD's with a collection of the music on it. There is a rather large market for this. Japanese games, already, commonly do this, and their makers are artists when it comes to creating and using BGM's (note that all the examples I gave at the top are Japanese games). Those companies are then able to create CD's of the soundtrack, and sell them for extra money, which they do. Some video game music has even become reasonably popular in Japan, not because they are particularly enamored with video game music as a genre, but because, when they have good video game music, everyone likes it.
Finally, some individuals may make covers of the music from the games. This may at first seem like a bad thing, as listening to the covers on Youtube or something will prevent the companies from getting money, but it is, in fact, a bonus for the company. Good covers draw attention to the original product, which can indeed help your sales.
Some video game music is especially memorable, even compared to regular old radio music. I believe this has to do with the context. It could form a sort of memory connection with your favorite parts of a game, which is may be why many people remember the battle theme of the last boss of a game because it is a tense and difficult battle, and usually one of the easiest to remember parts of a game. However, games also tend to try to use the "coolest" BGM at their disposal for the final boss fight as well, which could also be why it is easier to remember. I believe that gaming companies should do more research into how various BGM's become earworms, and what is required to create successful, memorable, and impactful BGM's as compared to regular music.
Why is it important that these companies know this? For one, it is to appeal to the players. If someone is spending fifty to one-hundred hours playing a game, they want it to sound nice. This would help the games creators create a top notch game, one that could gain them many awards or sales. Every little thing that makes the game just a little better contributes to it's popularity. Secondly, if the game companies could make effective, affective, and beautiful BGM's, they could gain additional money by selling CD's with a collection of the music on it. There is a rather large market for this. Japanese games, already, commonly do this, and their makers are artists when it comes to creating and using BGM's (note that all the examples I gave at the top are Japanese games). Those companies are then able to create CD's of the soundtrack, and sell them for extra money, which they do. Some video game music has even become reasonably popular in Japan, not because they are particularly enamored with video game music as a genre, but because, when they have good video game music, everyone likes it.
Finally, some individuals may make covers of the music from the games. This may at first seem like a bad thing, as listening to the covers on Youtube or something will prevent the companies from getting money, but it is, in fact, a bonus for the company. Good covers draw attention to the original product, which can indeed help your sales.
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