Found this beautiful piano soundtrack for the videogame Hue. The song Vessels in particular is shimmeringly wonderful; I’m using it as the centerpiece of one of my playlists I’m working on.
Video game music is such an interesting challenge (and perhaps opportunity) for a streaming platform. Since video game music is often about getting absorbed into an atmosphere, youtube is absolutely swarming in videos where a videogame track is seamlessly extended for up to an hour. I myself love these videos and find them really comforting to have on while I’m doing my work.
Here’s Resting Grounds from Hollow Knight, one of the best games I’ve ever played:
The tragedy of course is that these looped videos don’t seem to benefit the artist whatsoever, even though I feel they are doing a much better job of presenting the music the way it was meant to be experienced. By comparison, hearing a short three minute “cut” by the original artist (as often offered on bandcamp) always feel so brief and lacking to me.
Generally, when I listen to videogame music, it’s because I want to get enveloped in that world, just like I do in the game.
Videogame music is very often designed to loop forever (which seems like a gold mine for revenue), but the way both the artists and the platforms have set it up, it’s terrible all around. These composers really don’t have a home platform-wise and it is interesting to think what such a home could look like.
Share your favorite videogame tracks!
