Soundtrack Central The best classic game music and more

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Rimo Mar 3, 2008

Good day to all,

For those unfamiliar with the name, VGM Rush is a fairly new website which is focused on the Western side of game music. Although it has been launched last October, I have never shared the news properly here. Having massively improved the site recently, I thought that this could be a good opportunity to let all those who might be interested know of its existence.

As mentioned, what you can expect to find there is a wealth of information and resources concerning VGM created outside of Japan and the rest of Asia, which is a topic usually less popular and known about in the mainstream fan community. If you are curious to learn more about this subject, I invite you to check VGM Rush out. Take note that the database is currently far from covering all of the music/artists, but the goal is to get there one day by adding new entries on a regular basis.

http://www.vgmrush.com/

Thank you and have a good day,
Rimo

Datschge Mar 3, 2008

Hi Rimo, that's definitely a site which is needed so it's great you (I think?) are building this. One thing I'd like to see is encouraging people to browse the site easily. I tried browsing artists, but that's very slow and bothersome atm since one has to click through the whole alphabet even though there are only 26 entries currently.

Zorbfish Mar 3, 2008

I understand the mission statement to focus solely on Western VGM, but I'm curious why you decided make another database site instead of just supporting GMR or VGMdb with your information.

Chris Mar 3, 2008 (edited Mar 3, 2008)

Excellent job with the new release, Rimo! I'm looking forward to finally contributing on the Rare side of Western VGM. wink

I'm currently trying to use the same Gallery program as you to introduce a SEMO gallery for album covers, composers, etc. However, my lack of technical know-how has made it difficult to customise. Hopefully you'll be able to give me some tips one day!

For Zorbfish, I think VGM Rush's scope is more than just a database. Unlike GMR or VGMdb, it includes reviews, interviews, and composer information. I also find it extremely useful to have a site specialised on the subject of Western game music.

Rimo Mar 3, 2008 (edited Mar 3, 2008)

Datschge wrote:

I tried browsing artists, but that's very slow and bothersome atm since one has to click through the whole alphabet even though there are only 26 entries currently.

This is indeed very true. As a temporary solution, I've added the whole artist list on the main page of that section. Browsing can still be performed by letter if people know exactly the name they are looking for. On the day that this list will have become pretty long, I'll simply switch back to alphabet browsing exclusively, in order to avoid generating oversized pages. Or I might add a 'view all' option since even at its largest size, the artist list will always be smaller than the game and album ones.

Thanks for the recommendation! smile

Zorbfish wrote:

I understand the mission statement to focus solely on Western VGM, but I'm curious why you decided make another database site instead of just supporting GMR or VGMdb with your information.

Good question! The main reason is because GMR and VGMdb are currently limited to the coverage of albums and other official releases. VGMdb is more elaborated with the inclusion of artist profiles, more information fields, an extensive cover section, and a lot of cool functions. However, when it comes to game music as a whole, both have this flaw of missing information on music (and the related composers) that was not published as an independent product. Still, their objective is clear and doesn't include the coverage of said music, so the end result is perfectly fine.

When it comes to Western VGM, the reality is that unlike in Japan, album releases are not so common. This imply that both sites wouldn't be able to cover this subject thoroughly. For example, going only with official album info, David Wise would have started his career in 1995 and have worked on 4 game projects. When game credits are added, it becomes totally different.

Don't get me wrong, GMR and VGMdb are still excellent resources for what they aim at. I actually contribute to them from time to time and use them regularly. I wouldn't have minded simply adding the content of VGM Rush to either of them, but as mentioned, the problem is that part of it is out of their scopes. Thus, something new had to be built.

Chris wrote:

Excellent job with the new release, Rimo! I'm looking forward to finally contributing on the Rare side of Western VGM. wink

I'm currently trying to use the same Gallery program as you to introduce a SEMO gallery for album covers, composers, etc. However, my lack of technical know-how has made it difficult to customise. Hopefully you'll be able to give me some tips one day!

Thanks for the kind words! It feels good to have finally completed this new version of the site.

Expect to receive an e-mail soon concerning the arrangement for your contribution, and I'll definitely help you implement the gallery on SEMO.

avatar! Mar 3, 2008 (edited Mar 3, 2008)

I'm a big fan of Western game music. Of course I also like Japanese releases, but for whatever reason I tend to find that Western releases are my favorite. I suggest you talk with this guy here:

http://www.bysmitty.com/Soundtracks/PCG … racks.htm#

he's already got a great database of Western game music, although it's almost all for PC games. Great stuff!

cheers,

-avatar!

avatar! Mar 3, 2008

By the way, you have a ton of Bjørn Lynne albums listed. Almost none of them are game music. Sure, he's written some game music, and much of his music is game-inspired and sounds like game musc, but nevertheless it's NOT game music. My suggestion, don't include it in the database if it's not the soundtrack to a game.

cheers,

-avatar!

Ramza Mar 3, 2008

Rimo, I get your logic: vgmdb and gmr are covering album releases, and not enough Western VGM comes as a separate CD release. So you're going to focus your coverage on console / PC games ... and their music? Or will it be more focused on artist profiles?

Whatever your plans are, I wish you the best of luck. There are some great Western composers out there, particularly the European folk. Some of the soundtracks for recent PC titles (The Witcher, Gothic 3, etc) have really blown me away.

Ramza

Megavolt Mar 3, 2008

I like your site.  It's a good idea and it's something that helps to inform VGM fans about the *less familiar* western portion of the VGM world.  As someone who only made a deliberate effort to explore CRPGs and WRPGs in general a few years ago, it's much appreciated.

I have a question.  Do you know which Follin brother composed which song on the Plok! soundtrack?  I'm wondering whether it was Tim or Geoff who composed the track Akrillic, as it's a personal favorite of mine.

Rimo Mar 3, 2008

avatar! wrote:

By the way, you have a ton of Bjørn Lynne albums listed. Almost none of them are game music. Sure, he's written some game music, and much of his music is game-inspired and sounds like game musc, but nevertheless it's NOT game music. My suggestion, don't include it in the database if it's not the soundtrack to a game.

Yes, it's technically NOT game music, but there is still a connection. Non-VGM albums will be included only for artists that are mainly known as game composers. Bjørn Lynne is one of those, but Harry Gregson-Williams would be a counterexample. Although he worked on three games, this wouldn't be a strong enough reason to list his ~50(?) film soundtracks. But sometimes, evaluating if that kind of album should be added or not for a composer isn't evident, as was discussed on VGMdb. One thing is certain, I won't abuse the usage of this category and try to limit it to pertinent entries.

To avoid any kind of confusion for those looking strictly for game music, there is a short description in the top right corner of each album page that mentions if it is an original soundtrack, an arrangement, or non-VGM material. On artist pages, this is also clear with the segregation of these albums in a different section. However, while browsing the album lists, there is no mention of this attribute. I will add a column with this info, then clarity should be sufficient.

Ramza wrote:

Rimo, I get your logic: vgmdb and gmr are covering album releases, and not enough Western VGM comes as a separate CD release. So you're going to focus your coverage on console / PC games ... and their music? Or will it be more focused on artist profiles?

Whatever your plans are, I wish you the best of luck. There are some great Western composers out there, particularly the European folk. Some of the soundtracks for recent PC titles (The Witcher, Gothic 3, etc) have really blown me away.

Yeah, that's pretty much the idea.

The way I see game music, it is 'music from games'. So, the starting point or basis are the games themselves, otherwise there wouldn't be music. For each, there is an artist who composed the music. For certain games, there are official album releases which can be obtained to have an easy access to the music, but if none is available, the music still exists (so albums are more expandable than games, although I'm aware arranged albums and similar projects stretch this logic). By not including the games, a lot of music and artist information would be lost. Similarly, not including albums would also lead to a loss of information. Covering both, plus the artists, was the best way to go in my opinion and this is why these are the three key elements of VGM Rush.

Someone browsing the site could try to look up who did the music for a game he played. In the process, he could discover if an album was released for this title and also, which other projects the composer worked on. "Oh, he did that too", could say this person. Clicking on that other game, he might realize there was a co-composer for it. "Ah, who's that other guy?", he interrogates himself. Another click leads to another page, and so on. In the end, he'll probably end up browsing the whole site (if he has enough time on his hand, that is), hehe.

I know that I'll probably talk through my hat, but for Japanese games (or at least the most popular titles), someone could browse on a database like VGMdb just like the scenario above and be able to explore a lot just by going through album entries. But if he ended up browsing Western releases, the album scenario would be a lot shorter. So yeah, it sums up to the fact the music from most games from the West unfortunately don't exist on official albums.

If no VGM website existed at all, my project would have been to tackle game music broadly since I also love Japanese material. But, with the numerous sites already existing, it was best not to produce an almost straight copy of one of them or try to make something too big and end up being discouraged in the process. Noticing the lack of a site covering the Western side globally (computers + consoles) with a database approach, and the fact I have a particular interest and curiosity for it, this lead to the creation of VGM Rush.

Yeah, while it's known that most Japanese soundtracks are incredible, several European ones are also pretty hip. I didn't have a chance to listen carefully to Gothic 3, but like you, I enjoyed what The Witcher had to offer.

Megavolt wrote:

I like your site.  It's a good idea and it's something that helps to inform VGM fans about the *less familiar* western portion of the VGM world.  As someone who only made a deliberate effort to explore CRPGs and WRPGs in general a few years ago, it's much appreciated.

I have a question.  Do you know which Follin brother composed which song on the Plok! soundtrack?  I'm wondering whether it was Tim or Geoff who composed the track Akrillic, as it's a personal favorite of mine.

Thanks! I certainly hope the site will serve its purpose well.

Hmm, Plok! was actually to be composed by Geoff alone. The game was revised and Tim had the chance to contribute some music. There is sadly no credits breakdown, but there are reasonably more chances that 'Akrillic' was done by Geoff. If I can find out for certain one day, I'll let you know.

Adam Corn Mar 4, 2008

Funny, I just recently stumbled across the site when searching for release dates for a few CDs that are missing them here at STC.  Already bookmarked it wink

Sabreman Mar 4, 2008

Great site! For someone who grew up with and became interested in VGM through western computer games it's a treat, and something that's usually been poorly represented.

Echo Mar 4, 2008

I wasn't aware of such site, but this seems like a great addition to the other vgm sites around. I mostly listen to japanese vgm, but there sure is a lot of great music on the western side too. I really enjoy Outcast, Deus Ex and DKC for instance.

Megavolt Mar 5, 2008

Echo wrote:

I wasn't aware of such site, but this seems like a great addition to the other vgm sites around. I mostly listen to japanese vgm, but there sure is a lot of great music on the western side too. I really enjoy Outcast, Deus Ex and DKC for instance.

It's all about DuClare Chateau.  One of the all time greatest tracks in any game.

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