Jazz is a distinct genre that is often overlooked when we think of music in video games. For this episode, we uncover and dissect the world of jazz in video game music – from ‘live’ music to creating historical authenticity to establishing the genre of ‘film noire’ through its connection with jazz. Each member looked at a specific game that featured Jazz music including L.A. Noire, Grim Fandango, Diggs Nightcrawler, and even the first Sims game. From discussions of nostalgia to new age jazz, this podcast takes you through a variety of video games that feature their own distinct jazz sound.

Music used, in order that it appears in the podcast:

• The Sims Soundtrack: Building Mode 4, by Jerry Martin and Marc Russo
• Grim Fandango OST – 12 – Manny’s Office, By Peter McConnell
• Grim Fandango OST – 02 – Swanky Maximino, By Peter McConnell
• LA Noire OST – 01 – Main Theme, By Andrew HaleandSimon Hale
• LA Noire OST – 24 – (I Always Kill) The Things I Love, Produced and written by Stephen Coates (of The Real Tuesday Weld) and featuring the guest vocals of Claudia Brucken (of Propaganda)
• Grim Fandango OST – 06 – Hi-Tone Fandango, By Peter McConnell
• Diggs Nightcrawler OST – Prologue, By Jim Fowler
• Diggs Nightcrawler OST – Hood and Seek, By Jim Fowler
• Diggs Nightcrawler OST – The Nightcrawler is In, By Jim Fowler
• LA Noire OST – 05 – Minor 9th, By Andrew HaleandSimon Hale
• Grim Fandango OST – 03 – Smooth Hector, By Peter McConnell
• Diggs Nightcrawler OST – Eggs in the City, By Jim Fowler
• The Sims Soundtrack: Building Mode 5, by Jerry Martin and Marc Russo
• LA Noire OST – 08 – Noire Clarinet, By Andrew HaleandSimon Hale
• The Sims Soundtrack: Building Mode 2, by Jerry Martin and Marc Russo
• Diggs Nightcrawler OST – Diggs and the Pigs, By Jim Fowler
• Grim Fandango OST – 04 – Mr Frustration Man, By Peter McConnell
• LA Noire OST – 11 – Temptation, Part 3, By Andrew HaleandSimon Hale
• Psycho (theme), By Bernard Herman
• Diggs Nightcrawler OST – Welcome to Library City, By Jim Fowler
• LA Noire OST – 25 – Guilty, Produced and written by Stephen Coates (of The Real Tuesday Weld) and featuring the guest vocals of Claudia Brucken (of Propaganda)
• Grim Fandango OST – 01 – Casino Calavera, By Peter McConnell
• The Sims Soundtrack: Building Mode 1, by Jerry Martin and Marc Russo
• Diggs Nightcrawler OST – Table Top Jump, By Jim Fowler

Women have been composing music for video games since their inception and yet their stories can often be forgotten amongst a male-dominated industry. Today’s episode looks to focus in on a selection of women who are behind the sound we hear in video games, both past and present. From Yoko Shimomura’s iconic Street Fighter II soundtrack to the sound design by up-and-comer Em Halberstadt for the award-winning Night In The Woods, the Game Music team is looking at some of their favourite women, their influences, and the versatility of their talents. The team also poses the question, “What sort of social conditioning have these composers and designers experienced as women and have we experienced as listeners?”

Mental Health awareness has become a global topic of discussion – and the video game industry has been getting in on the conversation. In this episode, the research team explores the impact and role that music plays in video games recognized as part of the mental health conversation. From The Last of Us to Gris to Hellblade to Celeste, the Game Music 101 team looks to unpack the portrayal of mental health in these games and how – if at all – the music and sounds we hear bring us to a better understanding of this very important topic.

Music Tracks:

Gustavo Santaolalla – Main Theme, The Last Of Us soundtrack

David García Díaz, “Druth”, HellBlade: Senua’s Sacrifice soundtrack

David Garcia/Andy LaPlegua, “Fight Theme”, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice soundtrack

Berlinist, “Mae”, Gris soundtrack

Berlinist, “Pt 1 + Pt 2”, Gris soundtrack

Lena Raine, “My Dearest Friends”, Celeste soundtrack

Lena Raine, “Spirit of Hospitality”, Celeste soundtrack

Lena Raine, “First Steps”, Celeste soundtrack

Berlinist, “In Your Hands”, Gris soundtrack

David Garcia/Andy LaPlegua, “Dillion”, HellBlade: Senua’s Sacrifice soundtrack

Gustavo Santaolalla, “All Gone (Seasons)”, The Last of Us soundtrack

Toby “Radiation” Fox with FL Studio, “Megalovania”, Undertale soundtrack

Lena Raine, “Resurrections”, Celeste soundtrack

Berlinist, “Comparison”, Gris soundtrack

Berlinist, “Perseverance”, Gris soundtrack

David Garcia/Andy LaPlegua, “Fight Theme 2”, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice soundtrack

Gustavo Santaolalla, “The Quarantine Zone (20 Years Later)”, The Last of Us soundtrack

David Garcia/Andy LaPlegua, “Psych”, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice soundtrack

Lena Raine, “In the Mirror”, Celeste soundtrack

Lena Raine, “Scattered and Lost”, Celeste soundtrack

Gustavo Santaolalla, “All Gone (No Escape)”, The Last of Us soundtrack

David Garcia/Andy LaPlegua, “Just Like Sleep”, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice soundtrack

From Stardew Valley to Animal Crossing to Harvest Moon, the game genre commonly known as the “Farming Sim” often features calm, relaxing music. Farming Sims music often makes explicit reference to musical elements associated with rural environments, such as Country and Folk music styles, but also incorporate subtler elements rooted in the concept of the “pastoral”: a trope with a surprisingly long musical history! The podcast hosts will present their favourite examples of Farming Sim music, and will discuss how these songs are structured to keep the listener engaged – but not too engaged – and relaxed – but not too relaxed!

Music Tracks:

· “1AM” Animal Crossing New Leaf Music: (12:07-12:20)

· “10AM” Animal Crossing New Leaf Music: (26:22-26:41)

· “5PM” Animal Crossing Original GameCube Soundtrack: (11:54-12:07)

· Goat Simulator “8-bit Super Happy Version”: (21:29-21:49)

· Goat Simulator “Main Theme”: (2:38-3:05), (17:36-18:02), (26:57-27:21)

· Deadmau5 “Petting Zoo”: (21:53-22:09)

· Harvest Moon Back to Nature “Spring”: (6:47-7:11)

· Harvest Moon “A Wonderful Life: Breeze”: (19:48-20:14)

· Harvest Moon “Animal Parade: Summer”: (25:41-25:53)

· Harvest Moon Back to Nature “Title Theme”: (5:01-5:21)

· Harvest Moon Back to Nature “Town Theme”: (5:21-6:11), (25:55-26:18)

· Harvest Moon “Dance”: (23:35-23:59)

· Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony: (13:57-15:31)

· Stardew Valley “Distant Banjo”: (23:27-23:33)

· Stardew Valley “Fall”: (17:03-17:34)

· Stardew Valley “Spring”: (9:11-9:53), (18:38-19:13), (24:48-25:33)

· Stardew Valley “Overture”: (8:00-8:21), (16:01-16:40)

· Stardew Valley “Summer”: (8:21-9:11), (28:02-25:05)

· Stardew Valley “Winter”: (9:53-10:46)

· Story of Seasons “Spring Theme”: (4:35-4:57)

This bonus episode focuses on composer Trevor Morris’s work on DragonAge: Inquisition. Research assistants Brooke and Andrew tackle a variety of questions ranging from the controversy about switching composers mid-series, what harmonic factors distinguish the music, and how the music does (or does not) reflect Morris’s Canadian-ness.

Music Tracks (all from DragonAge: Inquisition)

· The Lost Temple: 0:29-7:32

· Dragon Age Inquisition Theme: 7:37-10:50, 14:05-17:39

· Journey to Skyhold: 10:54-11:33

· Orlais Theme: 11:39-14:03

· In Hushed Whispers: 17:39-19:22, 20:54-23:48

· Aquatic Ambience: 19:22-20:54

· The Wrath of Heaven: 23:48-25:51

· Take Me Home 25:51-26:17

Video games often take influences from real-world cultures, sometimes to reflect particular eras and locations in historically-based games, but in other cases as a ‘shortcut’ for suggesting particular cultural norms. From Nordic influences in Skyrim to Middle-Eastern instrumentation in Assassin’s Creed and The Legend of Zelda, this episode will present a number of examples. The podcasts hosts will discuss how such borrowing can give game designers a quick method to generate a rich game world, but how in the process cultural appropriation becomes a major issue.

Musical examples:

1:58: New Donk City, Super Mario Odyssey

2:31: Main Theme, Battlefield 1

3:16: City of Jerusalem, Assassin’s Creed 1

4:01: Main Theme, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

4:46: Woman’s Battalion of Death, Battlefield 1: In The Name of the Tsar DLC

5:30: Cimbalom sample, Hammered Dulcimer Family, Tim Manning Music Magic (Bohak) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFaXcvHpJwU&list=PLfxFd1oEv69SNsbTPN4qBCbf0HMv26NRL&index=5 (1:50)

6:05: Dean Shostak Plays Cristal Baschet, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVHzwdnYdEc

6:57: Tibet: Tibetan Monks – Playing Long Horn https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1_C3TLXRlI

9:18: Tostarena Ruins, Super Mario Odyssey

10:37: Polonaise, op. 53, Frederic Chopin

11:30: Nocturne in E-Flat Major, op. 9 no. 2, Frederic Chopin

12:15: Volvo Queen of the Night Commercial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRnXONCj45Q

12:44: Queen of the Night aria (“Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen”), from The Magic Flute, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

14:45: (Best Service) Voice Spectral Vol. 1 “Track 76” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U34MFcJdGCo (12:03)

16:00: City of Jerusalem, Assassin’s Creed 1

17:16: Darkness Falls in Florence, Assassin’s Creed 2

17:02: Access the Animus, Assassin’s Creed 1

17:50: Phoibe the Orphan, Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey

18:20: Gerudo Town (Night), The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

24:12: Tostarena: Town, Super Mario Odyssey

25:33: Las Alazanas, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klVe7_2UEQ8

27:28: Chaharmezrab Nava, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95amB7kUu-k

29:12: Dawn of a New Time, Battlefield 1

29:39: Zajdi, Zadji, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ob7FWkXgXkM (1:40)

30:31: The Parting Glass, Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag

35:05: Gerudo Valley, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

36:10: Gerudo Town (Day), The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

TFirst-person shooters often feature driving, pulsing music meant to propel the player onwards. However, not all games evoking war follow this model! In this podcast, the hosts will examine the music from games that evoke regret, grief, and sorrow in their attempt to create game worlds that more accurately depict the horrors of war and conflict. The hosts will examine what musical elements, including harmony, key, and instrumentation, contribute to how we hear sadness in this music.

Music Tracks:

6:25 “These Cold Days” – This War of Mine

7:42 “Round Victory Theme” – Battlefield 1

10:07 “Main Theme” – Papers, Please

10:56 “Death Theme” – Papers, Please

11:55 “Victory Theme” – Papers, Please

13:11 “Death Theme” – Papers, Please

15:26 “When the Night Comes” – This War of Mine

16:34 “Some Place We Call Home” – This War of Mine

18:07 “Markus’ Main Theme” – Detroit: Become Human

19:35 “Libera Me” – Battlefield 1

20:22 & 20:41 “Dawn of a New Time” – Battlefield 1

23:21 “Markus’ Main Theme” – Detroit: Become Human

24:30 “Connor’s Main Theme” – Detroit: Become Human

25:49 “Flight of the Pigeon” – Battlefield 1

27:39 “New World Symphony: Largo” – Antonin Dvorak

29:44 & 30:15 “Kara’s Main Theme” – Detroit: Become Human

31:45 “We Keep Going” – This War of Mine

The first episode in our podcast series will present the four hosts – Stephanie Lind (project supervisor) and undergraduate research assistants Brooke, Andrew, and Kaitlin. Stephanie will outline how video games, and more specifically their music, often reference stock concepts derived from TV, film, games, and other pop culture references – known as “tropes” in the online world and “topics” in the realm of Semiotics – in order to quickly communicate culture, gameworld, or common narrative conventions. Each podcast host will describe one of their favourite musical tropes in video game, and how that trope makes a connection between game worlds and our previous cultural experiences.

Music Credits:

· 5:04-5:15 = Cyrus’s Theme – Octopath Traveler

· 5:28-5:42 and 12:59-13:28 = Primrose’s Theme – Octopath Traveler

· 7:57-8:09 = Age of Oppression – Skyrim Soundtrack

· 9:43-10:00 = Theme from Red Dead Redemption Soundtrack

· 10:42-10:53 = Reunion – Uncharted 2 Soundtrack

· 17:59-18:08 = Dragonborn – Skyrim Soundtrack

· 21:18-21:56 = Gwyn, Lord of Cinder – Dark Souls Soundtrack