Comment by InclinedPlane
16 years ago
It's more than that I think. 8-bit music began as a poor, low-fi imitation of existing music forms for electronic games, because it was all that was possible given the hardware of the time. 8-bit music has been rediscovered by enthusiasts and independent artists, initially due to nostalgia, and that has led to a lot of innovation, exploration, and discovery. Discovery that 8-bit music doesn't have to be merely an imitation of something else any more than a synthesizer has to imitate a piano or an electric guitar has to imitate an acoustic guitar.
"Innovation, exploration and discovery" were all rampant in the 80-es, especially on European C64 games. Some examples of music that uses the unique noises of the SID chip instead of only imitating existing instruments:
- Arkanoid (Martin Galway): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtcnDPDdtLg
- Gianna Sisters (Chris Hülsbeck): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGxX3lTnHh8
- Commando (Rob Hubbard): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrQuR1LHAVI
- Crazy Comets (Rob Hubbard): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbQoQFLM_1s
As I mentioned in another post, the problem with innovation within the industry is that as hardware evolved 8-bit sound was abandoned. Game studios moved on, thinking that 8-bit sound was primitive, outdated, and obsolete. Whatever innovation had existed had to be rediscovered by musicians later.
i think perhaps game studios moved on to 16-bit sound as the platforms evolved from using on board sound synthesis chips to sampled, real world sounds, because it became available. a similar dichotomy can be found in the analog synthesis; when digital technology was coming into vogue with manufacturers, analog had ceased to be the most cutting edge technology, but was by no means dead or obsolete.
another problem with game console sound is the long development time needed to get an actual computer chip ready for market; the curtis CEM series of sound-makers were excellent and widely used but had a hard time competing with something that could be altered or upgraded in software. they're still used in some new gear being made today, but no new console would dream of using one.
i don't see how hardware evolution was 'a problem with innovation', i view the trend as more of the nostalgism that is coming around these days.
Well hang on a sec, I'm sure the original composers also worked this out, they were working with 8 bit sounds for years and years.
Worked what out exactly? 8-bit sounds were very much tied to the idea of translating music and sound effects, and not of developing novel music or techniques. Though some degree of innovation did occur, as technology advanced the gaming industry left behind 8-bit sounds, moving to more advanced wave-table MIDI synthesis, CD-ROM audio, etc, abandoning the 8-bit sounds as outdated and limited.
How many games on the SNES or on CD-ROM used 8-bit soundtracks? It was only later when 8-bit sound was sought after as a musical form on its own, for its own aesthetics and nature, that it flourished as an art independent of the need to imitate.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zK4Hdy9wWl4