Music of the Games

Stanley A. Miller - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Video scores enter symphonic realm

"Guitar Hero."

"Rockband."

"Dance, Dance Revolution."

And then there are the soundtracks for epic games like "Halo," "Final Fantasy" and "Zelda."

Music is an important player in video games, and a show promises to take its role to the next level.

It's called Video Games Live, and it's a concert featuring the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra that is also part theatrical performance and part special effects and light show.

It's an event designed to appeal to anyone who enjoys music -- not just gamers, according to one of its creators.

"I have been a composer for 18 years, and I have seen the evolution of music in games from bleeps and bloops to full orchestras and choirs," said Tommy Tallarico, who founded the show with Jack Wall.

"There is all this great music, and we created Video Games Live to show the world how culturally significant and artistic video games have become," Tallarico said. "You don't have to know anything at all about games to come to the show and be blown away."

Boasting aside, the show's growth suggests success.

Video Games Live began with three performances in 2005, according to its Web site. That grew to 11 in 2006, almost 30 shows last year and about 26 already announced this year.

"What makes it unique is that it's a symphony on stage, but a symphony like you have never seen it before," Tallarico said. "The music is in sync with huge video screens" showing footage from games.

Actors appear onstage decked out as popular characters like the Master Chief from "Halo." Or a light cycle from the movie and game "Tron" might blaze across the stage.

Tallarico, who hosts the show, selects some members of the audience to play the games from which the music is playing, and the orchestra "changes music on the fly" to better suit the action on screen.

The musical selections include pieces from some of the most popular games, including "World of Warcraft" (which has more than 10 million paying subscribers), as well as "Mario" and "Civilization" games. Other games with music on the menu include "BioShock," "Metal Gear Solid, "Jade Empire," "Kingdom Hearts" and "Tomb Raider."

Video Games Live even has music and video from games that aren't released yet, including "Starcraft 2," a sequel to a game that sold millions of copies worldwide.

There is also a substantial nod to old-school games -- the "classic arcade medley" features classical music played to video from games such as "Donkey Kong," "Tetris," "Frogger" and Space Invaders."

"What we naturally found is all of the biggest and great games had the greatest music," Tallarico said. "It was part of the reason the game was so huge. We also think it is important to put things in the show people may have never played but the music was incredible. We have some obscure games that have some amazing music."

The show changes as it moves from city to city for several reasons, including the fact the producers have so much music to choose from. Video Games Live lasts for about 2 1/2 hours, comprising 20 segments, and 40 segments have been designed, so there is plenty of ways to customize the show.

Derrick Hall, 18, of Rolla, Mo., writes in his blog at the gaming Web site IGN.com that the show is "amazing." After attending Video Games Live in January at the Fox Theatre in St. Louis, he readily recommends it.

Among the pieces he enjoyed most was the theme from the World War II-themed first-person shooter "Medal of Honor" that was performed while actual war footage ran onscreen.

In addition to the show's entertainment merits, Tallarico says Video Games Live has benefited from the mainstreaming of games in modern culture. It's the kind of show a grandmother might take a grandson to see, he said, noting that Video Games Live is appropriate for all audiences.

And although the show has music from some titles with "mature" ratings from the game industry's regulatory group, the producers say the visuals displayed for those games are appropriate for family viewing.

After all, grandma might not like her grandson seeing someone's neck getting snapped in video from "Metal Gear Solid" or a prepubescent girl being man-handled in "BioShock."

There are also free activities before the show, including gaming competitions, costume contests and meet-and-greets with composers and game designers. Those game industry networking opportunities vary depending on the city.

For example, Tallarico, who spoke via phone from Orlando, Fla., late last month, noted that Electronic Arts had a large presence at the Video Games Live performance there because the publisher has a studio in that city.

It's possible that Raven Software or Human Head Studios -- both successful game companies based in Madison -- might promote themselves at Video Games Live in Milwaukee.

They've been invited, Tallarico said.

"A lot of people are trying to get into the video game industry, so it makes sense for us to have studios and publishers at the pre-show festival," he said. "The industry knows about this and loves this and helped us create it."

Attendees typically leave the event both entertained and enriched, Tallarico said. Younger viewers get exposed to a symphony experience, while older attendees appreciate the art of games.

"Gamers have grown up, and games have grown up with them," he said. "We are a very visceral, visual, interactive audience, and games have become the entertainment of choice for the 21st century."

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Copyright 2012 by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel