Video game music remixes to inspire you

Features

December 20, 2013

Scholars of music might not recognise videogames on the same level as the classical work of Mozart – but to us gamers, there is a deep attachment and meaning that comes with associating musical themes to the games we love.

Whether it is that aptly-timed jump in a platformer, that flick of the trigger (or mouse button) landing a perfect headshot, the ‘aha’ moment in a puzzler, it is almost always accompanied by great score that accentuates these moments.

This has inspired countless musicians to go and arrange new pieces of music based on game music. It is not creating music, but I still find there is great genius that goes into taking a game tune which only existed in blips and beeps, and create something entirely new using modern tools, whilst retaining the same essence of that original tune.

One of the most well-known sites that keeps these sort of arrangements is OCRemix.org. The site is a meeting place for musical artists to submit pieces of game music arrangements. Retro or new, from jazz to metal, Mario to Sonic, there are all kinds of remixes from a wide variety of games.

There are well-known artists, such as Danny Baranowsky who composed the music for Super Meat Boy, and has contributed pieces to games such as Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix. All music is made available for free on the website, no strings attached. It is all produced as a tribute to the games that inspired the music, and stands as a testament to the passion these artists have for the both the art of music creation and video games.

The source material that the music is based on is decidedly retro in appeal, with the likes of Call Of Duty and Battlefield games not showing up, but the original Mario Bros. tune is recognisable to a lot of gamers.

As with any music, it can be touch-and-go for some people, however there are definitely gems to be found by any game fan. Here are a select few from the top tracks listed on YouTube (searching for OC Remix), last.fm, as well as a few personal favourites.