Music has been associated with games for millennia with
fighting songs and victory anthems. Music has also played a key role in video games.
Particularly as technical advances have enabled video games to include whole
symphonic music, classical pieces have been incorporated (and public domain
status has also helped in terms of copyright and royalties). Especially as San
Diego Comic-Con is happening, now is a good time to sample classical piano pieces
that have been used in video games. Even Tomoko might be surprised at the ways
that her favorite composers have been integrated into this recent game format.
Starting with the obvious, Eternal Sonata is an RPG (role-playing games) about a
composer’s life, its premise being Chopin’s dying dream. Among the pieces
featured in this game is a remixed version of Chopin’s “Revolutionary” etude,
Opus 10, no. 12 in C minor, used in the game’s final battle scene.
Another natural use of classical music is experienced in the
video game franchise Civilization. Ever since the first game in 1991, famous
classical pieces have served as thematic ties for events and leaders. Pieces
range from Gregorian chants to Romantic Age compositions by Brahms, Dvorak and
Saint-Saens to underscore the historic period.
On the other hand, Debussy is probably not the first name
that comes to mind, particularly for sinister games. Nevertheless, his Claire
de Lune is featured in the game The Evil Within. The piece is used as
a counter to horror, reassuring the player that safety is nearby.
Speaking of dark games, Schubert’s “Ave Maria” (aka “Ellen’s
Third Song” from Seven Songs from Walter Scott’s The Lady of the Lake) starts
the game Hitman: Blood Money. Its peaceful tone is almost an ironic counterpoint
to this violent game.
On a more positive note, Mozart and Bioshock? 2013’s Bioshock
Infinite includes a visit to a Hall of Heroes memorial, which mood is
accentuated with a section from Mozart’s Requiem in D minor.
Disney characters rule in the game Kingdom Hearts. It’s
not surprising, then, that the game’s music would draw from Disney’s movie
Fantasia, specifically Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain.
Speaking of kingdoms, in the game Earthworm Jim 2,
the main character must save the princess from an archvillain. Beethoven’s third movement rondo “Moonlight”
from his Piano Sonata no. 14 in C# minor plays in the background. The sonata’s
first movement underscores Jim’s floating through a creature’s intestine. This
sonata may never feel the same after that experience.
The game Grand Theft Auto III uses a clever ploy: the
car’s classical music radio state, complete with a parodied culture vulture DJ.
The player drives around creating chaos, accompanied by background music from Le
Nozze di Figaro, La Traviata, Lucia di Lammermoor, Rigoletto, and Don
Giovanni.
You never know where classical music will pop up; it’s that
popular.
