Video Game Tracks: Nomination topic

BleuPanda · Post by **BleuPanda** » Fri Jul 10, 2015 8:15 pm

I think there's at least enough interest to try this out.

This will use a tourney system with 64 entrants, one v. one matches (unless someone has a better suggestion).

I will follow the same method used for Moderately Acclaimed Albums to decide which songs place. Anyone can submit up to their top 20 songs originating from a video game, then I'll add everyone's first places, then the seconds, etc., until we have 64 entrants.

Just to keep this simple, send me a PM with your list with the song title and the video game it originates from. Nominations are due on July 25th.

BleuPanda · Post by **BleuPanda** » Fri Jul 10, 2015 8:20 pm

I need to create a limit for myself before my list becomes overwhelmingly Square.

Trying to limit myself to a single The World Ends With You song is impossible, and probably not worth struggling with since I can't imagine the soundtrack being too popular here.

acroamor · Post by **acroamor** » Fri Jul 10, 2015 10:32 pm

Very excited for this poll! Video game music was honestly 90% of what I listened to before I discovered this site - this experience will be very nostalgic for me. Just need to make sure my list isn't 100% Legend of Zelda.

Also, it definitely wouldn't qualify for the poll, but I feel like this needs to be seen:

TimmyWing · Post by **TimmyWing** » Fri Jul 10, 2015 10:37 pm

Christ, not only is selecting just 20 tracks harder than I thought, but going through all these soundtracks is bringing back so many childhood memories at once...

Also, isn't it funny how short some of the older, classic tracks seem to be? I guess with concision even the shortest melodies could be the most memorable.

BleuPanda · Post by **BleuPanda** » Fri Jul 10, 2015 11:09 pm

I'm already trying to guess which song is most likely to win on this forum. There are a few obvious fan favorites, but who knows if they will click with non-gamers. I'm just hoping it doesn't get dominated by nostalgia, because some of the best songs are from games people have never heard of.

Nassim · Post by **Nassim** » Fri Jul 10, 2015 11:47 pm

My list will be mostly Final Fantasy VII, Jet Set Radio and Bust a Groove I think :p
I'll try to mix it up a bit...

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Sat Jul 11, 2015 1:16 pm

It seems everybody here has their own area of expertise. Mine will be mostly Nintendo related, but I'll see if I can think of other things. It's pretty difficult to find the exact naming of certain tracks.

Live in Phoenix · Post by **Live in Phoenix** » Sat Jul 11, 2015 2:42 pm

Regarding track names -- and also for a general refresher -- I looked up a video game cover band on Amazon, which in turn has given me further results under Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought...

http://www.amazon.com/Elf-Titled-Advant ... GER0F4KRRH

PlasticRam · Post by **PlasticRam** » Sat Jul 11, 2015 2:45 pm

I want to recommend Yuzo Koshiro's Bare Knuckle and Bare Nuckle II soundtracks.

BleuPanda · Post by **BleuPanda** » Sat Jul 11, 2015 2:53 pm

Bare Knuckle, huh? I'll need to make note of the games that have different titles in different regions...

"Go Straight" from the second game would probably deserve a mention, though.

BleuPanda · Post by **BleuPanda** » Sat Jul 11, 2015 3:00 pm

This list has been rather helpful for reminding me of a few favorites, figured I'd drop it here.

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/vgm/be ... tm#listing

Note that it was released in 2011, so it doesn't cover more recent years.

JimmyJazz · Post by **JimmyJazz** » Sat Jul 11, 2015 3:03 pm

BleuPanda wrote:This list has been rather helpful for reminding me of a few favorites, figured I'd drop it here.

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/vgm/be ... tm#listing

Note that it was released in 2011, so it doesn't cover more recent years.

I love that list. I discovered a lot of great retro tunes thanks to it. If only it was updated to factor into account some more recent titles, it would be pretty spot-on, I'd say.

JimmyJazz · Post by **JimmyJazz** » Sat Jul 11, 2015 3:05 pm

BleuPanda wrote:Bare Knuckle, huh? I'll need to make note of the games that have different titles in different regions...

BleuPanda · Post by **BleuPanda** » Sat Jul 11, 2015 3:12 pm

I wonder if the people participating in nominating should openly discuss our plan. I don't want certain classics being overlooked because we all assume someone else will nominate them. I'm personally limiting myself to one song per game, but I also really don't want "Dream of the Shore Bordering Another World" off Chrono Cross being forgotten. And then there's Final Fantasy VIII which has too many tracks for me to choose between...

PlasticRam · Post by **PlasticRam** » Sat Jul 11, 2015 5:22 pm

BleuPanda wrote:Bare Knuckle, huh? I'll need to make note of the games that have different titles in different regions...

"Go Straight" from the second game would probably deserve a mention, though.

Yeah actually Bare Knuckle is called Streets of Rage more commonly I guess. I don't know much about the game. Just listened to the two soundtracks cos they were highly rated on RYM.

BleuPanda · Post by **BleuPanda** » Sat Jul 11, 2015 5:24 pm

Streets of Rage 2 is an all-time classic. Unfortunately it seems the great Genesis exclusives have been largely forgotten.

Nassim · Post by **Nassim** » Sat Jul 11, 2015 6:10 pm

Are we allowed covers made especially for a game.
Thinking about Bioshock 2 soundtrack mostly :

BleuPanda · Post by **BleuPanda** » Sat Jul 11, 2015 7:14 pm

I was actually considering another cover from that very game (Will the Circle Be Unbroken), but I think it's better to not include what's already one of the most popular songs on the site in a different form.

notbrianeno · Post by **notbrianeno** » Sat Jul 11, 2015 11:09 pm

"Exile (Vilify)" by The National from the game Portal 2

BleuPanda · Post by **BleuPanda** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 12:12 am

Almost forgot about Exile Vilify. It went to the final four in unacclaimed, but how much strength will it have against the entirety of video game music? Or will it simply wipe the floor by being one of the few songs in a more familiar style?

whuntva · Post by **whuntva** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 12:27 am

notbrianeno wrote:"Exile (Vilify)" by The National from the game Portal 2

Dangit! Notbrianeno beat me. The thing is, I don't associate it entirely with Portal 2. I'm able to see it as its own entity. I could've totally nominated.

BleuPanda · Post by **BleuPanda** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 12:35 am

I remember finding "Exile (Vilify)" back when the game came out. It's seriously one of the most obscure things ever. I believe you had to find a random location in one of the mazes and it would be playing on a radio in the corner. There's no need to find this room for any reason (other than an achievement, I think?), so it's a song that's literally hidden in a single room in a video game that this forum has discovered a love for.

whuntva · Post by **whuntva** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 12:35 am

Alright, I do have one.

From probably my favorite gaming soundtrack.

Okami-The Sun Rises

BleuPanda wrote:so it's a song that's literally hidden in a single room in a video game that this forum has discovered a love for.

Not just this forum. There was even a YouTube contest for it. It has become my favorite National song mostly through its use on YouTube.

TimmyWing · Post by **TimmyWing** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 8:31 pm

A timely article from Pitchfork here: http://pitchfork.com/thepitch/837-gamin ... nt-tracks/

Pierre · Post by **Pierre** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 8:40 pm

TimmyWing wrote:A timely article from Pitchfork here: http://pitchfork.com/thepitch/837-gamin ... nt-tracks/

Lazily working on a top 20 on my side (big word, selections will probably be made on the fly when I'll have five minutes to spare for it), which will mostly feature my underdogs instead of my actual favourites (because otherwise, FFVII and VIII would fill such a top completely, and that would be unsatisfying for everyone, so I will mostly leave leave the FF series out to someone else to nominate. I'm not that afraid for the usual suspects). I like that Pitchfork supports Mirror's Edge OST, and I was hesitating on the track(s) I would include in my top. After reading this article, "The Shard" will probably be it. Thanks TimmyWing for posting!

BleuPanda · Post by **BleuPanda** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 8:45 pm

My list is finished and both JimmyJazz and acroamor have submitted theirs, and 55 unique songs have been mentioned so far.

BleuPanda · Post by **BleuPanda** » Mon Jul 13, 2015 2:18 am

We have now received a fourth list from Nassim. Also, if it's alright for me to amend the nomination process, I think I'm going to first add songs that get mentioned on multiple lists. I think a project like this would benefit from consensus favorites since it's representing an entire realm of music spanning more than 30 years.

BleuPanda · Post by **BleuPanda** » Mon Jul 13, 2015 2:05 pm

Okay, I really should have put a one song per game limit on this lists. This is going to be a really boring project if we end up with only a few games being represented...

Pierre · Post by **Pierre** » Mon Jul 13, 2015 2:22 pm

BleuPanda wrote:Okay, I really should have put a one song per game limit on this lists. This is going to be a really boring project if we end up with only a few games being represented...

I've put myself a two songs per game limit, because I feared that, and that's also why I chose to leave the Final Fantasy series out for my list. I hope to bring in some variety once my list is finished (16 songs so far, evolving nicely).

BleuPanda · Post by **BleuPanda** » Mon Jul 13, 2015 3:22 pm

Are you really going to just drop Final Fantasy? I could see limiting the whole series to two, but the series hasn't gotten that much representation so far, especially outside of VII. If you like the music from the series, you should at least include a bit of it. There's a much greater tendency toward retro music and Nintendo games so far.

Pierre · Post by **Pierre** » Mon Jul 13, 2015 3:34 pm

BleuPanda wrote:Are you really going to just drop Final Fantasy? I could see limiting the whole series to two, but the series hasn't gotten that much representation so far, especially outside of VII. If you like the music from the series, you should at least include a bit of it. There's a much greater tendency toward retro music and Nintendo games so far.

Really? I wasn't expecting that. Outside of a track from a spin-off game, I didn't include any thus far, but I might consider adding something from VI or VIII if I have room. But I already have other candidates on my plate, so I cannot guarantee I will.

BleuPanda · Post by **BleuPanda** » Mon Jul 13, 2015 6:25 pm

I have now received 7 lists from these users:
BleuPanda
JimmyJazz
acroamor
Nassim
Moonbeam
whuntva
Pierre

So far, 12 songs have been given multiple votes, which will grant them a higher spot for seeding.

BleuPanda · Post by **BleuPanda** » Thu Jul 16, 2015 11:15 pm

No new lists since Monday.

BleuPanda · Post by **BleuPanda** » Sat Jul 18, 2015 3:27 am

And now TimmyWing has submitted.

Also, now that I'm deciding to give songs with multiple mentions higher priority, should I then remove those songs from people's lists when I cycle through so that the people who rank the popular picks highly don't have their more personal favorites left out? Or just go through and skip those songs that ended up higher?

Moonbeam · Post by **Moonbeam** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 10:57 am

I think it depends on how many lists you end up getting. It'd be nice for everyone to have at least 2 songs among the 64.

BleuPanda · Post by **BleuPanda** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 3:20 pm

That seems pretty likely. With the current amount of lists, everyone is getting through their 7th tier (though that will change with the removal of songs that gain priority, but then everyone should end up with the same amount of songs in the post-priority section). Everyone who submitted so far has at least 2 matches with another list. The difference is, for example, all of my matches fall below my seventh rank while 3 of JimmyJazz's top 4 have matches. So I would end up with 7 individual songs plus the 6 or so that are featured on other lists, while JimmyJazz would only get a few songs in the non-prioritized section. My current method essentially benefits those who rank more popular songs at a lower position, which doesn't seem very fair.

Evan · Post by **Evan** » Mon Jul 20, 2015 12:57 am

This contest is nothing without these two gems from Journey:

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Tue Jul 21, 2015 11:56 am

I'm actually struggling with this. There are only four game soundtracks I actually own and know the track names of. I have been trying to listen online to some soundtracks of games I remember had good music, but distilling the best songs out of them on such short notice is hard. I don't know if I can hand in a list without being to obvious or without skewering very much toward a limited amount of games. I'll see how I feel about this come Saturday.

BleuPanda · Post by **BleuPanda** » Thu Jul 23, 2015 4:05 pm

Two and a half days remain. And remember, the list only has an upper limit. If you have a single song you really want to see make it in but don't want to bother making a list of others, go ahead and tell me that one song (the way this is set up pretty much guarantees your first few choices getting into the final bracket). Just make sure to do it in a message where you're clearly designating it as your pick.

BleuPanda · Post by **BleuPanda** » Sat Jul 25, 2015 3:51 pm

I'm closing nominations at midnight Central time, so everyone has about 13 hours left to submit.

List of participants:
acroamor
BleuPanda
JimmyJazz
Moonbeam
Nassim
Pierre
Rob
TimmyWing
whuntva

2 songs have received 4 mentions, 2 have received 3, and 13 have received 2, making 17 songs that have received multiple votes and will receive higher priority.