"I never knew video games were this amazing!"
Jack Wall hears that a lot. As conductor of Video Games Live, a concert series devoted entirely to video games, Wall meets dozens of smiling parents after his performances, each thanking him for putting on a symphony event that actually interests both them and their children. The kids love to hear live performances of songs from their favorite games, and parents are blown away to find many of the songs are classically-inspired, feature Latin choruses, and accompany movie-like scenes filled with emotion and drama.
It should be easy for anyone familiar with the subject matter to see why parents are so surprised by these performances. They never knew video games were so amazing, because they aren't as amazing as Video Games Live presents them to be.
Don't get me wrong. The performances in Video Games Live are fantastic. Event co-creator, host, and lead-guitarist Tommy Tallarico isn't lying when he describes it as having all the power and emotion of a symphony orchestra combined with all the energy and excitement of a rock concert.
The latest Video Games Live concert, Level 2, begins with the strings interpreting the monotone bloops and bleeps of Pong as short chords before launching into an energetic medley of classic arcade games like Dragon's Lair and Tetris. It then transitions to the memorable Halo chant. Choir members dressed as monks holding candles take the stage. Cutscenes displayed on three large screens above the stage relay the plot of the Halo trilogy. Next, two singers perform an amazing duet of Baba Yetu from Civilzation 4. Later, Tommy shreds electric guitar to the progressive rock-inspired themes of early Mega Man games while smoke and light effects dazzle the audience.
It's all very impressive, covering a wide variety of game and music genres with a wide variety of instruments, vocalists, and stage effects. Unfortunately, it's this over-the-top presentation that leads the less initiated to believe video games are something quite different than they are. Wall and Tallarico boast throughout show about how they're increasing the awareness and appreciation of video games among gamers and non-gamers alike, but they do this by combining the majority of their compositions with visuals from non-interactive cutscenes. The result is hardly representative of the video games being honored.
Is Advent Rising a poorly rendered movie about aliens and space gods? The audience has no idea because all they see are dramatic clips, pieced together to look like a movie preview while a woman serenades the audience in Latin. Do you play as some little monster trying to survive on a deserted island in Myst? It sure looks that way during the performance. Is World of Warcraft some kind of CG Lord of the Rings sequel? It's certainly not the game I thought it was according to Video Games Live's presentation. Where are all the players interacting in a huge virtual world? All I see are polished characters looking serious and dramatic.
It's not all confusion, though. Video Games Live does an excellent job portraying games that pre-date detailed cutscenes and elaborate stories. The show presents classics like Sonic the Hedgehog, Mega Man, and Castlevania as the simple yet fun and exciting games they are. That's probably because the actual games have few cutscenes to display, leaving Video Games Live with little more than pure gameplay to present. Thankfully, these visuals combine with the melody-driven themes of each game to create a powerful and exciting atmosphere that fills you with the urge to foil Dr. Wily's plans once again or to storm Dracula's castle with renewed enthusiasm.
The non-gamers might be impressed to learn that video games have become beautiful, elaborate productions with the potential to tell stories unlike any other medium, but they'll only be let down when they finally work up the courage to give it a try. Who could blame them? Civilization isn't some uplifting tale of humanity. It's you living out a power fantasy and telling yourself "just one more turn" as your girlfriend grows increasingly impatient. God of War isn't a Greek tragedy rivaling epic poems. It's an epic beat 'em up. Both are incredibly fun and masterpieces in their own way, just not in the way Video Games Live presents them.
The performances look and sound great, but they're rarely indicative of an actual video game experience, which is too bad considering video games are already capable of so much fun and excitement on their own.