May 202012
I just watched a friend do a solo vocal performance (w/piano accompaniment). She was very talented, the lyrics were great, and the whole thing was awesome. BUT: The raw emotion conveyed by her voice, and even just her breathing patterns, absolutely floored me. The rest of the song *could* have been rubbish, and the emotion still would have carried it.
She got a standing ovation that was so, so long even I started feeling uncomfortable, just standing in the audience.
So my question is: Is it possible to capture this same feeling in a game?
This is definitely the kind of work I want to be doing. It just seems so distant from me right now…
2 Responses to “Capturing Emotion”
Comments (2)
You just described Shadow of the Colossus and its ilk.
I think this is a question of niche development. Some games work well by appealing to a small audience, but to that audience they are incredible. Realistically, I don’t think it is possible to get the emotional kick while trying to appeal to a broad audience; the game has to be built around powerful concepts and have every aspect build upon those.
Yes, this is possible in indie development.
The original Legend of Zelda theme played in 8 bit, with no vocal accompaniment was able to get an emotional response from me. I felt so awesome pulling out that wooden sword and venturing into the desert. The castle level music from Super Mario brothers made me feel actual anxiety about losing those 2 remaining lives.
The developers then did not have the resources we have now for music in games, so I fervently believe the opportunity exists for independent developers to use music to evoke emotional responses.