Somewhere around my 100th listen to the Tropical Freeze soundtrack, I started thinking about how game music has conditioned me to enjoy types of music I’d otherwise shrug off. Banjos, harmonized chants and even oboe solos were never on my list of ‘music I’d ever listen to,’ but thanks to VGM I’ve learned that hey, this stuff is great and I shouldn’t write off any instrument or genre.
Right around the time I had this (personal) revelation, Patrick “Breath of Fire and VGdrum guy” Kulikowski reached out and asked what kind of VGM panel might work for PAX East. I rambled about my recent discovery, and he then took that idea and grew it into the packed-house panel you see before you.
Gotta say, I was stunned at the capacity crowd, the literal hundreds turned away and the amazing panelists with whom I shared a stage. I’ve been on many panels, but this was pretty special. It’s always reassuring to know there are thousands of people who appreciate something just as much – or more – than you do, and that this thing you love won’t be slipping through the cracks anytime soon.
Patrick raises lots of good questions in this video, namely:
-What IS video game music?
-Why do we like it so much?
-Is video game music still niche?
-Does our nostalgia for VGM blind us?
-And more!
Give ‘er a listen / watch and lemme know whatca think in the comments. And shoutouts to the panelists!
Larry Oji (OC ReMix)
Amanda Lepre (Descendants of Erdrick)
Alyssa Menes (Freelance Composer)
Shota Nakama (Video Game Orchestra)
Brett, you are the $#!t. As they said in inner cities everywhere circa 1992, I give you mad props. I wish I could have seen a glimpse of that crowd.
Funny, as pumped as the crowd was, and as awesome as it was watching it, I still felt like a nerd playing it around my electrician co-workers……but given that I am a nerd, I don’t know what I should have been expecting. 🙂
We’re all nerdy nerds nerding it up, but as Larry said during the panel, that ain’t a bad thing! 🙂 Thanks for watching!
Unfortunately it’s way easier to hear the little girl right next to the camera and the phone cameras going off all the time than the panel. It’s nice to hear something interesting when we can, though.
Wow I didn’t evne know this happened at PAX. Now I’m really bummed that I missed.
Glad to see that VG music is alive and well at PAX and not just MAGfest.
Speakingof which… VGMpire needs a MAGfest panel.