Once a simplistic background noise to gaming, video game music has become a vitally important feature of any new title. And with its increase in both complexity and popularity, the influential Ivor Novello music awards have added a gaming category to recognise composers working in this sector.
Won previously by Sir John Tavener and Sir Paul McCartney, Ivor Novello’s new best original video game score will recognise the increased sophistication of tracks. And with video game scores now readily available to buy on CD, and a Video Games Live concert featuring tracks from World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy, selling 500,000 tickets, the industry is also showing that it can create its own new source of revenue for the music sector.
Ivors committee member Mark Fishlock explained “The Ivors has always sought to reflect the ever-changing world of song writing and composing. The video games market has matured beyond recognition and big budget orchestral scores are regularly being commissioned. Writing music for games also requires a number of specialist skills compared with conventional film scoring, such as non-linear and multi-layered composition.”
Responding positively to the news, London-based composer Richard Jacques who wrote the Headhunter gaming soundtrack said “This shows gaming music is coming of age. A good score has the same quality as a film soundtrack. But it’s very different because in games you are creating a musical dynamic that pre-empts the story and reacts to what the characters are doing.”
The first Novello awards incorporating the new category will be held this May, with the committee current looking for entrants whose scores were released commercially in 2009.
