The Greatest Game Music

Reviews of truly outstanding game music

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Dune Soundtrack (PC)

Dune Soundtrack

Dune Soundtrack (PC), Stéphane Picq, 1992

It feels like early media adaptations of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi epic Dune were doomed to run into equally epic troubles during their production. There’s, of course, the convoluted story of how Dune finally reached cinema screens in 1984 after more than a decade of failed attempts, only to disappoint at the box office and alienate its director. The first video game adaptation of Dune equally struggled to actually see the light of day – to the point where publisher Virgin Games cancelled the game (and launched the development of what would become Dune II), only to find out later that Cryo Interactive had secretly continued work on Dune. Thankfully, there was a happy ending to the story. Due to its innovative mix of adventure and strategy elements, Dune became a commercial hit, with 300,000 units sold by 1997, paving the way for Cryo’s expansion and prolific output throughout the 1990s.

In their assessments, contemporary reviewers put unusual emphasis on Stéphane Picq’s soundtrack for Dune. Picq’s work soon became part of game music history when Virgin Records released an arrange album titled Dune – Spice Opera. At this point in time, album releases of Western game music were nearly unheard of, so for a European game soundtrack to receive an arrange album was entirely unexpected. The work left its mark – when online game music criticism started to pop up in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Dune – Spice Opera garnered rave reviews for its unusual and creative aesthetics. It remains a fan favourite, its official release in Europe making it one of the first pieces of game music available for purchase by budding fans of the art form.

Thankfully, it is not just the arrange album that deserves such high accolades, but the source material itself is worthy of praise. Picq had been writing scores for several French PC games since 1988, making his debut for Cryo Interactive in 1990 on the company’s first game Extase. Dune was doubtlessly his breakthrough work, heralding him as an exciting new voice in game music (a reputation he would uphold on future works for Cryo).

Dune Soundtrack

His vision for the planet of Dune is far more psychedelic and less militaristic than that of Frank Klepacki and other composers on future franchise scores. What Picq creates is remarkably similar to what Frank Herbert achieved with Dune. More than any other work of science fiction before it, Dune conjured up a believable fictional world in all its complexity, described in painstaking detail. Similarly, Picq devises a soundtrack that takes its cues from existing (musical) cultures but then twists these into something unique – authentic world music (if the term is permitted here) for an imaginary planet.

Consequently, the Dune soundtrack is an exceedingly skilful combination of contrasts. Familiar electronic sci-fi soundscapes mesh with acoustic elements in calmly monolithic compositions. Their gently surreal nature aspires to the same kind of mysticism that Herbert used to heighten the book’s narrative scope and impact (the word “Opera” in the arrange album’s title is no accident, such is the music’s breadth). It’s tempting to say Dune’s woozy nature is only the natural result of a work whose story ultimately hinges upon the harvesting of a drug. However trippy the music may be though, it harnesses its heady inclinations to concoct compositions that are both spiritualistic and earthy.

The Dune soundtrack’s best demonstration of these qualities is “Chani’s Eyes”. The cue distils the score’s minimalist, yet tonally rich brand of synth ostinati, chiming melody fragments and synth interpretations of middle-eastern music into an entrancing example of Picq’s unique soundscapes. Crystallising the soundtrack’s undercurrent of melancholia and freezing it in time, “Chani’s Eyes” is the score’s calmest composition and truly a trip into outer space. On the other end of the spectrum we find “Free Men”. Now the music turns into a colourful, quirky tapestry of musical activity, including wooden percussion, flutes and a mysterious harpsichord-like melody. The whole construct is held aloft by synth ostinati that take unpredictable harmonic turns, fraying at the edges in the unforgiving desert heat. Again, Picq takes recognisably terrestrial music styles and adds just enough sci-fi synths to tweak them into something alien, yet still embracing.

Dune Soundtrack

It’s this intermingling of technology and ancient tradition, set to unusually languid tempi, that sets the Dune soundtrack apart from so many other 1990s sci-fi video game scores, at times evoking the now retro-futuristic mood of 70s prog rock. “Opening” sets the score’s peculiar mood early on. Both futuristic and warm, its organ-like opening chords give way to irregular, full-bodied electronic (heart)beats, wooden percussion and harsher synths that subtly shift from interrupting the almost religious atmosphere to finally complementing it. Music fit for an extraterrestrial cathedral, “Opening” establishes both the soundtrack’s drifting atmosphere and its immense scale.

Like a prayer, the music’s import isn’t diminished by its understated nature – and so a track like “Dune (Variation)” requires no overt sonic bombast to achieve grandeur. Underscoring the Arrakis palace, the cue feels appropriately weightier than other pieces, but that’s solely due to its heightened sense of foreboding and wistfulness, conscious of the expectations placed upon Paul Atreides as heir to the throne. Synth pads and melodies feel more yearning than usual before a flute solo’s lonesome nature drives home the point and effectively contrasts with the lusher synth sounds.

For a game that’s ultimately about conquering a planet, the Dune soundtrack doesn’t deliver much in terms of outright action music, but it’s not without more pressing moments. “Too” carries a greater sense of urgency in its mix of wooden and electronic ostinati, while a four-note synth melody underscores scouring the endless deserts of Dune in solitude. Suddenly, silvery arpeggios turn those endless dunes into an unexpectedly magical place, contrasting brilliantly with the arid atmosphere of the track’s A section.

World map theme “Wake Up” is the closest that Picq comes to writing a march on this score. He steadfastly builds the cue over snare drums and electric bass rhythms into a composition that encompasses both the constant onward drive of conquest and the sheer majesty of gazing from above at a vast world. It’s a sensation that the music communicates far better than the game’s visuals. Indeed, as far as sci-fi game soundtracks go, few have evoked the enticing spell of living in another world as potently as Dune.

Conversation notes

Many of Dune’s ports ultimately didn’t eventuate, leaving only versions for the Amiga and the Sega CD. The Amiga port only includes three tracks, making it an inferior option by default – even though it includes a piece exclusive to this version (“Ecolove” – solid, but not a standout cue).

One might assume that the Sega CD port would fall back on the Red Book audio tracks from the Dune – Spice Opera arrange album, but that’s not the case. Instead, the game sticks to the original PC compositions, arranging them for the Sega Genesis’ YM2612 sound chip. The result is clearer and more forceful than what’s heard on the Ad Lib sound card version of Dune, which is most commonly referenced. However – as with the score’s Roland MT-32 version – more realistic and booming renditions don’t benefit music that thrives on its dream-like, hazy nature. As a result, Picq’s score feels heavy-handed and lacks that diffuse, all-enveloping ambience when rendered on a Roland MT-32 sound card or the Sega CD.

  1. 01 - Sign Of The Worm (Opening) Picq, Stéphane 2:52
  2. 02 - Spice Opera (Introduction) Picq, Stéphane 6:33
  3. 03 - Dune (Variation) (Arrakeen Palace) Picq, Stéphane 5:47
  4. 04 - Too (Ornithopter) Picq, Stéphane 2:18
  5. 05 - Wake Up (Map Of Arrakis) Picq, Stéphane 3:32
  6. 06 - Free Men (Ergsun Sietch) Picq, Stéphane 3:09
  7. 07 - Chani's Eyes Picq, Stéphane 4:57

Tagged With: 1992, Cryo Interactive, Dune (Franchise), Electronic, PC, Simulation/Strategy, Stéphane Picq

Emperor: Battle for Dune Soundtrack

Emperor: Battle for Dune Soundtrack

Emperor: Battle for Dune Soundtrack, David Arkenstone / Frank Klepacki / Jarrid Mendelson, 2001

While Westwood Studios’ Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty wasn’t the first real-time strategy game, it codified many of the genre’s conventions and kicked off its 1990s boom era – epitomised by Westwood’s own Command & Conquer juggernaut. So in some ways, it seemed fitting that 2001’s Emperor: Battle for Dune, Westwood’s third Dune game, was poised to break new ground again as the developer’s first 3D RTS title – or was it? Ultimately, Battle for Dune met with favourable feedback from reviewers and gamers, but few would have hailed it as anything more than a solid entry in a genre that was getting very crowded. Ultimately, Battle for Dune became Westwood’s final RTS game – not a revolution, but rather a bookend then to the developer’s pioneering work.

Things were more interesting on the music side of things. Emperor: Battle for Dune featured the same three factions as Dune 2000 had a few years earlier: House Atreides, Harkonnen or Ordos (the latter a non-canon addition to the Dune universe which allowed the developers to add some variety to their games). And as on Dune 2000 – and of course the Command & Conquer titles – RTS game music superstar Frank Klepacki was drafted to write the soundtrack. However, this time Westwood requested a distinct style of music for each house. That effectively tripled the workload, so Klepacki brought in additional composers he had worked with in the past – David Arkenstone and Jarrid Mendelson. Arkenstone had collaborated with Klepacki on Lands of Lore: Guardians of Destiny and Lands of Lore III, while Mendelson had made crucial contributions to one of the Command & Conquer franchise’s most unusual entries – Tiberian Sun.

With the composers working independently from each other (apart from copies of Klepacki’s previous Dune scores for inspiration), the result was a massive three-hour soundtrack, each faction receiving one hour of characteristic music. Klepacki scored House Atreides with relatively straightforward (synth)orchestral, cinematic fare – no genre mash-ups à la Command & Conquer to be found here. Meanwhile, Arkenstone concocted a more aggressive, hard rock/metal music style for the Harkonnen – surprising fans of his gentler, fantasy-themed works. While their approaches differed, neither composer managed to distinguish their music from similar game scores, trading in genre stereotypes that couldn’t carry the fairly lengthy compositions. Ultimately, Mendelson brought the most creativity to this assignment – maybe helped by the characterisation of House Ordos as treacherous strategists whose music required a “strange, out-of-this-world alienness”, according to an IGN piece on the Emperor: Battle for Dune soundtrack.

Emperor: Battle for Dune Soundtrack

Mendelson had already proven his compositional abilities on Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun. But while that 1999 score was an all-electronic affair just like Mendelson’s portion of the Emperor: Battle for Dune soundtrack, the latter game still sees the composer taking a different tack. Tiberian Sun surprised with its masterclass in understated writing that oozed an ambience heavy with dread and paranoia. Battle for Dune takes a more traditional approach for an action-heavy RTS game, while still yielding creative and surprising results.

In short: Mendelson deploys a consistently maximalist formula here, penning densely layered electronic compositions that can be outright bracing in their intensity, irregular beats and liberal use of dissonances. The outcome is music that feels both suitably grand for a war game, yet edgy and unsettling enough to tweak genre conventions. It does not make for easy listening – but it’s also the first franchise soundtrack since Stéphane Picq’s Dune to come up with a musical underscore that’s fittingly creative to capture the otherworldly nature of Dune. Mendelson’s music certainly creates that “out-of-this-world alienness” he had been asked to conjure. Picq’s work had evoked rich moods that one may describe in similar terms, but Mendelson’s compositions express that kind of atmosphere through far more aggressive music.

The Emperor: Battle for Dune soundtrack’s most brazen compositions kick off Mendelson’s section of the score. “Not an Option” is a mutant march thanks to pounding beats backing twitchy melody fragments that nervously oscillate through Dune’s night skies. The cue’s martial disposition is tempered through calmer sections that still vibrate with nervous tension, as well as foreboding synth leads.

Emperor: Battle for Dune Soundtrack

Mendelson’s knack for astonishingly intricate, ever-changing electronic layers is as apparent here as on whirlwind “The Strategist”. A grating, circular melody lead winds its way past distorted bass pads and hyperactively buzzing electronics, turning the cue into gaming’s most elaborate crisis track thanks to the melody’s alarm-like nature. Despite its industrial groove, fierce dissonances and the endlessly repeating lead leave the cue continually teetering on the brink of implosion. As it piles up a staggering amount of ideas and musical details, “The Strategist” seemingly effortlessly achieves the epic effect that Klepacki and Arkenstone’s music strains for, while never remotely succumbing to cliché.

Other tracks are less hyper-charged, more concerned with underscoring the Ordos’ weirdly techno-ethereal, icy nature, as well as their calculated, machine-like approach. A trio of compositions – “House Ordos”, “Ghola” and “Executronic” – open up huge cavernous spaces, filled with gigantic, glistening machines whose myriads of gears relentlessly grind against each other. As on Tiberian Sun, Mendelson’s handling of atmosphere here is masterful. He achieves a fascinating sense of eerie beauty and splendour, while tantalisingly keeping the alien objects inspiring such awe out of reach – witness how “Executronic”’s majestic portions repeatedly relapse into experimental beats. Later on, “Dream of the Executrix” turns these compositions’ surreal mood into an outright nightmare, mixing in chopped up, screaming electric guitars into the cue’s tapestry of uneasily meshing electronics.

Of course, the Emperor: Battle for Dune soundtrack doesn’t stray too far from the battlefield, but as you would imagine, Mendelson doesn’t deliver straightforward battle cries. A cue like “Deception” advances methodically and with unsettling determination, while the whiplash transitions of “Sabotage” maintain the score’s constant feeling of threat amidst the quirkiness of its manifold layers. “A Plan of Attack” features a surprisingly lean arrangement, built almost entirely around the track’s knotty rhythms, while “Ordos Control” and “The Specimen” trade displays of firepower for a hauntingly atmospheric pull. And when Mendelson finally does pen a war anthem with “Infiltrators”, its rhythmic choral synths, pounding drums and anthemic beats are still interrupted by the score’s most mumbling, minimalist interlude. In Mendelson’s capable hands, Battle for Dune turns into an unpredictable descent into a dream-like, raging underworld of innovative game music electronica.

  1. 01 - Not an Option Mendelson, Jarrid 3:53
  2. 02 - The Strategist Mendelson, Jarrid 4:11
  3. 03 - House Ordos Mendelson, Jarrid 3:56
  4. 04 - Ghola Mendelson, Jarrid 3:48
  5. 05 - Executronic Mendelson, Jarrid 3:46
  6. 06 - Deception Mendelson, Jarrid 4:25
  7. 07 - Sabotage Mendelson, Jarrid 4:20
  8. 08 - Dream of the Executrix Mendelson, Jarrid 4:22
  9. 09 - A Plan of Attack Mendelson, Jarrid 3:59
  10. 10 - Ordos Control Mendelson, Jarrid 4:58
  11. 11 - The Specimen Mendelson, Jarrid 5:07
  12. 12 - Infiltrators Mendelson, Jarrid 4:29

Tagged With: 2001, David Arkenstone, Dune (Franchise), Electronic, Frank Klepacki, Jarrid Mendelson, PC, Simulation/Strategy, Westwood Studios

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