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All modern computers have the ability to play high-quality digital sound, thanks to the presence of a dedicated sound card or an audio chip on the motherboard. Today’s computers produce lifelike, realistic audio, enabling us to listen to digital music collections, watch online videos and play action-packed games. However, the audio capabilities of today’s computers are the culmination of decades of development, and it took a significant contribution from the computer game industry to get us here. Without that contribution, anyone who isn’t a professional musician might still be listening to little more than beeps on his or her computer today. Table of Contents - 1981: PC Speaker - 1984: IBM PCjr and Tandy 1000 - 1987: AdLib Music Synthesizer - 1987: Roland MT-32 - 1988: Creative Music Systems Game Blaster - 1989: Creative Labs Sound Blaster - 1991: Roland Sound Canvas SC-55 - 1992: Gravis UltraSound - 1992: Creative Labs Sound Blaster 16 - 1994: Creative Labs Sound Blaster AWE32 - 1997-Present: Modern Sound Cards - Sound in Non-IBM Computers, Notes and Special Thanks If you had an IBM PC computer or a 100-percent compatible clone between 1981-1988, you were most likely listening to — or cutting the wires of — your computer’s internal speaker. The PC speaker was solely a rudimentary tone generator. It played one note at a time, didn’t have different instruments for composers to choose from and even lacked volume control. As a result, music played on the PC speaker tended to sound tinny and grating. Composers could get around these problems by varying the pitch of a note slightly to create vibrato and playing fast arpeggios to simulate the sound of multiple notes being played simultaneously. By playing short “blips” between notes — short low-pitched sounds in the middle of a longer, high-pitched sound, for example — it was possible to simulate percussion. However, most PC speaker music didn’t have this much effort put into it; game music from this era often sounded rather monotonous. Through a clever hack, some computer games from the late ’80s actually played 6-bit digital sound through the PC speaker. However, this technology was used in few games because it was difficult to play digital sound through the speaker without sacrificing speed. When sound cards began to drop in price, the digital sound hack became irrelevant. Listen to the PC Speaker Composed by Nobuyuki Aoshima, Mecano Associates, Hibiki Godai, Fumihito Kasatani and Hiromi Ohba. Developed by Game Arts and published by Sierra On-Line. This piece from the Silpheed soundtrack illustrates the technique most composers used when writing music for the PC speaker; the speaker plays the main melody only, and no tricks are used to simulate rhythm or accompaniment. J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, Vol. Composed by Charles Deenen and Kurt Heiden. Developed by Interplay and published by Electronic Arts. By toggling rapidly between different notes, the theme from Interplay’s The Lord of the Rings creates the impression of up to four voices playing simultaneously from the PC speaker. Composed by Michel Winogradoff. Developed and published by Loricels. Hearing digital samples from an IBM-compatible computer before the release of the Sound Blaster was quite a novelty. Because of space limitations — Space Racer shipped on just one 5.25-inch floppy diskette — each sample is stored on the disk only once. The song is played by triggering the samples in a specific order. Will Harvey’s Music Construction Set (1984) Unknown composer. Developed and published by Electronic Arts. Music Construction Set accomplished the seemingly impossible by playing four simultaneous voices with no audible toggling. Although the voices have a bit of a “fuzzy” quality, you can clearly hear the details of the composition. Unknown composer. Developed by Byron Preiss Video Productions and published by Telarium. While PCjr and Tandy 1000 owners were treated to a wonderful three-voice opening theme when playing Rendezvous With Rama, the PC speaker version of the theme switches confusingly from one “instrument” to another in an attempt to create the same effect. 1984: IBM PCjr and Tandy 1000 The PCjr was released by IBM in 1984 as an attempt to provide better competition for Apple in the home computer market. The PCjr included features designed to appeal to home users, such as an infrared wireless keyboard, cartridge slots and expansion hardware that could be installed without opening the computer. More importantly, the PCjr featured enhanced graphics and a sound chip that could play three voices simultaneously rather than the one voice of the original IBM PC. IBM contacted the game company Sierra On-Line, asking them to design a game that would show off the enhanced graphics and sound of the PCjr. The result was King’s Quest. The game became an enormous hit, saving Sierra from a failed investment in cartridge-based games just before the video game crash of 1983 and spawning a series that lasted 14 years. Some of IBM’s design decisions for the PCjr were poor ones, and the computer ultimately failed. However, Radio Shack’s Tandy 1000 — an IBM-compatible computer with the same video and sound capabilities as the PCjr — was a big seller. IBM still set the computing standard at that point, and since the PCjr wasn’t a success, not all games took advantage of the Tandy 1000’s advanced sound capabilities. Those that did provided a significantly better audio experience on the Tandy 1000 than they did on the IBM PC. Listen to the Tandy 1000 Silpheed (1988) Although the sound chip of the Tandy 1000 lacked an effects channel for percussion, the three-voice polyphony made it possible to construct a full piece of music with melody, harmony and bass. The Tandy 1000 version of the Silpheed soundtrack was a significant improvement over the PC speaker version. Rendezvous With Rama (1984) The Tandy 1000 version of the introduction piece for Rendezvous With Rama conveys the full effect of what the composer intended, while the PC speaker version could only “fake” it by switching from voice to voice. Because the quality of PC game music was generally rather low in the early ’80s, hearing such a complex piece at the beginning of a game was a real treat. Music Construction Set (1984) The PC speaker version of Music Construction Set was done so well that the difference between it and the Tandy 1000 version isn’t quite “night and day” as it is with some other games. However, because the Tandy 1000 could play multiple voices without tricks, the tones do sound less “fuzzy.” Composed by Hibiki Godai. Developed by Game Arts and published by Sierra On-Line. Thexder, the pinnacle of PC action gaming in 1987. features an appropriately energetic soundtrack that makes use of arpeggios to suggest chord changes. If the music sounds familiar to you, it may have something to do with the fact that Hibiki Godai also contributed to the Silpheed soundtrack. 1987: AdLib Music Synthesizer A few different sound cards were available to purchase in 1987, but few people other than professional musicians were aware of them. Sierra On-Line became a driving force in the evolution of computer sound again, approaching AdLib and Roland about putting together bundles of their products — the AdLib Music Synthesizer card and Roland MT-32 sound module — for Sierra to market. Sierra then hired professional musicians such as William Goldstein (Fame) and Bob Siebenberg (Supertramp) to compose soundtracks supporting these devices for their upcoming games. Sierra also mailed letters and demonstration cassettes to its customers to promote the AdLib and Roland MT-32, and the consumer sound card market was born. Although the Roland MT-32 was a far better synthesizer, it was the AdLib Music Synthesizer card that would set the standard in PC audio for the next few years — mostly due to its lower price tag. The AdLib cost $200, making it far more affordable than the $550 MT-32 ($1,053 in 2012 dollars). The AdLib generated music with a Yamaha YM3812 chip, which produced sound through FM synthesis. The YM3812 was also known as the FM Operator Type-L 2 or OPL2 chip; it could play up to nine voices simultaneously and produced tones by manipulating waveforms such as sine and half-sine waves. The sound quality was not unlike that of the inexpensive Japanese keyboards that many families had stashed under their couches in the late ’80s. The AdLib lacked the ability to produce true stereo audio or play digital sound samples of any kind. Nevertheless, it could produce rich, full sounds in the hands of skilled composers, as demonstrated by some of the samples below. Its primary shortcoming stemmed from the fact that many game music composers focused most of their efforts on high-end MIDI hardware such as the Roland MT-32 and Sound Canvas SC-55. In converting these soundtracks for the AdLib, little time was spent tweaking the music to highlight the AdLib’s strengths. Some of the best AdLib music was composed by demoscene members and shareware game companies, perhaps because their smaller budgets made purchasing the expensive Roland hardware impossible. Listen to the AdLib Silpheed (1988) Although music produced by the AdLib may sound primitive by today’s standards, the AdLib version of the Silpheed soundtrack is a dramatic upgrade over the PC speaker version. This piece features percussion, synthesized brass, bass and bells. The Alibi (1992) The Alibi was originally composed for the Commodore 64 by Thomas E. Petersen (“Laxity”) and converted to the AdLib by Jens-Christian Huus (“LCH”). Both were members of the computer music group Vibrants. The Alibi features rich bass and makes full use of the AdLib’s capabilities. using techniques such as vibrato and ADSR envelopes for a more expressive sound. Traffic Department 2192 (1994) Composed by Robert A. Allen and Owen Pallett. Developed by P Squared and published by Safari Software. Traffic Department 2192 supported only PC speaker and AdLib/Sound Blaster sound, possibly because the composer didn’t have access to high-end MIDI hardware. As a result, the soundtrack is engaging and comes off sounding like it was composed for the device rather than converted from the original MT-32 version. Composed by Stéphane Picq. Developed by Cryo Interactive and published by Virgin Games. Although Dune supported the Roland MT-32 and LAPC-1, it is the AdLib version of the soundtrack that everyone remembers — perhaps because few people owned the expensive Roland hardware, but also, I think, because of the skillfulness with which the soundtrack was composed. An enhanced version of the soundtrack was released as the CD Dune: Spice Opera. Unfortunately, the CD is out of print and very difficult to find. Composed by Mieko Ishikawa, Yūzō Koshiro, Hideaki Nagata, and Reiko Takebayashi. Developed by Nihon Falcom and published by Sierra On-Line. Sorcerian was a lengthy game for its time, and it has a long, varied soundtrack to match. Unfortunately, the AdLib conversion of the soundtrack suffers a bit from a lack of bass and comes off sounding a little tinny. 1987: Roland MT-32 The Roland MT-32 was a sound module that could be connected externally to a computer via a MIDI interface card. It produced sound using a combination of digital samples and subtractive waveform manipulation, resulting in synthesized music that continues to sound quite professional today. Roland later condensed the capabilities of the MT-32 into a computer expansion card called the LAPC-1. The LAPC-1 cost slightly less than the MT-32 at $425, but it measured around 14 inches in length and required a large computer chassis. The fact that the MT-32 could not play digital sound samples would become a limitation by the early 1990s, but those who owned MT-32 experienced the best music that computer games had to offer until pre-recorded digital sound became the norm. The MT-32 could produce sound in true stereo, playing up to 32 voices simultaneously depending on the instruments selected. The string, synthesizer and percussion sounds were particularly good for that era, and the MT-32 even found its way into some mainstream music released during the ’80s such as Pete Townshend’s song Man Machines. The MT-32 also had a reverb effect, adding realism and depth to the music. All sounds produced by the AdLib card were completely dry, lacking environmental effects of any kind. Listen to the Roland MT-32 Silpheed (1988) The Silpheed theme was one of the pieces that Sierra used to hype the Roland MT-32, and it was an appropriate choice; the beginning highlights the MT-32’s excellent built-in digital reverb, and the main section of the piece features excellent synth and wind sounds as well as a driving percussion track. While this is a catchy piece on any sound card, it was obviously meant to be heard on the MT-32. Composed by Nobuyuki Aoshima and Fumihito Kasatani. Developed by Game Arts and published by Sierra On-Line. The Roland MT-32 has a display screen that shows when instruments and other parameters change. Developers sometimes made it display fun messages, such as “Thank you for playing.” You could watch it to gain insight into how game music composers worked. This theme from Zeliard frequently changes lead instruments to add interest and variety. Composed by Chris Braymen. Developed and published by Sierra On-Line. This lovely piece from Quest for Glory II again highlights the lifelike reverb of the MT-32, while adding a “human” element in the subtle tempo and volume changes of the plucked harp. Ultima VI: The False Prophet (1990) Composed by Kenneth W. Arnold. Developed and published by Origin. Many of the pieces from Ultima VI are deceptively simple, featuring only a handful of different instruments. Nevertheless, this soundtrack has wiggled its way into the brain of many an Ultima fan and once it grabs hold, look out. Sorcerian (1990) The synth-rock pieces in the Sorcerian soundtrack are some of the best that early ’90s computer games had to offer. On the MT-32, you can hear exactly what the soundtrack’s composers were going for: hard-driving drums, big synthesizer sounds and more than a little Duran Duran influence. In all, the Sorcerian soundtrack featured 59 distinct songs. 1988: Creative Music Systems Game Blaster In 1987, Creative Music Systems released a sound card called the Creative Music System or C/MS card, later re-releasing it through Radio Shack in 1988 as the Game Blaster. The Game Blaster could play up to 12 channels of sound simultaneously in true stereo, with each channel playing a square wave for melody or a noise for sound effects and percussion. Because the square wave was the only non-percussion “instrument” available. the Game Blaster was seen as vastly inferior to the AdLib. It was similar in tonal quality to four Tandy 1000s playing simultaneously, except for the fact that the Game Blaster had the ability to adjust the volume of individual sound channels. The primary companies that supported the Game Blaster were Sierra, Electronic Arts and Accolade. Most other companies stayed away, and most consumers with around $200 to spend on a sound card chose the AdLib. However, AdLib’s superiority wouldn’t last much longer; in 1989, Creative Music Systems rechristened itself Creative Labs and released the Sound Blaster. Listen to the Game Blaster Silpheed (1988) The Game Blaster version of the Silpheed soundtrack is a slight improvement over the Tandy 1000 version but pales in comparison to the AdLib and MT-32 versions. The lack of percussion hampers the Game Blaster, as does the fact that many soundtracks utilized the high end of its tonal range, which tended to sound tinny. Composed by Herman Miller and Martin Galway. Developed and Published by Origin. When composers utilized the low end of the Game Blaster’s range, they could create rich, full music that was every bit as compelling as AdLib music in its own way. Unfortunately, few composers did. Times of Lore is perhaps the most prominent exception. Ultima VI (1990) While the Game Blaster version of the Ultima VI soundtrack stays within the Game Blaster’s lower register, it doesn’t play to the card’s strengths quite as well as the Times of Lore soundtrack did and pales in comparison to the MT-32 version. Because few people purchased Game Blaster cards, creating soundtracks that lived up to the card’s potential was rarely a priority. Sorcerian (1990) The Game Blaster adaptation of the Sorcerian soundtrack fails to convey the synth-rock excitement of the original MT-32 version. By staying within the card’s high register, the music sounds thin and overly computerized. 1989: Creative Labs Sound Blaster In the history of the computer industry, many companies have designed products using off-the-shelf components to save on development costs and get something to the market as quickly as possible, only to be outplayed later by clone manufacturers. The IBM PC is the most prominent example, and the AdLib Music Synthesizer card is another. The AdLib used the Yamaha YM3812 chip — which anyone could buy — to produce sound. Because of the low price and the fact that it was one of the first sound cards supported by computer games, the AdLib became the first de facto standard for audio in IBM-compatible computers. Creative Music Systems may have failed to set a new standard with the Game Blaster, but the rechristened Creative Labs wouldn’t make the same mistake. The Sound Blaster included the AdLib’s YM3812 chip, making it fully compatible with the industry standard. However, it also had two highly desirable features that the AdLib lacked: a game port and the ability to record and play digital sounds. Although few games exploited the Sound Blaster’s ability to play digital samples when it was first released, the game port was a strong selling point because it allowed a computer to support a joystick. Because game cards cost around $50 at the time, a consumer could spend less — and get more — by buying the Sound Blaster rather than the AdLib and a separate game card. Sound Blaster became the new standard for computer audio, and although AdLib’s follow-up — the AdLib Gold — was superior, AdLib lacked Creative Labs’ marketing skills and was forced to file for bankruptcy in 1992. The first Sound Blaster included a chip that made it backwards-compatible with the Game Blaster. It could play 8-bit, 23 kHz audio and record 8-bit, 12 kHz audio, both in single-channel mono. Although this was significantly lower than CD quality, it worked well for sound effects in games. Prior to the release of the Sound Blaster, many games with AdLib support used the AdLib for music while playing sound effects through the PC speaker. The Sound Blaster provided a much better experience when its ability to play digital sounds was utilized. Unfortunately, the Sound Blaster could also be a bit buggy. It required manual IRQ configuration and frequently conflicted with other hardware in the computer. Digital sounds were preceded by loud pops and sometimes caused computers to lock up. Listen to the Sound Blaster Composed by Daniel Gardopee, Andrew G. Sega and Straylight Productions. Developed by Origin and published by Electronic Arts. This piece from the Crusader installation program illustrates the Sound Blaster’s ability to play music based on digital samples. Although the Sound Blaster is limited to 8-bit mono sounds, the Crusader soundtrack sounds far better than most games that utilized the YM3812 chip. The AdLib could not have reproduced this soundtrack at all. Composed by Ken Allen, Brian Luzietti, Larry Peacock, Leslie Spitzer, Jim Torres and Tim Wiles. Developed by Parallax Software and published by Interplay. Descent was one of the few games with separate soundtracks for the Sound Blaster and Sound Blaster 16. This OPL2 version of the soundtrack utilizes the YM3812 chip, which means that it would sound exactly the same on the AdLib. Composed by Johann Langlie, Brian Luzietti, Mark Morgan, Larry Peacock, Peter Rotter and Leslie Spitzer. Developed by Parallax Software and published by Interplay. Although this piece from Descent II is more mature and complex than the selection from the first game, it seems to overpower the YM3812 at one point. Near the end of the piece, instruments begin to cut out, perhaps because the maximum polyphony of the Sound Blaster has been reached. 1991: Roland Sound Canvas SC-55 MIDI — the Musical Instrument Digital Interface — was invented around 1982 as a means of communicating with electronic musical instruments. MIDI allowed a musician with one keyboard to expand his available instrument sounds by connecting sound modules such as the Roland MT-32. The keyboard sent commands containing parameters such as the instrument number and the pitch, volume and duration of the note, and the sound module played the requested sound. MIDI also enabled computers to interface with electronic instruments, making it possible for the MT-32 to play game soundtracks. Before 1991, however, MIDI had a serious problem: there was no standard for instrument numbers. Instrument 001 might be an acoustic grand piano on one synthesizer and an electric guitar on another, so to get the correct sound, you needed to play a piece of music using the synthesizer on which it was composed. General MIDI changed that by creating a standard list of 128 instrument numbers. Synthesizers could contain additional instruments and features if the manufacturer implemented them, but had to contain the basic list of 128 to be GM-compatible. The Sound Canvas SC-55 was Roland’s first GM-compatible sound module. It became the preferred sound device for games with General MIDI soundtracks, both because of its exceptional sound quality and because many composers used it to create game soundtracks. Although the GM standard defined the basic list of 128 instruments, manufacturers used their own samples and synthesizer chips to create them. This resulted in slight variances in instrument balance and tonal quality between different devices, even when playing the same MIDI composition. Therefore, the only way to hear many game soundtracks exactly they were composed was to play them on the SC-55. Although the Sound Canvas SC-55 was one of the best MIDI synthesizers on the market in 1991, it saw limited success among non-musicians because gamers had begun to demand digital sound playback and Sound Blaster compatibility. A computer owner could experience the best that modern games had to offer by using a Sound Canvas SC-55 for MIDI music and a Sound Blaster for sound effects, but few people had upwards of $1,000 to spend on hardware for game music. The Sound Canvas line became a successful one for Roland; descendants of the SC-55 remain available today. Listen to the Roland Sound Canvas SC-55 Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers (1993) Composed by Robert Holmes. Developed and published by Sierra On-Line. The SC-55 soundtrack for Sierra’s first entry in the Gabriel Knight series, with classical, jazz and rock influences, shows the full range of the sound module’s capabilities. Pay particular attention to the swell of the piano, organ and chorus about two thirds into the first piece. Quest for Glory IV: Shadows of Darkness (1993) Composed by Aubrey Hodges. Developed and published by Sierra On-Line. In addition to a much better acoustic grand piano, the SC-55 featured guitar sounds that were vastly superior to those on the MT-32. The Quest for Glory IV soundtrack features heavy use of the electric guitar sound and utilizes real playing techniques such as bends, tremolo picking and hammer-ons. 1992: Gravis UltraSound There are many who believe that Gravis is the company that should have won the sound card wars in the early ’90s. During this time, Creative Labs dragged their heels a bit, improving the Sound Blaster slowly because no other company posed any real competition. During this time, Creative’s flagship product was the Sound Blaster Pro, which featured two Yamaha YM3812 chips for stereo music and had the ability to record stereo sounds up to 22.05 kHz and mono sounds up to 44.1 kHz. However, the sample size was still limited to 8 bits. The Gravis Ultrasound represented a major step forward; out of the box, it could play 16-bit sounds and record 8-bit sounds with a maximum sample rate of 44.1 kHz. It was also possible to upgrade the Ultrasound with an add-on board that allowed it to record 16-bit sounds in full CD quality. The music synthesizer component of the Ultrasound was also miles ahead of the Sound Blaster Pro. The Ultrasound came with 256 KB of built-in sample memory and supported a maximum of 1 MB. Using this sample memory, composers and game programmers could create “tracker music” — constructed by manipulating digital samples rather than sending commands to a hardware synthesizer — using samples stored entirely in the sound card’s memory. In addition, the Ultrasound featured a hardware mixer that could independently adjust the volume of each voice before sending it to the computer’s speakers. The Sound Blaster Pro also supported tracked music, but it had no built-in memory and relied on the computer’s processor to mix multiple voices. During a time when a typical computer had a 386 or 486 processor and 4-8 MB of RAM, allocating 256 KB of system memory to audio samples and using the processor to mix voices resulted in a significant drain on system resources. Games utilizing the Ultrasound had better sound quality and smoother animation. However, the Gravis Ultrasound had trouble gaining acceptance among consumers who weren’t hardcore gamers, musicians or demoscene members because it lacked the Yamaha YM3812 chip and therefore wasn’t completely Sound Blaster-compatible. By this time, Creative Labs had been successful in creating an industry standard that consumers looked for when buying sound cards. My research suggests that Gravis announced the Ultrasound in 1991, but didn’t release it until October 1992. This gave Creative plenty of time to prepare a counter-attack, resulting in the release of the Sound Blaster 16 in June 1992. Listen to the Gravis Ultrasound Descent (1995) It could sometimes be difficult to find games with proper support for the Gravis UltraSound, but Descent fans who owned the UltraSound experienced significantly better music than they would have with the Sound Blaster 16. The synthesizer samples and high-quality drums give the Gravis version of the Descent soundtrack an exciting techno vibe, although the stereo separation is slightly poorer than with the Sound Blaster 16. Descent II (1996) As good as the Sound Blaster 16 version of the Descent II soundtrack is, when you listen to this version you can’t help but feel as though it was composed specifically for the Gravis UltraSound. The electric guitar sounds are significantly better, and none of the instruments cut out because the piece doesn’t exceed the UltraSound’s maximum polyphony. 1992: Creative Labs Sound Blaster 16 The Sound Blaster 16 was a landmark product for Creative Labs. It began as the company’s flagship product and eventually made its way to the value segment as Creative continued to release more advanced sound cards. At the end of the decade, many computers still had Sound Blaster 16 cards installed — or one of the many clones that had begun to pop up by that point — because its ability to record and play 16-bit sound was all that most consumers needed. It also had an upgraded synthesizer chip called the Yamaha YMF262 — also known as the OPL3 chip — which could play up to 18 voices simultaneously in true stereo. Sadly, few game soundtracks ever utilized the YMF262 to its full potential. In creating soundtracks for sound cards with FM synthesizers, most composers targeted the lowest common denominator and wrote music for the YM3812 chip in the AdLib and original Sound Blaster, as most computers with sound cards had one or the other. When the Sound Blaster 16 became more common, games generally utilized pre-recorded digital soundtracks. The Sound Blaster 16 was compatible with two add-ons, both available from Creative. The first was a synthesizer card called the Wave Blaster, which was a General MIDI-compliant synthesizer with built-in digital sound samples. The Wave Blaster was generally regarded as inferior to Roland’s Sound Canvas SC-55. The second was a chip called the Advanced Signal Processor which allowed higher-fidelity and lower-latency recording for studio use. Both add-ons — particularly the ASP — are difficult to find today. Listen to the Sound Blaster 16 Composed by Peter Hajba (“Skaven”) and Jonne Valtonen (“Purple Motion”). Developed and published by Future Crew. Demos such as Second Reality were generally created by young programmers, composers and graphic artists who wanted to break into the game industry, many of whom succeeded. This selection highlights the Sound Blaster 16’s ability to reproduce digital samples in stereo; it does not utilize the OPL3 synthesizer. You can see a recording of the Second Reality demo on the DVD MindCandy. Crusader: No Remorse (1995) In this version of the Crusader soundtrack, we hear the benefit of the jump from 8-bit to 16-bit digital audio; the music sounds clearer and more spacious. More importantly, it’s in stereo. The second piece is an example of what the Crusader soundtrack is better known for: hard driving techno. Descent (1995) This version of the Descent soundtrack highlights the advanced OPL3 synthesis of the Sound Blaster 16. The ability to produce synthesized music in stereo gives the music a great deal more depth. In addition, I find that the percussion has quite a bit more “punch.” Descent and its sequel are two of the few known games that allow you to toggle between OPL2 and OPL3 synthesis to hear the difference. Descent II (1996) In this piece from Descent II, the OPL3 FM synthesis of the Sound Blaster 16 really comes into its own. While the YMF262 chip isn’t exactly capable of producing booming bass and pounding drums, the improved percussion and stereo sound makes this version of the soundtrack far superior to the OPL2 Sound Blaster version. 1994: Creative Labs Sound Blaster AWE32 Creative Labs are nothing if not brilliant marketers. In 1992, Creative released the Sound Blaster 16, which had the ability to record and play 16-bit CD-quality digital audio. When creative released the Sound Blaster AWE32 in 1994, many people assumed that it supported 32-bit audio and bought it without looking closely at the specifications. In fact, the AWE32 had the same 16-bit sample size limit. The “32” referred to a new synthesizer chip — the EMU8000 — which supported up to 32 simultaneous voices. Creative played with semantics again with the release of the Sound Blaster AWE64 in 1996; although the AWE64 technically supported up to 64 simultaneous voices, half of the polyphony was accomplished through the use of a software synthesizer that relied on the computer’s processor to generate sound, causing a severe performance penalty. In addition, voices played through the software synthesizer sounded completely different from the hardware voices, making the two virtually impossible to mix together in a single piece of music. Nevertheless, the AWE32 and AWE64 were excellent products at the time for musicians who used MIDI, as both cards had onboard memory that could be used to load sample sets called “SoundFonts.” With SoundFonts, a composer could write music without being limited to the MIDI instruments included with the sound card. In 1998, the Sound Blaster Live! further improved SoundFont support by utilizing system memory for SoundFont storage rather than expensive memory chips mounted on the sound card. Listen to the Sound Blaster AWE32 Composed by Matt Uelmen. Developed and published by Blizzard. By the mid ’90s, most commercial games were shipping on CD-ROM and many computers had sound cards equal or superior to the Sound Blaster 16. The improved hardware and increased storage space meant that a game could include a soundtrack pre-recorded using the composer’s own equipment. Although most of the Diablo soundtrack is rather sparse, this beautiful piece more than makes up for the lack of tunes throughout the rest of the game. Composed by Jake Kaufman. This jazzy piece in the Impulse Tracker format is a perfect example of the way in which tracked music evolved in the late ’90s and early 2000s. Flowerguy’s Pool Party utilizes up to 21 simultaneous voices to create a rich, layered sound. The lead melody extensively utilizes envelopes and volume changes to avoid sounding robotic. The Curse of Monkey Island (1997) Composed by Michael Land. Developed and published by LucasArts. Although the CD-ROM format made pre-recorded digital game soundtracks possible, storage space remained a concern for larger games. Recorded to CD, the Curse of Monkey Island soundtrack would have filled two discs. To make room for the game’s graphics and spoken dialogue, LucasArts reduced the sample rate of the soundtrack to 22 kHz. Music such as this Holst-inspired wind ensemble piece would have to wait for the DVD-ROM era to be heard in full CD quality. 1997-Present: Modern Sound Cards In 1997, Intel introduced the AC’97 audio codec, making it possible for hardware manufacturers to put all of the capabilities of the Sound Blaster 16 into a single chip soldered to the computer’s motherboard. The AC’97 codec relied on the computer’s processor to perform much of the work needed to produce sound, which could result in a substantial performance hit in games. However, the writing was on the wall; within a few years, processors became fast enough that the performance hit was unnoticeable, and Creative Labs became a bit player in the industry for which it once set the standard. Virtually all computer motherboards had integrated audio by 2000. The AC’97 codec cut costs for computer manufacturers and offered audio quality that was sufficient for most users. By 2008, sales of sound cards had dropped by more than 80 percent from their 2000 totals. Although many integrated audio chips include rudimentary General MIDI synthesizers, music synthesis is for the most part an afterthought and barely on par even with vintage Sound Blaster cards. All modern games use pre-recorded digital soundtracks, and musicians who require synthesizers buy standalone sound modules or use software synthesizers. Thus, the synthesizer component of an integrated audio chip is rarely used. On the other end of the spectrum, Creative now competes with companies such as Avid/M-Audio and Asus in the recording and hardcore gaming segments that comprise an ever smaller slice of the computer sound market. A modern sound card may entice users with features such as Dolby surround sound for gaming and movies, post-processing for sound effects to simulate environments such as caves and hallways and 24-bit, 192 kHz audio fidelity for studio recording. Listen to Modern Sound Cards The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2006) Composed by Jeremy Soule. Developed by Bethesda and published by 2K Games. High-quality compression algorithms and the DVD-ROM format have freed modern game music composers from the need to optimize their work for disk space. Today, role-playing game soundtracks frequently mix live instrumental performances with high-end synthesizers to create wide-ranging orchestral scores. Online distribution has also given composers new avenues through which to distribute their work; the full Oblivion soundtrack is available through composer Jeremy Soule’s website, DirectSong. Quest for Glory V: Dragon Fire (1998) Composed by Chance Thomas. Developed by Yosemite Entertainment and published by Sierra On-Line. In the late ’90s, Chance Thomas campaigned for the inclusion of a new category for game music in the Grammy Awards. The Quest for Glory V soundtrack was a key component in the campaign, proving that game music was finally approaching film music in ambition and sound quality. In a way, Thomas got his wish in 2011; the track “Baba Yetu” from Civilization IV won a Grammy in the “Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists” category. The Quest for Glory V soundtrack has recently been re-released and is available through iTunes. Composed by Magnus Pålsson. Developed and published independently. Many of today’s musicians have been listening to game music their entire lives and enjoy turning to the beeps and blips of classic games for inspiration. Modern bands such as Freezepop and Anamanaguchi have found success by mixing organic instruments and vocals with synthesized sounds created by vintage consoles such as the Nintendo Entertainment System and Game Boy. The soundtrack for the independent game VVVVVV often sounds like something out of the ’80s, but composer Magnus Pålsson (“Souleye”) throws in some unexpected chord changes and other tricks to remind you that you’re listening to something entirely original. The full soundtrack is available at Pålsson’s website. Sound in Non-IBM Computers Although most users of IBM-compatible computers had to be content with PC speaker sound until the late ’80s, people who preferred other computer platforms were experiencing great sound as early as 1982 with the release of the Commodore 64. The Commodore 64 featured a dedicated sound chip from MOS Technology called the 6581 Sound Interface Device — usually called the “SID” for short. The SID was a music synthesizer that could play up to three voices simultaneously, each using one of four different waveforms. Each voice had independent controls for parameters such as filters, attack and sustain, allowing for a wide variety of sounds. Although the SID is no longer produced and supplies are dwindling, it continues to be prized among musicians and vintage computer lovers and is used in modern products such as the HardSID sound card and SidStation synthesizer. In all, it is estimated that Commodore sold 22 million Commodore 64 computers, making it the best-selling computer in history. The SID chip has inspired such devotion that streaming radio stations such as Kohina have popped up to preserve the music and introduce it to new generations. Commodore shook the world of computer sound again with the release of the Amiga 1000 in 1985. The Amiga 1000 featured a custom sound chip codenamed “Paula.” Paula had the ability to play tracker music using 8-bit samples, with two voices sent to the left audio channel and two to the right to produce stereo sound. Each channel supported independent volume control and composers could use any 8-bit samples they liked, resulting in fairly professional music with a great deal of variety. Paula also controlled the Amiga 1000’s floppy disk drive and serial port. During the 1980s, the Commodore 64 and Amiga computers provided gamers with video and sound quality that IBM-compatible computers couldn’t match. However, many consumers preferred the safety of the IBM-compatible standard and by the early 1990s, PCs had begun to catch up technologically with the Amiga. Commodore bet the farm on a CD-based game console called the CD32 in 1993, but the CD32 failed to generate enough revenue to keep the company afloat. By 1994, Commodore was bankrupt. The DVD Amiga Forever Video Edition contains a film chronicling these last days as well as some more upbeat videos from Commodore’s heyday. Listen to the Commodore 64 Composed by Rob Hubbard. Developed by Capcom and Elite and published by Data East. Rob Hubbard is credited on more than 100 games and is a legendary composer among Commodore 64 fans. His style is characterized by an offbeat melodic sensibility and frequent use of arpeggios to imply chords — a technique that became common among Commodore 64 composers and worked far better on the C64 than it did on the PC speaker. The Great Giana Sisters (1987) Composed by Chris Hülsbeck. Developed by Time Warp Productions and published by Rainbow Arts. With its simple melody and unusual chord progression, this theme from The Great Giana Sisters is frequently mentioned on lists of favorite Commodore 64 game tracks. Listen to the Amiga Composed by Allister Brimble. Developed and published by Team17 Software. While the Paula sound chip could play just four voices at a time, digital samples allowed composers to break that rule. By sampling and manipulating chords, a composer could create a track that seemed to have greater polyphony than the Amiga was actually capable of producing. Turrican II: The Final Fight (1991) Composed by Chris Hülsbeck. Developed by Factor 5 and released by Rainbow Arts. Rather than using the four channel .MOD format native to the Amiga, composer Chris Hülsbeck devised his own format that extended the Amiga’s capabilities. The TFMX format — used in the Turrican II intro — allowed the Amiga to play up to seven voices simultaneously. Fountain of Sighs (1995) Composed by Wojtek Podgorski (“Unreal”). Because tracker music was typically the format of choice in the demoscene community, it was only natural that many demo competitions would also have categories for tracker music compositions. Fountain of Sighs won the prize for the best four-channel music composition at The Party in 1995. Notes The recordings featured in this article were created using the original hardware whenever possible. In some cases, it was necessary to use emulators. Emulators were used only when the result would be virtually identical to the original hardware. All of the music featured in this article is protected by copyright and remains the property of the copyright holders. The musical selections featured in this article are presented for their historical and educational value. If you do not want your music featured here, please contact us. Special Thanks Thanks to the following websites for providing valuable information for research as well as some of this article’s audio recordings and pictures: Wikipedia, The Oldskool PC, Quest Studios, Crossfire Designs, Yvan286.net, Tom’s Hardware, Wavetable.nl, Tom’s Ultima MP3 Files, Future Crew, Sierra Music Central, MobyGames, Tom’s Dune MP3s, Mirsoft, The Mod Archive, LucasArts Soundtracks, The Sierra Help Pages, and Steve Oakvalley’s Authentic SID Collection.
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Svi moderni računala imaju sposobnost da igraju kvalitetan digitalni zvuk, Zahvaljujući prisutnosti namjenski zvučne kartice ili audio čip na matičnoj ploči. Današnja računala proizvesti živ, realno audio, što nam omogućuje slušati digitalne glazbene zbirke, gledanje online videa i igrati akcijske prepuna igre. Međutim, audio mogućnosti današnjih računala su vrhunac razvoja, i to je značajan doprinos iz računalne igre industrije kako bi nas dobili ovdje. Bez tog doprinosa, svatko tko nije profesionalni glazbenik još može biti slušanje nešto više od zvučnih signala na svom računalu danas. Pregled sadržaja - 1981: PC zvučnika - 1984: IBM PCjr i Tandy 1000 - 1987: AdLib Glazba synthesizer - 1987: Roland MT-32 - 1988: Creative Music Systems Game Blaster - 1989: Creative Labs Sound Blaster - 1991: Roland Sound Canvas SC-55 - 1992: Gravis ultrazvuk - 1992: Creative Labs Sound Blaster 16 - 1994: Creative Labs Sound Blaster AWE32 - 1997-Prisutan: Moderna Sound Cards - Zvuk u ne-IBM računala, Bilješke i posebne zahvale 1981: PC zvučnika Ako ste imali IBM PC računalo ili 100-postotni kompatibilan klon između 1981-1988, što se najvjerojatnije sluša — ili rezanje žice — Interni zvučnik vašeg računala. PC zvučnik bio samo rudimentaran ton generator. To je odigrao jednu notu na vrijeme, nisu imali različite instrumente za skladatelji koje možete izabrati i još nedostajalo kontrolu glasnoće. Kao rezultat, Svirka na PC zvučnik skloni da zvuči kositara i rešetke. Skladatelji bi mogao dobiti oko ovih problema mijenjajući visinu napomenu nešto napraviti vibrato i igrati brzo arpeggia simulirati zvuk više bilješke se igrao istovremeno. Igrajući kratko “blips” između bilješke — kratke zvukove u sredini duže nizak, visok zvuk, na primjer — bilo je moguće simulirati udaraljke. Međutim, većina PC speaker Glazba nije imao toliko truda staviti u nju; Igra glazba iz tog doba često zvučao prilično monoton. Kroz pametan hack, neke računalne igre iz kasnih 80-ih zapravo igrao 6-bitni digitalni zvuk preko PC zvučnika. Međutim, ova tehnologija je korištena u nekoliko utakmica, jer je bilo teško igrati digitalni zvuk preko zvučnika, bez žrtvovanja brzine. Kad zvučne kartice je počeo padati u cijenu, digitalni zvuk hack postala irelevantna. Poslušajte PC zvučnika Sastavljen od Nobuyuki Aoshima, Mecano Associates, HIBIKI Godai, Fumihito Kasatani i Hiromi Ohba. Razvijen od strane Game umjetnosti i objavio Sierra On-Line. Ovaj komad od Silpheed Soundtrack ilustrira tehniku većina skladatelja koja se koristi za pisanje glazbe za PC zvučnika; govornik igra glavnu melodiju samo, a nema znakova se koristi za simulaciju ritam ili pratnju. Tolkienovog Gospodara prstenova, Let. Sastoji Charles Deenen i Kurt Heiden. Razvijen od strane Interplay i objavljen od strane Electronic Arts. Prebacivanjem brzo između različitih bilješke, Tema od Interplay je Lord of the Rings stvara dojam do četiri glasa svira istovremeno s PC zvučnika. Sastoji Michel Winogradoff. Razvijen i objavljen od strane Loricels. Čuvši digitalne uzorke iz IBM-kompatibilno računalo prije objavljivanja Sound Blaster je prilično novost. Zbog ograničenja prostora — Space Racer dostavljaju se na samo jednoj 5,25-inčni diskete — Svaki uzorak je pohranjena na disku samo jednom. Pjesma je igrao pokreće uzoraka u određenim redoslijedom. Hoće Harvey je glazba graditeljstva Set (1984) Nepoznati skladatelj. Razvijen i objavljen od strane Electronic Arts. Glazba Construction Set postići naizgled nemoguće igrajući četiri simultano glasove bez zvučnim varijantama. Iako su glasovi imaju malo “nejasan” kvaliteta, možete jasno čuti pojedinosti o sastavu. Nepoznati skladatelj. Razvijen od strane Byron Preiss koji je zabio Video Productions i objavio Telarium. Dok PCjr i Tandy 1000 Vlasnici su tretirani na prekrasnim temu otvaranja tri glasa dok svira Sastanak s Rami, Verzija PC speaker na temu prebacuje zbunjujuće s jedne “instrument” na drugo u pokušaju stvaranja isti učinak. 1984: IBM PCjr i Tandy 1000 PCjr je objavljen od strane IBM-u 1984 kao pokušaj da se osigura bolju konkurenciju Appleu na kućno računalo na tržištu. U PCjr uključene značajke dizajnirane kako bi se svidjeti kućne korisnike, kao što je infracrvene tipkovnice, uložak utora i širenje hardvera koje bi mogle biti instaliran bez otvaranja računala. Što je još važnije, PCjr istaknuta poboljšana grafika i zvuk čip koji bi mogao igrati tri glasove istovremeno, a ne na jedan glas originalne IBM PC. IBM kontaktirao igra tvrtka Sierra On-Line, moleći ih za dizajn igru koja će pokazati off poboljšane grafike i zvuka iz PCjr. Rezultat je Kralj je Quest. Igra je postala ogroman hit, Ušteda Sierra iz propalog ulaganja u cartridge-based igre neposredno prije video igre slom 1983 i mrijesta niz koji je trajao 14 godina. Neki od IBM-dizajn odluka za PCjr su siromašnima, a računalo u konačnici nije uspjelo. Međutim, Radio Shack je Tandy 1000 — IBM-kompatibilno računalo s istim videa i zvuka mogućnosti kao PCjr — bio veliki prodavatelj. IBM dalje postaviti računalnu standarda u tom trenutku, a od PCjr nije bio uspjeh, Nije sve igre iskoristio Tandy 1000-napredni zvučni mogućnostima. Oni koji nisu pod uvjetom znatno bolji doživljaj zvuka na Tandy 1000 nego su to učinili na IBM PC. Poslušajte Tandy 1000 Silpheed (1988) Iako je zvučni čip na Tandy 1000 nedostajala efekte kanal za udaraljke, tri glasa polifonija napravio to moguće izgraditi cijeli komad glazbe s melodijom, sklad i bas. Tandy 1000 verzija Silpheed Soundtrack je značajan napredak u odnosu na verziju PC zvučnika. Sastanak s Rami (1984) Tandy 1000 verzija uvodnog dijela za Sastanak s Rami prenosi puni učinak što je skladatelj namijenjen, a samo verzija govornik računalo može “krivotvorina” to prebacivanje iz glasa za glasovno. Zbog kvaliteta PC igre glazbu je općenito vrlo niska u ranim 80-, Čuvši tako složen komad na početku igre je prava poslastica. Glazba Construction Set (1984) Verzija PC govornik Glazba Construction Set je učinjeno tako dobro da je razlika između njega i Tandy 1000 verzija nije dosta “noć i dan” kao što je to u nekim drugim igrama. Međutim, jer Tandy 1000 mogao igrati više glasova bez trikova, tonovi zvuče manje “fuzzy.” Sastavljen od HIBIKI Godai. Razvijen od strane Game umjetnosti i objavio Sierra On-Line. Thexder, Vrhunac PC Akcija igre u 1987. ima odgovarajući energetski soundtrack koji omogućuje korištenje arpeggia sugeriraju akord promjena. Ako glazba zvuči poznato na vas, to može imati veze s činjenicom da je HIBIKI Godai također pridonijelo Silpheed zvučna traka. 1987: AdLib Glazba synthesizer Nekoliko različitih zvučne kartice su dostupne za kupnju u 1987, No, osim profesionalnih glazbenika nekoliko ljudi bili svjesni njih. Sierra On-Line je postao pokretačka sila u evoluciji računala zvuka ponovno, približava AdLib i Roland o sastavljanju pakete svojih proizvoda — AdLib Glazba synthesizer kartice i Roland MT-32 zvučni modul — za Sierra tržište. Sijera zatim angažirao profesionalne glazbenike kao što su William Goldstein (Slava) i Bob Siebenberg (Supertramp) skladati glazbu podržavaju te uređaje za svoje nadolazeće igre. Sierra je također poslan slova i demonstracijske kazete svojim klijentima za promicanje AdLib i Roland MT-32, i potrošača zvučna kartica na tržištu rođen. Iako Roland MT-32 je daleko bolji sintisajzer, to je AdLib Glazba synthesizer kartica koja će postaviti nove standarde u PC audio za sljedećih nekoliko godina — uglavnom zbog nižeg cijenom. Trošak AdLib $200, što je daleko više nego pristupačne $550 MT-32 ($1,053 u 2012 dolara). AdLib generira glazbu s Yamaha YM3812 čip, koja proizvodi zvuk preko FM sinteze. YM3812 je također poznat kao FM Operator Type-L 2 ili OPL2 čip; to bi mogao igrati do devet glasova istovremeno i proizvedenih tona manipuliranjem valova, kao što su sinus i pola sinusnih valova. Kvaliteta zvuka nije bio za razliku od jeftinih japanskih tipkovnica koja mnoge obitelji su stashed u svojim posteljama u kasnim 80-. AdLib nedostajala sposobnost proizvodnje pravi stereo zvuk ili igrati digitalne zvučne uzorke bilo koje vrste. Ipak, to bi moglo proizvesti bogat, puni zvukovi u rukama kvalificiranih skladatelja, kao što su pokazali neki od sljedećih uzoraka. Njegova primarna nedostatak proizlazi iz činjenice da su mnogi igra glazbe skladatelja usmjerena većinu svojih napora na high-end MIDI hardvera, kao što su Roland MT-32 i zvuka Canvas SC-55. U pretvaranja tih soundtracka za AdLib, Malo je vremena proveo ugađati glazbu za isticanje AdLib jakih. Neki od najboljih AdLib glazbu je skladao demoscene Članovi i shareware igra tvrtke, Možda zato što su njihovi manji izrade proračuna za kupnju skupih Roland hardver nemoguće. Poslušajte AdLib Silpheed (1988) Iako je glazba u produkciji AdLib možda zvuči primitivno po današnjim standardima, AdLib verzija Silpheed soundtrack je dramatična nadogradnje tijekom verzije PC speaker. Ovaj komad ima udaraljke, sintetiziraju mjedi, bas i zvona. Alibi Izvorno je skladao za Commodore 64 Thomas E.. Petersen (“Labavost”) i pretvaraju se u AdLib Jens-Christian Huus (“STRANICA”). Obojica su bili članovi računalo glazba grupe Vibracijski. Alibi ima bogat bas i čini u potpunosti iskoristiti AdLib sposobnosti. koristeći tehnike kao što su i vibratom ADSR omotnica za više izražajan zvuk. Sastoji Robert A. Allen i Owen Pallett. Razvijen od strane P kvadrat i objavio Safari Software. Odjel za promet 2192 podržavaju samo računala govornik i AdLib / Sound Blaster zvuk, možda zato što je skladatelj nije imao pristup high-end MIDI hardvera. Kao rezultat, soundtrack je privlačan i dolazi off zvuči kao da je pisana za uređaj, a ne pretvaraju iz izvornog MT-32 verziji. Sastoji Stéphane Picq. Razvijen od strane Cryo Interactive i objavio Virgin igre. Iako Dina podržan Roland MT-32 i LAPC-1, to je AdLib verzija soundtrack da svatko pamti — možda zato što je malo ljudi posjeduje skupe Roland hardvera, ali, Mislim, zbog uloženi kojom soundtrack je sastavljena. Poboljšana verzija soundtrack je izdan kao CD Dina: Spice Opera. Nažalost, CD je iz tiska i vrlo je teško naći. Skladao Mieko Ishikawa, Yuzo Koshiro, Hideaki Nagata, i Reiko Takebayashi. Razvijen od strane Nihon Falcom i objavio Sierra On-Line. Sorcerian bio dugotrajan igra za svoje vrijeme, i ima dugu, različiti soundtrack odgovarati. Nažalost, AdLib konverzija soundtrack pati malo od nedostatka bas i dolazi off zvuči malo kositara. 1987: Roland MT-32 Roland MT-32 je zvučni modul koji bi mogao biti povezan s vanjske strane na računalo putem kartice MIDI sučelje. To proizveo zvuk koristeći kombinaciju digitalnih uzoraka i subtraktivnog valnog manipulacije, rezultiralo sintetizirane glazbe koja i dalje zvuči prilično profesionalno danas. Roland kasnije kondenzirano mogućnostima MT-32 u računalo karticu za proširenje naziva LAPC-1. LAPC-1 troškova nešto manje od MT-32, na $425, ali mjereno oko 14 inča u duljinu i zahtijeva veliku računala šasije. Činjenica da je MT-32 nije mogao igrati digitalne zvučne uzorke postati ograničenje od ranih 1990-ih, ali oni koji su u vlasništvu MT-32 doživjela najbolje glazbe da računalne igre morao ponuditi sve unaprijed snimljenih digitalnim sound postala norma. MT-32 mogao proizvesti zvuk u pravog stereo, igrati do 32 Glasovi istovremeno, ovisno o instrumentima odabranim. String, sintisajzer i udaraljke zvukovi bili su posebno dobri za to doba, i MT-32 i našao svoje mjesto u nekom mainstream glazbe oslobađa tijekom 80-ih kao što su Pete Townshend pjesme Čovjek strojevi. MT-32 je također imao reverb efekt, dodajući realizam i dubinu glazbe. Svi zvukovi koje proizvodi AdLib kartice su potpuno suha, nema utjecaja na okoliš bilo koje vrste. Poslušajte Roland MT-32 Silpheed (1988) The Silpheed Tema je bila jedan od komada koji Sierra koriste hype ROLAND MT-32, i to je bio prikladan izbor; Početak naglašava MT-32 izvrsnih Ugrađeni digitalni reverb, a glavni dio djela ima izvrsnu synth i vjetar zvuči kao i udaraljke vožnje stazi. Iako je to privlačan komad na bilo koji zvučne kartice, što je očito značilo da se čuje na MT-32. Sastavljen od Nobuyuki Aoshima i Fumihito Kasatani. Razvijen od strane Game umjetnosti i objavio Sierra On-Line. Roland MT-32 ima zaslon koji prikazuje kada se instrumenti i ostali parametri mijenjaju. Programeri ponekad se to prikazati zabavne poruke, kao što “Hvala vam za igranje.” Možete ga gledati da dobije uvid u to kako igra glazba skladatelja radio. Ova tema iz Zeliard često mijenja vodstvo instrumente za dodavanje interes i raznolikost. Sastoji Chris Braymen. Razvijen i objavljen od strane Sierra On-Line. Ovaj lijepi komad iz Potraga za Glory II opet naglašava prirodan reverb od MT-32, prilikom dodavanja “ljudski” element u suptilnim tempa i glasnoće promjene plucked harfu. Ultima VI: Lažni Prorok (1990) Sastoji Kenneth W. Arnold. Razvijen i objavljen od strane podrijetla. Mnogi od komada iz Ultima VI su naoko jednostavan, sadrži samo nekoliko različitih instrumenata. Ipak, ovaj soundtrack je wiggled svoj put u mozgu mnogih u Ultima ventilatora i nakon što uhvati, paziti. Sorcerian (1990) U synth-rock komada u Sorcerian Soundtrack su neke od najboljih koje ranih 90-ih računalne igre je da ponudu. Na MT-32, možete čuti točno ono što je soundtrack skladatelja išli za: Teško vožnje bubnjevi, veliki sintetizator zvuči i više nego malo Duran Duran utjecaja. U sve, the Sorcerian Soundtrack istaknuta 59 različite pjesme. 1988: Creative Music Systems Game Blaster U 1987, Creative Music Systems objavio zvučna kartica naziva Creative glazbeni sustav ili C / MS kartice, kasnije ga ponovno objavljivanju preko Radio Shack u 1988 Kako igra Blaster. Game Blaster može igrati do 12 kanala zvuka istovremeno u pravog stereo, sa svakom kanalu svira kvadratni val za melodiju ili buke za zvučne efekte i udaraljke. Budući trg val je bio jedini ne-udaraljke “instrument” dostupan. Game Blaster je vidjela kako je znatno manji od AdLib. To je slično na tonske kvalitete na četiri Tandy 1000s igraju istodobno, osim činjenice da je igra Blaster imali mogućnost podešavanje glasnoće zvuka pojedinih kanala. Primarni tvrtki koja podržava Game Blaster su Sierra, Electronic Arts i Accolade. Većina ostalih tvrtki klonili, a većina potrošača s oko $200 potrošiti na zvučnu karticu izabrali AdLib. Međutim, AdLib superiornosti neće trajati mnogo dulje; u 1989, Creative Music Systems sama Creative Labs rechristened i objavio Sound Blaster. Poslušajte Game Blaster Silpheed (1988) Game Blaster verzija Silpheed soundtrack je blago poboljšanje u odnosu na Tandy 1000 Verzija ali blijedi u usporedbi s AdLib i MT-32 verzija. Nedostatak udaraljke koči Game Blaster, kao što se na činjenicu da su mnogi zvučni zapis iskoristiti visoku kraj svog tonskog raspona, koja liječi zvuk kositara. Sastoji Herman Miller i Martin Galway. Razvio i objavio podrijetlom. Kada skladatelji koriste nisku kraju igre Blaster raspona, oni mogu stvoriti bogat, puna glazbe koja je jednako uvjerljiv kao AdLib glazbu na svoj način. Nažalost, Nekoliko skladatelji učinio. Times iz Lore možda najistaknutiji iznimka. Ultima VI (1990) Iako igra Blaster verziji Ultima VI Soundtrack ostaje u donjem registru igri Blaster je, to ne igra na prednosti karticu je prilično kao i Times iz Lore soundtrack učinio i Palestina u usporedbi s MT-32 verziji. Budući da je malo ljudi kupili Game Blaster kartice, stvaranje soundtracka koji je živio do potencijala kartice je rijetko prioritet. Sorcerian (1990) Game Blaster adaptacija Sorcerian Soundtrack ne prenijeti synth-rock uzbuđenje izvorne MT-32 verziji. Boraveći u karticu u visokom registru, glazba zvuči tanko i pretjerano kompjuterizirana. 1989: Creative Labs Sound Blaster U povijesti računalne industrije, mnoge tvrtke su dizajnirani proizvodi pomoću off-the-polica komponente za spremanje na troškove razvoja i dobiti nešto na tržištu što je brže moguće, samo da se nadigrao kasnije proizvođača klon. IBM PC je najistaknutiji primjer, i AdLib Glazba synthesizer kartica je još. AdLib koristio Yamaha YM3812 čip — što je itko mogao kupiti — proizvesti zvuk. Zbog niske cijene i činjenice da je to bio jedan od prvih zvučnih kartica podržava računalne igre, AdLib postala prva de facto standard za audio u IBM-kompatibilnim računalima. Creative Music Systems možda nisu uspjeli postaviti novi standard s igrom Blaster, ali rechristened Creative Labs neće napraviti istu pogrešku. Sound Blaster uključivala AdLib je YM3812 čip, što je u potpunosti kompatibilan sa standardom industrije. Međutim, Također je imao dvije vrlo poželjne značajke koje AdLib nedostajalo: Igra luka i sposobnost za snimanje i reprodukciju digitalnih zvukova. Iako je nekoliko igara iskorištavalo Sound Blaster sposobnost da igraju digitalne uzorke, kada je prvi put objavljen, Igra luka bila jaka prodajna mjesta, jer je to dopušteno računalo podržava joystick. Budući da igra kartice koštati oko $50 u trenutku, potrošač može potrošiti manje — i dobiti više — kupnjom Sound Blaster radije nego AdLib i zasebnu igru karticu. Sound Blaster je postao novi standard za računalne audio, i iako je AdLib praćenja — AdLib Gold — bio nadređeni, AdLib nedostajalo Creative Labs’ marketinške vještine i bio prisiljen podnijeti zahtjev za stečaj u 1992. Prvi Sound Blaster uključen čip zbog kojeg je unatrag kompatibilan s igrom Blaster. To bi mogao igrati 8-bitni, 23 kHz audio i snimanje 8-bitni, 12 kHz audio, kako u jednom-kanalni mono. Iako je to znatno niža od CD kvalitete, to je radio dobro za zvučne efekte u igrama. Prije objavljivanja Sound Blaster, mnoge igre s AdLib podrške koristio AdLib glazbe dok igrate zvučne efekte preko PC zvučnika. Sound Blaster uvjetom puno bolje iskustvo kada je njegova sposobnost da igraju digitalnih zvukova je korištena. Nažalost, Sound Blaster je također mogao biti malo lud. To zahtijeva priručnik IRQ Konfiguracija i često u sukobu s drugim hardverom u računalu. Digitalni zvukovi su prethodile glasnih cura i ponekad uzrokuju računala zaključati. Poslušajte Sound Blaster Križar: Bez grižnje savjesti (1995) Sastoji Daniel Gardopee, Andrew G. Sega i Straylight Productions. Razvijen od strane podrijetlo i objavio Electronic Arts. Ovaj komad od Križar instalacijski program prikazuje u Sound Blaster sposobnost za reprodukciju glazbe na temelju digitalnih uzoraka. Iako Sound Blaster je ograničen na 8-bitni mono zvuk, the Križar Soundtrack zvuči daleko bolje od većine igara koje koriste na YM3812 čip. AdLib nije mogao reproducirati tu glazbu uopće. Sastoji Ken Allen, Brian Luzietti, Larry Peacock, Leslie Spitzer, Jim Torres i Tim Wiles. Razvijen od strane Parallax Software i objavio Interplay. Silazak bio je jedan od rijetkih igara s posebnim soundtracka za Sound Blaster i Sound Blaster 16. Ova OPL2 verzija soundtracku koristi YM3812 čip, što znači da bi se zvuk točno isti na AdLib. Skladao Johann Langlie, Brian Luzietti, Mark Morgan, Larry Peacock, Peter Rotter i Leslie Spitzer. Razvijen od strane Parallax Software i objavio Interplay. Iako je ovaj komad od Silazak II je zreliji i složeniji od odabirom iz prve utakmice, Čini se nadvladati YM3812 na jednom mjestu. Potkraj djela, Instrumenti početi izrezana, možda zato maksimalno polifonije Sound Blaster je postignut. 1991: Roland Sound Canvas SC-55 MIDI — Musical Instrument Digital Interface — je izumio oko 1982 kao sredstvo komuniciranja s elektroničkim glazbenim instrumentima. MIDI dopušteno glazbenik s jednom tipkovnicom proširiti njegov dostupan je instrument zvuči spajanjem zvučne module kao što je Roland MT-32. Tipkovnica poslali naredbe sadrže parametre, kao što je broj s instrumentima i na teren, obujam i trajanje note, i zvuk modul igrao traženi zvuk. MIDI i omogućio računala sučelje s elektroničkim instrumentima, što je moguće za MT-32 igrati igru glazbu. Prije 1991, međutim, MIDI imala ozbiljan problem: nema standardni brojeve instrumenata. Instrument 001 Možda akustična grand piano na jednom sintesajzer i električna gitara na drugu, tako da bi dobili točan zvuk, što je potrebno za igrati komad glazbe pomoću sintetizatora na kojem je sastavljena. General MIDI promijenio stvaranjem standardnog popisa 128 Brojevi instrumenata. Sintisajzer može sadržavati i dodatne instrumente i mogućnosti, ako ih proizvođač provodi, ali morao sadržavati osnovne popis 128 da se GM-om. Zvuk platna SC-55 je bio Roland prvi GM-kompatibilna zvučna modul. Ona je postala željenu zvučni uređaj za igre s General MIDI soundtracka, kako zbog svoje iznimne kvalitete zvuka i zbog toga mnogi skladatelji ga koristiti za stvaranje igre glazbu. Iako GM standardni definirani osnovni popis 128 instrumenti, proizvođači koriste vlastite uzorke i synthesizer čips ih stvorili. To je rezultiralo neznatnim razlikama u ravnoteži s instrumentima i tonske kvalitete među različitim uređajima, čak i kada igrate istu MIDI sastav. Dakle, Jedini način da se čuju mnoge igre glazbu upravo su sastavljena je da ih igrati na SC-55. Iako Sound Canvas SC-55 je bio jedan od najboljih MIDI sintesajzeri na tržištu u 1991, to vidio ograničen uspjeh među ne-glazbenika, jer igrači su počeli zahtijevati digitalnu reprodukciju zvuka i Sound Blaster kompatibilnost. Vlasnik računalo može doživjeti najbolje da moderni igre je ponuditi pomoću zvuka platna SC-55 za MIDI glazbe i jedan Sound Blaster za zvučne efekte, ali malo ljudi imalo gore od $1,000 potrošiti na hardveru za igre glazbu. Zvuk platna linija postala uspješna za Roland; potomci SC-55 ostati dostupan danas. Poslušajte Roland Sound platnu SC-55 Gabriel Knight: Grijesi otaca (1993) Sastoji Robert Holmes. Razvijen i objavljen od strane Sierra On-Line. SC-55 soundtrack za prvi ulazak u Sierra Gabriel Knight serija, s klasičnom, jazz i rock utjecaji, pokazuje cijeli niz mogućnosti Zvuk modula. Obratite posebnu pozornost na valu glasovira, orgulje i zbor o dvije trećine u prvom djelu. Potraga za Glory IV: Sjene tame (1993) Sastavljen od Aubrey Hodges. Razvijen i objavljen od strane Sierra On-Line. Uz puno bolje akustične klaviru, SC-55 opremljenog gitara zvuči da su znatno bolji od onih na MT-32. The Potraga za Glory IV Soundtrack ima teške korištenje električne gitare zvuk i koristi prave tehnike sviranja poput zavoja, tremolo picking i čekić-ons. 1992: Gravis ultrazvuk Postoje mnogi koji vjeruju da gravis je tvrtka koja bi trebala su osvojili zvučnu karticu ratove u ranim 90-ih. Tijekom tog vremena, Creative Labs vukli pete malo, poboljšanje Sound Blaster polako, jer nijedna druga tvrtka pozirala bilo prave konkurencije. Tijekom tog vremena, Creative najpoznatiji proizvod je Sound Blaster Pro, na kojemu se nalaze dva Yamaha YM3812 čipove za stereo glazbu i imao mogućnost snimanja stereo zvuk do 22.05 kHz i mono zvuk do 44.1 kHz. Međutim, veličina uzorka i dalje je ograničen na 8 bitovi. Gravis Ultrazvuk predstavljala veliki korak naprijed; iz kutije, to bi mogao igrati 16-bitne zvukove i snimati 8-bitni zvuk s maksimalnom brzinom od uzorka 44.1 kHz. Također je moguće nadograditi na ultrazvuk s dodatak na brodu koji je dopustio da se snimati 16-bitni zvuk u punoj kvaliteti CD. Glazba synthesizer komponenta ultrazvuk je bio milja ispred Sound Blaster Pro. Ultrazvuk je došao s 256 KB ugrađene memorije uzorka i podržava najviše 1 MB. Koristeći ovaj uzorak memorije, skladatelja i igra programeri mogu stvoriti “tracker glazba” — izgrađena manipulira digitalnih uzoraka nego slanje naredbi na hardveru sintisajzer — pomoću uzoraka pohranjenih u cijelosti u memoriji zvučnu karticu u. Dodatno, Ultrazvuk sadržanu hardvera mikser koji može samostalno podesiti glasnoću svakog glasa prije slanja na računalo zvučnika. Sound Blaster Pro također podržava praćeni glazbom, ali to nije bio ugrađene memorije i oslonio na računalu procesor se miješati više glasova. U vrijeme kada je tipično računalo je 386 ili 486 i procesor 4-8 MB RAM-a, dodjeljivanje 256 KB memorije sustava na audio uzoraka i koriste procesor miješati glasovi rezultiralo značajnim odvod na resurse sustava. Igre koriste Ultrazvuk je imao bolju kvalitetu zvuka i glatko animaciju. Međutim, gravis Ultrazvuk je imao problema s dobivanjem prihvaćanja među potrošačima koji nisu hardcore gamere, glazbenici ili demoscene članove jer je nedostajala Yamaha YM3812 čip i stoga nije posve Sound Blaster računala. Do tog vremena, Creative Labs je bio uspješan u stvaranju industrijski standard koji potrošači potražio pri kupnji zvučne kartice. Moja istraživanja pokazuju da gravis najavio Ultrazvuk u 1991, ali nije ga objaviti do listopada 1992. To je dao Creative dovoljno vremena da se pripreme za kontru, što je rezultiralo izdavanjem Sound Blaster 16 u lipnju 1992. Poslušajte gravis ultrazvuk Silazak (1995) To ponekad može biti teško pronaći igre uz pravilnu potporu za gravis ultrazvuka, ali Silazak navijači koji su imali ultrazvuk doživjela znatno bolju glazbu nego što bi sa Sound Blaster 16. Uzorci sintisajzer i kvalitetni Bubnjevi daju gravis verziju Silazak Soundtrack uzbudljivu techno vibru, Iako je stereo razdvajanje je nešto slabiji nego sa Sound Blaster 16. Silazak II (1996) Kao dobar kao Sound Blaster 16 verzija Silazak II soundtrack je, kad slušaš ovoj verziji ne možete pomoći, ali osjećam se kao da je skladana upravo za gravis ultrazvuka. Električna gitara zvuči znatno bolje, i nitko od instrumenata izrezati jer dio ne prelazi ultrazvuk maksimalnu polifoniju. 1992: Creative Labs Sound Blaster 16 Sound Blaster 16 bio orijentir proizvod za Creative Labs. On je počeo kao tvrtka je admiralski brod proizvod, a na kraju je napravio svoj put na ovom segmentu, kao kreativnog i dalje objaviti naprednije zvučne kartice. Na kraju desetljeća, Mnoga računala danas je imao Sound Blaster 16 instalirane kartice — ili jedan od mnogih klonova koji su se počeli pop-up po tom pitanju — jer njegova sposobnost za snimanje i reprodukciju 16-bitni zvuk je sve što većina potrošača potrebno. Ona je također imala unaprijeđeni sintetizator čip nazvan Yamaha YMF262 — također poznat kao OPL3 čip — koji bi mogao igrati do 18 Glasovi istovremeno u pravog stereo. Nažalost, Nekoliko igra soundtracka ikada koristio YMF262 svog punog potencijala. U stvaranju soundtracka za zvučne kartice s FM sintisajzer, većina skladatelja ciljano najmanji zajednički nazivnik i pisao glazbu za YM3812 čip u AdLib i izvorne Sound Blaster, kao i većina računala sa zvučnim karticama imala jedan ili drugi. Kad Sound Blaster 16 postao češći, Igre obično koriste unaprijed snimljenih digitalnim glazbu. Sound Blaster 16 je kompatibilan s dva dodatke, oba dostupna od Creative. Prvi je sintetizator kartice zove val Blaster, što je general MIDI sintetizator sukladan s ugrađenim digitalnim zvučnim uzorcima. Wave Blaster općenito smatra inferioran Roland zvučnu platnu SC-55. Drugi je bio čip pod nazivom Advanced Signal Processor što je omogućilo veće vjeran i niže latencije snimanja za studio korištenja. Oba dodatke — Posebno ASP — teško pronaći i danas. Poslušajte Sound Blaster 16 Sastoji Peter Hajba (“Skaven”) i Jonne Valtonen (“Ljubičasta Motion”). Razvijen i objavljen od strane Future Crew. Demos kao što su Drugo Reality su uglavnom stvorio mladih programera, skladatelja i grafičara koji su htjeli provaliti u igri industriji, mnogi od njih uspjeli. Ovaj izbor ističe Sound Blaster 16 sposobnost da se reproduciraju digitalne uzorke u stereo; ne koristiti OPL3 sintetizatora. Možete vidjeti snimku Drugo Reality Demo na DVD MindCandy. Križar: Bez grižnje savjesti (1995) U ovoj verziji Križar zvučna traka, čujemo u korist skok od 8-bitni na 16-bitni digitalni audio; glazba zvuči čišće i prostranije. Što je još važnije, to je u stereo. Drugi dio je primjer onoga što Križar soundtrack je poznatiji po: Teško vožnje techno. Silazak (1995) Ova verzija Silazak Soundtrack naglašava naprednu OPL3 sintezu Sound Blaster 16. Sposobnost da se proizvede sintetizirane glazbe u stereo daje glazbi mnogo više dubine. Dodatno, Ja smatram da udaraljke ima vrlo malo “bušiti.” Silazak i njegov nastavak su dvije od nekoliko poznatih igara koje omogućuju vam da birate između OPL2 i OPL3 sintezu čuti razliku. Silazak II (1996) U ovom komadu od Silazak II, OPL3 FM sinteza Sound Blaster 16 doista dolazi na svoje. Dok YMF262 čip nije baš u stanju proizvoditi snažnim basom i lupa bubnjeve, poboljšana udaraljke i stereo zvuk čini ova verzija soundtrack daleko superiorniji na OPL2 Sound Blaster verziji. 1994: Creative Labs Sound Blaster AWE32 Creative Labs su ništa, ako ne briljantnim marketingu. U 1992, Creative objavio Sound Blaster 16, koji je imao sposobnost da se snimanje i reprodukciju 16-bitni CD-kvalitete digitalnog audio. Kad kreativni objavio Sound Blaster AWE32 u 1994, mnogi ljudi pretpostavlja da to podržava 32-bitni audio i kupio ga bez usko gledajući specifikacije. Zapravo, AWE32 imali isti 16-bitni veličine uzorka ograničenje. The “32” iz novog sintisajzer čip — EMU8000 — koji podržava do 32 simultanih glasova. Creative igrao sa semantika opet s izdavanjem Sound Blaster AWE64 u 1996; Iako je AWE64 tehnički podržava do 64 simultanih glasova, pola polifonija je postignuto kroz korištenje softver sintesajzer koji se oslonio na računalu procesor za generiranje zvuka, uzrokuje ozbiljne performanse kaznu. Dodatno, Glasovi su igrali kroz softver sintesajzer zvučao potpuno drugačiji od hardvera glasova, izradu dva gotovo nemoguće miješati zajedno u jednom komadu glazbe. Ipak, AWE32 i AWE64 su odlične proizvode na vrijeme za glazbenike koji su koristili MIDI, jer su obje kartice imale ugrađenu memoriju koja bi se mogla koristiti za učitavanje uzorak seta zove “Soundfonts.” S soundfonts, skladatelj mogao napisati glazbu bez ograničenja MIDI instrumenata uključene s zvučne kartice. U 1998, Sound Blaster uživo! dodatno poboljšana SoundFont podršku pomoću sistemske memorije za pohranu SoundFont umjesto skupih memorijskih čipova montiran na zvučnu karticu. Poslušajte Sound Blaster AWE32 Sastoji Matt Uelmen. Razvijen i objavljen od strane Blizzard. Do sredine 90-ih, Većina komercijalnih igara su isporučivati na CD-ROM-u i mnogim računalima imali zvučne kartice jednak ili bolji od Sound Blaster 16. Poboljšani hardver i povećao prostor za pohranu značilo da igra može uključivati glazbu unaprijed snimljenih skladateljevu vlastito opreme. Iako je većina Vrag Soundtrack je vrlo rijetka, to lijep komad više nego nadoknađuje nedostatak pjesama tijekom ostatka igre. Flowerguy je Pool Party (2001) Sastoji Jake Kaufman. Ovaj jazzy komad u Impulse Tracker Format je savršen primjer načina na koji prati glazba evoluirala u kasnim 90-ih i ranih 2000-ih. Flowerguy je Pool Party koristi do 21 simultano glasovi za stvaranje bogate, slojevite zvuka. Glavni melodija intenzivno koristi omotnice i promjene volumena kako bi se izbjeglo sondiranje robotsku. Sastoji Michael zemlji. Razvijen i objavljen od strane LucasArts. Iako CD-ROM formata se unaprijed snimljenih digitalnim igra soundtracka moguće, skladišni prostor ostao zabrinutost za veće igre. Snimljeno na CD-u, the Curse of Monkey Island Soundtrack bi ispunjena dva diska. Da bi se napravilo mjesta za igru grafika i izgovorene dijaloga, LucasArts smanjio stopu uzorku soundtrack za 22 kHz. Glazba kao što to Holst-nadahnut vjetar komad ansambl će morati pričekati na DVD-ROM doba da se čuje u punoj kvaliteti CD. 1997-Prisutan: Moderna Sound Cards U 1997, Intel predstavio AC'97 audio kodek, što je moguće za hardvera staviti sve mogućnostima Sound Blaster 16 u jedan čip zalemljen na matičnoj ploči računala. AC'97 kodek oslonio na računalu procesor obaviti veći dio posla potreban za proizvodnju zvuka, što bi moglo dovesti do značajnog izvedbu hit u igrama. Međutim, Pisanje je na zidu; u roku od nekoliko godina, procesori postali dovoljno brzo da izvedba hit bio neprimjetan, Creative Labs i postao malo igrača u industriji za koji je nekad postavio standard. Gotovo svi računalne matične ploče su integrirani audio strane 2000. Troškovi AC'97 codec cut za proizvođače računala i ponudio kvaliteta zvuka što je bilo dovoljno za većinu korisnika. Po 2008, prodaja zvučnih kartica je pala za više od 80 posto od njihove 2000 iznosi. Iako mnogi integrirani audio čipovi su rudimentarne General MIDI sintisajzer, sinteza glazba je uglavnom primisao i jedva u rangu čak i sa vintage Sound Blaster karticama. Sve moderne igre koristiti unaprijed snimljenih digitalnim glazbu, i glazbenici koji zahtijevaju sintisajzer kupiti samostalni zvučne module ili koristiti softver sintisajzer. Tako, sintisajzer komponenta integriranog audio čip rijetko koristi. Na drugom kraju spektra, Creative sada se natječe s tvrtkama kao što su Avid / M-Audio i Asus u snimanju i hardcore gaming segmentima koji u sebi sadrži sve manji komadić računalne zvučne tržište. Moderna zvučna kartica može zavesti korisnike sa značajkama kao što su Dolby surround zvuka za igre i filmove, post-obrade za zvučne efekte za simulaciju okruženja, kao što su špilje i hodnicima i 24-bitni, 192 kHz audio vjernost za studio za snimanje. Poslušajte Moderna Sound Cards Elder Scrolls IV: Zaborav (2006) Sastoji Jeremy Zuberoa. Razvijen od strane Bethesda i objavio 2K Games. Visoka kvaliteta kompresije i DVD-ROM formata su oslobođeni moderne igre Glazba skladatelja iz potrebe da poboljšate svoj posao za diskovnog prostora. Danas, uloga-igranje igra soundtracka često mix live instrumentalne izvedbe s high-end sintisajzer za izradu opsežne orkestralne partiture. Online distribucije je također dao skladatelja nove putove kroz koje se distribuiraju njihov rad; puna Zaborav Soundtrack je dostupan putem skladatelja Jeremyja Zuberoa web stranice, DirectSong. Potraga za slavu V: Dragon Fire (1998) Sastoji se slučajno Thomas. Razvijen u Yosemite Entertainment i objavljen od strane Sierra On-Line. U kasnim 90-ih, Moguća Thomas kampanju za uključivanje nove kategorije za igre glazbu u dodjeli nagrade Grammy. The Potraga za slavu V Soundtrack je ključna komponenta u kampanji, dokazuje da igra glazba konačno približava filmsku glazbu ambicije i kvalitetu zvuka. Na način, Thomas je dobio svoju želju u 2011; pjesma “Naš Otac” iz Civilization IV osvojio Grammy u “Najbolji Instrumentalni Aranžman pratnji vokala” kategorija. Potraga za Glory V soundtrack nedavno je ponovno objavljen i dostupan putem iTunes. Sastoji Magnus Pålsson. Razvijen i objavljen samostalno. Mnogi od današnjih glazbenika su slušali igra glazba cijeli život i uživati okreće prema zvučnih signala i blips klasičnih igara za inspiraciju. Moderni bendovi poput Freezepop a Bio je naguchi Našao uspjeh miješanjem organskih instrumenata i glasova sintetiziranih zvukova nastalih vintage konzole kao što su sustav Nintendo Entertainment i Game Boy. Soundtrack za nezavisne igre VVVVVV često zvuči kao nešto iz 80-ih, ali skladatelj Magnus Pålsson (“Souleye”) baca u nekim neočekivanim promjenama akorda i drugih znakova da vas podsjetim da slušate nešto posve izvornom. The puna soundtrack dostupan je na web stranici Pålsson. Zvuk u ne-IBM računala Iako većina korisnika IBM-kompatibilnim računalima morala se zadovoljiti sa zvukom PC zvučnika do kasnih 80-ih, ljudi koji su poželjni i druge računalne platforme su doživljava veliku zvuk već 1982 s izdavanjem Commodore 64. Commodore 64 istaknuta posvećena zvuk čip s MOS Technology naziva 6581 Zvuk Sučelje uređaja — obično naziva “SID” za kratko. SID je glazbeni sintetizator koji bi mogao igrati do tri glasa istovremeno, svaka pomoću jednog od četiri različita valnom. Svaki glas je imao samostalne kontrole za parametre kao što su filteri, napasti i održavanje, omogućuje razne zvukove. Iako SID više ne proizvodi i pribor su nestajanje, to i dalje biti cijenjen među glazbenicima i ljubiteljima vintage računala i koristi se u modernim proizvodima, kao što su HardSID zvučna kartica i SIDS Prezentacija sintesajzer. U sve, Procjenjuje se da je Commodore prodao 22 milijuna Commodore 64 računala, što je najprodavaniji računalo u povijesti. SID Čip je inspirirao takvu odanost da streaming radio postaja, kao što su Šum su popped up za očuvanje glazbu i uvode nove generacije. Commodore potresao svijet računala zvuka opet s izdavanjem Amiga 1000 u 1985. Amiga 1000 istaknuta custom zvuk čip kodnog naziva “Paula.” Paula je imala sposobnost da igraju tracker glazbu koristeći 8-bitni uzoraka, s dva glasa poslao na lijevi audio kanal i dva na desnoj strani za proizvodnju stereo zvuk. Svaki kanal podržava nezavisnu kontrolu glasnoće i skladatelja mogla koristiti 8-bitni uzoraka im se sviđa, što je rezultiralo relativno profesionalne glazbu s mnogo različitih. Paula je također pod kontrolom Amiga 1000 floppy disk i serijski port. Tijekom 1980-ih, Commodore 64 i Amiga računala pruža igračima s video i kvalitetu zvuka koji IBM-kompatibilne računala ne bi mogao odgovarati. Međutim, mnogi potrošači preferiraju sigurnost IBM-kompatibilnim standarda i ranih 1990-ih, Računala počela nadoknaditi tehnološki s Amiga. Commodore okladiti na CD-based igraće konzole zove CD32 u 1993, ali CD32 nije uspio proizvesti dovoljno prihoda da bi tvrtka u pokretu. Po 1994, Commodore je u stečaju. DVD Amiga Forever Video Edition Sadrži film kronike ove posljednje dane, kao i još nekoliko optimizam video iz Commodore je zenit. Poslušajte Commodore 64 Sastoji Rob Hubbard. Razvijen od strane Capcom i Elite i objavio podataka Istoku. Rob Hubbard je zaslužan za više od 100 Igre i je legendarni skladatelj među Commodore 64 obožavatelji. Njegov stil se odlikuje nekonvencionalan melodični senzibilitet i česte uporabe arpeggia implicirati akorde — tehnika koja je postala uobičajena među Commodore 64 skladatelja i radio daleko bolje na C64 nego što je to učinio na PC zvučnika. Sastoji Chris Hülsbeck. Razvijen od strane Time Warp Productions i objavio Rainbow umjetnosti. Sa svojim jednostavnim melodije i neobičnim akord progresiju, ova tema iz Velika Giana Sisters se često spominje u popisima omiljeni Commodore 64 Igra pjesme. Poslušajte Amiga Skladao ALLISTER Brimble. Razvijen i objavljen od strane Team17 Software. Dok Paula zvuk čip može igrati samo četiri glasa na vrijeme, Digitalni uzorci dopušteno skladatelji razbiti to pravilo. Uzorkovanjem i manipulira akorde, skladatelj mogao stvoriti pjesmu koja se činilo da imaju veću polifoniju od Amiga je zapravo u stanju proizvesti. Turrican II: Final Fight (1991) Sastoji Chris Hülsbeck. Razvijen od strane Factor 5 i izdana od strane Rainbow umjetnosti. Umjesto pomoću četiri kanala Mod format porijeklom Amiga, skladatelj Chris Hülsbeck smislio svoj vlastiti format koji produžen Amiga sposobnosti. TFMX format — se koristi u Turrican II Uvod — dopušteno Amiga igrati do sedam glasova istovremeno. Fontana uzdaha (1995) Sastavljen od Wojtek Podgorski (“Nestvaran”). Zbog tracker glazba je obično format izbora u demoscene zajednici, to je samo prirodno da su mnogi demo natjecanja također će imati kategorije za tracker glazbenih sastava. Fontana uzdaha osvojio je nagradu za najbolju četiri kanala glazbene kompozicije na Party u 1995. Bilješke Snimke sadržanu u ovom članku su stvorene pomoću izvorni hardver kada god je moguće. U nekim slučajevima, bilo je potrebno koristiti emulators. Emulatora su se samo kad bi rezultat bio gotovo identičan izvornom hardvera. Sve o glazbi sadržanu u ovom članku je zaštićen i dalje vlasništvo nositelja autorskih prava. Glazbeni izbor sadržanu u ovom članku su prikazani za njihovu povijesnu i obrazovne vrijednosti. Ako ne želite da vaša glazba ovdje istaknuta, molim kontaktirajte nas. Posebna zahvala Zahvaljujući sljedećih web stranice za pružanje vrijedne informacije za istraživanje, kao i neke od ovoga članka audio snimke i slike: Wikipedia, Oldskool PC, Quest Studios, Crossfire Designs, Yvan286.net, Tomov Hardver, Wavetable.nl, Tom Ultima MP3 datoteke, Budućnost Crew, Sierra Glazba Central, MobyGames, Tom je Dina MP3, Mirsoft, Mod Arhiva, LucasArts Soundtrackovi, Sierra Pomoć Stranice, a Steve Oakvalley je Autentični SID kolekcija.