Video gaming is now hugely popular all across the planet. There are approximately 2.7 billion video gamers active today. In the states alone, that amounts to over 150 million people playing video games.
As the technology involved in consoles and PCs has moved forward, so has the detail of the games being developed. Fans are expecting and wanting more from the big companies, and new ideas are being sought wherever they can.
One area that has been around video games for a long time, is the tie-in. In the past, this has often meant movies and comic books, but some games have taken inspiration from other sources.
There have been games based on books – Sherlock, and games based on documentaries – The March of the Penguins. There have even been tie-ins with M&Ms, Playboy, and Burger King.
One other area that has been used in games to varying degrees of success is music and bands. No one knows if there will be another Guns n Roses album, but strangely you can enjoy a slot machine in their name.
How did music become involved with gaming?
In the beginning, games only had rudimentary sounds. Anyone who has played any old arcade game will know that full soundtracks didn’t exist back then.
As consoles and home computing grew popular, music was seen as a far more important part of game development. In the case of Paul McCartney, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, and The Thompson Twins, things went even further.
These three all had home computer games licensed around them and their music. The Thompson Twins was perhaps the most intriguing as the game was released on a Flexi-disc and had to be loaded from it. Novel, and completely impractical.
Then as more action-oriented games were released, they perhaps needed heavier music to accompany them.
Metal and rock enter the world of gaming
It was perhaps not until the 1990s that gaming started to use these types of bands to sometimes great effect, and sometimes not.
In the late ’80s, there was a completely unlicensed game that featured a likeness of Ronnie James Dio and referenced Ozzy Osbourne among others. However, for genuinely licensed games it was the ’90s that saw rock arrive on the consoles.
The unfortunate thing about tie-ins is that they sometimes attract spurious licenses just to make more sales. Crüe Ball is one such example. A pointless pinball game played on the Sega Genesis that used Motley Crüe’s name and not much else.
Beavis and Butthead were next up for licensing before Trent Reznor did something unique at the time.
Enter Quake
After the success of Doom, it seemed odds on that there would be a sequel, and boy was there. Quake came out in 1996 and turned the genre on its head. No longer was 3D only horizontal, but now there was full 3D movement, and what’s more, it had a unique soundtrack.
The developers knew that their game was sinister and dark, and they wanted something appropriate. Hiring Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails might have led them to believe he was going to write a bunch of new songs. Instead, he provided an industrial soundscape to accompany the player as they move through tunnels and fight monsters.
Then the Brits arrived
One band that seems to have been more involved in gaming than any other is Iron Maiden. This long surviving band is often quoted as being the first metal band that fans get into, and they are still releasing music.
The new Iron Maiden album, Senjutus has been announced, and they are currently involved in the Legacy of the Beast tour. This tour is named after a comic book and a game.
However, this isn’t the only game that Maiden has been linked to. Back in 1999, Ed Hunter was given away with the CD version of their greatest hits. Their music has been used across the Grand Theft Auto series, Carmageddon, Tony Hawk, and Madden.
Other rock and metal bands have been tied into a different type of game.
Metal slot machines and pinball games
When you look at the type of games that Iron Maiden’s music has been used in, it is easy to understand why. These games need something that rocks. A love song is not going to cut it when you are stealing a car in Grand Theft Auto.
Slot machines are a bit different though. It is hard to work out the link between slot machines, although pinball perhaps lends itself more to a solid soundtrack. However, there are plenty of slot machines influenced by rock and metal.
Going to a website like Energy Casino to play slot machine games could lead to a surprising discovery. Artists such as Jimi Hendrix, Kiss, and Motorhead, have all lent their names, likenesses, and music to slots.
Grand Theft Auto is responsible for much today
Metal and rock continue to be used in games and Grand Theft Auto set the way. Instead of using a straightforward soundtrack, GTA included radios in the vehicles that are available to use in the game.
These radios can be turned off and on, and different stations are available to add to the experience. Although there is a range of music available, rock features commonly with L7 and Alice in Chains in some of the games.
There is even an official GTA radio playlist available on Spotify for anyone to tune in to outside of the game.
Summary
Guitar Hero, Rock Band, and Brutal Legend have all continued introducing rock and metal through the medium of gaming, although these games involve the player actually playing an ‘instrument’.
Online gaming sites such as 888 and Energy Casino use music along with intense graphics to provide a visual and audio experience in their slots. Video games use metal for soundtracks, and occasionally as an integral part of the game.
If you are looking for a game that combines metal and shooting, then try Metal: Hellsinger. This is about as much of a mash-up as you can get, metal, FPS, and a rhythm game in one. Something to look forward to when it gets released this year.
Header image from Max Pixel – used under Creative Commons license CC0
