Space Dimension Controller’s Favorite Video Game Music
As part of Diggin’ in the Carts, our series on video game music, we’ve asked artists to provide the soundtracks that they remember the most. For this edition, Nick Dwyer spoke to Irish producer Space Dimension Controller about the most influential video game soundtracks of his youth. \n
\nTune into Diggin’ in the Carts on RBMA Radio every Thursday at 7 PM EST.
“Holocaust” – Terminator
\n\nAs well as being one of the first films I remember watching, the Terminator game for the Sega Mega Drive is probably the earliest game I remember experiencing, too. I remember not being very good at it, as I was so young. I’d watch my dad play it, and the music from this level has always stuck with me, mainly because it’s the music from the first level, which I could never get past. It was basically drilled into my head.
“Jungle of Cabe” – Pitfall
\n\nThis is also one of the earliest games I have any memory of that I tried to play, but I was awful at it. All the jumping you have to do, I just couldn’t do it properly. I’d watch my cousins play it when I went to their house. Saying that, I have no memory of the music of that game, so I found a track from one of the later games that was on the PC, that I do remember playing.
“Green Hill Zone” - Sonic the Hedgehog
\n\nUnlike the previous two games, I was actually old enough to be decent enough at this one, and the nostalgia that this track brings is absolutely ridiculous. I can’t even begin to think how long I would play it for.
“Dire, Dire Docks” - Super Mario 64
\n\nWhen the N64 came out, myself and my brothers played it nonstop. Super Mario 64 really blew my mind as it was the first time I experienced a game with such a massive sort of free, roaming world. This track from Dire, Dire Docks, one of the water levels, is one of my favorites. I’ve said to Lone before that it actually reminds me a lot of his stuff. He says he was always more of a Sega guy, but still I think this really reminds me of some of his tracks.
“Underwater Theme” – Turok: Dinosaur Hunter
\n\nThis game, Turok, along with GoldenEye and Doom, were my earliest introductions to first-person shooter style games. The GoldenEye soundtrack was obviously a bit too James Bond, and the Doom soundtrack was like a low-vibe metal soundtrack. The soundtrack for Turok, at the time, was something I’d never really heard before.
“Police Station Theme” - Resident Evil 2
\n\nThis next one is probably one of my favorite pieces of game music ever, and out of the whole Resident Evil series. The Resident Evil games are something that myself and my brothers played together a lot. We were massively into the first one. I remember when we got the demo of the sequel in the box of the director’s cut of the first game; we just played that nonstop. When the game finally came out we must have spent hours on it. Most of the time it was just me and my little brother watching our big brother play it, and even then we didn’t get bored at all.
“Mona Lisa Smile” - Toy Commander
\n\nWhen the Dreamcast came out, Toy Commander was one of the first games that came out on it that I played. In the same way Mario 64 was the first time I’d experienced an open world sort of environment, this was similar, but with toys. I definitely played this game a lot, but now I can appreciate the soundtrack in such a different way. This track in particular has an almost Derrick May sort of vibe about it. I’d probably play it in one of my sets if I could get a high quality version of it. I haven’t really gone out of my way to look for that yet.
“Safe Haven” - Resident Evil
\n\nThis is from the GameCube remake of the first game that was on the PlayStation. I would have made this whole list tracks from Resident Evil games, if I didn’t feel that would have made me seem a bit boring or obsessed. This is the music that plays when you’re in the rooms where you save your progress. Even if you just ran away from a Crimson Head zombie or a hunter, once you get into this room, you’re completely fine and you’re safe. The music just completely chills you out, but in the back of your mind you still know that it’ll be waiting for you when you go back. I think the music does a really good job of portraying that sort of eerie, calm uneasiness. I think I’ve completed this game about 15 times, so I’ve definitely had a few hours of standing in the safe room just listening to this music.
Ashenvale Area Music – World of Warcraft
\n\nI racked up around 270 days of play time on World of Warcraft in about the space of one and a half years. I have a lot of memories about this game, and I’m not even ashamed to admit that some of the best moments of my life were spent in a raid group with my in-game friends, or even just running around the world doing stupid stuff. My first proper character was a gnome warlock named Matrignome. Instead of leveling in the areas that my little gnome was meant to, I opted for the night elf areas. Not really by choice, though. I got lost and didn’t know how to get back at first, so I just decided to stay. This track is the music that plays in the area called Ashenvale, which I spent a lot of time in.