MIDI Week Singles: "Main Theme" - Bobby is Going Home (A2600)

 

"Main Theme" from Bobby is Going Home on the Atari 2600 (1983)
Composer/Arranger: Unknown*
Album: No Official Release
Publisher: Bit Corporation
Developer: Bit Corporation

The main theme in Bobby is Going Home is another example of one of the earliest uses of continuous music in a home console video game.  While not an original composition for the game, something you find semi-frequently, what is impressive is that you can still tell that this is "What a Friend We Have in Jesus," or at least you can tell if you're already familiar with the song.  Remember that the Atari 2600 was capable of only producing two distinct sounds at any given time, so having a game with background music along with sound effects needed to work a bit of magic.  Something else that is interesting that isn't captured in the music above but in the linked game play video is that at times the music slows down and speeds up, which seems like a deliberate choice, possibly to throw off the player with the timing of their jumps, and if that is indeed the case, then kudos to Bit Corp. for throwing that in there.

I couldn't find any credits for Bobby is Going Home outside of what is known/available on Wikipedia and Moby Games interviews with Bit Corporation about why this particular song was chosen.  It might've just been that the song was in the public domain and that it was still simple enough that it worked with the melody and bass line with the bass line being cut for the jumping sound effect.  Whatever the reason, just another great example of 40-year-old video game music.

~JWfW/JDub/The Faceplantman/Jaconian
Is It Worth The Time?

MIDI Week Singles: "Fortitude" - BIT.TRIP RUNNER (Wii, PC, Mac, 3DS, Linux)

"Fortitude" from BIT.TRIP RUNNER on the Wii, PC, Mac, 3DS, & Linux (2010)

Composer: Gaijin Games / Petrified Productions / Matthew Harwood

Album: Bit.Trip Runner Official Soundtrack

Label: Self Released

Developer: Gaijin Games

First off, for the composer, Gaijin Games' bandcamp page lists the composer as "Gaijin Games" while the page at Video Game Music Database lists Petrified Productions, who is one Matthew Harwood as the composer.

So I landed on the track "Fortitude," and you can read into that however you want.  I needed to listen to something more upbeat after coming up with the next Game Scores article (in a week or two) and this track got to me emotionally at 2:24.  When that familiar melody that crops up around the first (MEGA!) or second (SUPER!) power up, and I looked at the title of the song, I was filled up with feelings.

This song goes the way of a number of the songs on the BIT.TRIP RUNNER soundtrack, in that they start off with a beat, move into groovey territory followed by the main theme and ending with a light, almost airiness to them that contains very little of the melody or the previous sections of the song.  While a somewhat non-standard musical choice, it does mirror pretty well the music in-game and how the music progresses, or doesn't depending on how you yourself play the game.

~JWfW/JDub/Jaconian

Just Leave A Black And Bitter Stain