Legendary video game music composer Nobuo Uematsu says he doesn’t think some modern video game soundtracks are as interesting as those in older games.
Legendary video game music composer Nobuo Uematsu says he doesn’t think some modern video game soundtracks are as interesting as those in older games.
I think music has a very important place in games, and the thing about music in The Elder Scrolls is that it’s always been an afterthought.
I mean, sure, Jeremy Soule composed some great tracks (though really, they were always a bit repetitive, and it only got worse since Oblivion). But no effort was made at all to get them to fit the game.
Of course it’s not an easy task with the open-world design. But already in Morrowind, after a while the soundtrack was getting on my nerves. It was always there, with that overwhelming orchestration blaring when nothing much happened in game, or that melancholic theme starting in the middle of a gruesome underground dungeon. Everywhere sounds the same, until one enemy spots you and then it abruptly stops for another overused track. No matter if it’s a greater Daedra or a freaking mudcrab.
That theme, you know the one because it’s become the Elder Scrolls theme, from Morrowind’s title screen to Oblivion’s to The DragonBorn Comes, I used to like it. Except after a few dozen hours being used without rhyme or reason in Morrowind, I already couldn’t stand it anymore.