Welcome to this edition of Paula’s Game Ramblings; you can find the previous Game Ramblings here if you like these random thoughts.
This time, my random thoughts have been about music in games and its educational value. Last year, during the summer months, Lynne wrote an article called Summer Classes with Zelda about the educational values of playing the game and what you might learn for doing so. So what can music in games teach us?
The Music of Civilization VI
Recently, I’ve gone back to play Civilization VI, the 4X (Expand, Explore, Exploit, Exterminate) strategy game by developer Firaxis Games. In it, you choose one leader from a roster of real-world civilisations, and, starting from the Stone Age, you try to progress your civilization through the eras to the modern day and beyond.
With the goal to win the game by meeting one of the victory conditions, either through military might, a thriving culture, or being a world leader in scientific matters, or via spiritual enlightenment through spreading your civ’s religion, peacefully or not so peacefully.
Playing Civilization VI, I’ve been reminded of how fantastic the game and the expansion pack’s soundtracks are. Not only that, but the game music also has educational value.
You see, what happens with me is I will hear one of the tracks from the game, I’ll want to know more about it, such as what instruments are used, where the song is from and so on, and you can learn a lot about other cultures by hearing its music.
Main Theme Music of Civilization VI
The main Civilization VI theme music that you hear when you boot the game up is “Sogno di Volare” (The Dream of Flight), which is composed by Christopher Tin.
Christopher Tin also composed the Grammy-winning Civilization IV song “Baba Yetu”. This paragraph below from Christopher Tin’s website explains the thinking behind composing a song like Sogno di Volare.
“The spirit of Civilization VI is exploration: and so drawing inspiration from the opening movie, as well as the cartographic imagery of the menu screen, Christopher gave his new theme a propulsive, soaring feeling accompaniment. But given the premise of the game itself, he also wanted the theme to sound stately and grand, like a national anthem.”
I’d say Christopher Tin certainly exceeded his goal of making the main theme music sound stately and grand.
In-Game Music
However, the music that plays throughout Civilization VI was written and orchestrated primarily by Geoff Knorr, who was assisted by Roland Rizzo, Griffin Cohen, and Phill Boucher.
So, between the main game and all the expansion packs, as well as several hours of ambient music found in the game for all 50 Civilizations, that’s a lot of music to compose.
What I especially like about the in-game music is that each civilization has its own unique theme music. Additionally, each civilization theme has four different variations depending on the era the civilization is currently in, from the Ancient, Medieval, and Industrial to the Atomic era. The music that plays throughout the game is a collection of the themes of all the civilizations you have encountered so far on the map. So, as you explore and discover new civilizations, you begin to hear their music as the soundtrack cycles through the civs’ themes as you play.
Advance Through the Era’s
As you advance through the eras, starting in the Ancient era, the melody is simple, usually played with one or two instruments or a slow duet. For instance, the American theme features one bango or as the video shows, the Australian theme, Waltzing Matilda, features the unmistakable sound of the Didgeridoo and a fiddle.
Reach the Medieval era, and that core melody grows once again. The theme is arranged for a small ensemble with light percussion instruments and strings to fill out the piece.
The music changes again once your civilisation reaches the Industrial era. Here, in the industrial era, the music switches to a piece composed for a full orchestra with brass instruments and heavier percussion.
Finally, once you reach the Atomic era, it takes each previously orchestrated arrangement to a much more modern-day sound, adding synthesisers with more layers and more instruments playing. Still, throughout all the changes in the eras, the music has kept that core melody you can recognise the entire time.
This increase in the music composition symbolises the evolution and growth of your civilization throughout the ages and any other civilization that happens to be on the same map. It really is a soundtrack as big and ambitious as the empires that you command.
Real Songs
To add to that, not only does each civilisation have its own theme music, but most use real folk songs or well-known songs belonging to that civilization’s real-life counterparts if they have one.
The Civs’ music reflects the history of that country’s music and its significance to that particular culture. For instance, England has ‘Scarborough Fair, and America has ‘Hard Times Come Again No More’, both recognisable music.
These folk melodies add a sense of authenticity to the soundtrack, and most use the original instruments that are used by that culture.
Like Greece’s theme music, the Epitaph of Seikilos played on a Cretan Lyra. The original Song of Seikilos was written in the 1st or 2nd century CE and discovered on a tombstone in 1883. The song is considered the oldest surviving complete musical composition from anywhere in the world.
The Music Evolves in Size and Scope
The technological revolution from the dawn of civilization is a major focus of the soundtrack, and it manages to reflect this evolution in the wonderful way the music evolves in size, scope, and complexity in the same way as civilizations evolve throughout a playthrough.
Civilization VI features the most complete and consistently catchy soundtrack of any game in the series that I have played. Of course, the musical soundtrack is important for any game.
However, when someone sits down to play a game of civilization, what they are doing is creating a story as they conquer the map. The musical themes and ambient music of civilization perfectly allow for interactive storytelling and the organic growth of the story. You make the story, and the music responds to that, and it becomes a part of your story.
Below, you can listen to 117 songs from Civilization VI.