PLAY! A Video Game Symphony.

I can honestly say that the last video game I’d played involved moving around a hungry yellow face around a maze eating dots, lemons and cherries and trying to avoid the ghosts that would follow me around. This was when Google paid tribute to the 20th anniversary of Pac Man earlier this year with it’s interactive Google logo on the homepage. Aside from this one-off, I’d never really been all that interested in games, and for the life of me, can’t understand why or how others can spend so much time with RPGs, first person shooters, and the like.

With absolute certainty, I can say that my childhood upbringing has a lot to do with my disinterest in games; not having ever owned an Atari, ColecoVision, Nintendo, or a SEGA video game console. I was also a bit of a sore loser as a kid and not competitive in nature so it’s easy to understand why I may have avoided playing as often. That’s not to say that I’ve never been exposed to video games, however. I have memories of playing Duck Hunt and Mario games when visiting friends, or playing Tetris on a GameBoy during a family road trip. But with regards to the games that are currently available on XBox, PlayStation, Wii or on a computer, I just don’t see the point and dismiss those who play them as someone who needs help.

While my views on consumers of video games haven’t changed, an appreciation for game developers and musicians commissioned to write music for games had emerged when I learned that the PLAY! A Video Game Symphony was coming to down.

Learning about the names and faces of notable composers, many of whom are Japanese, opened my mind to appreciate their craft. PLAY! was an immersive experience attended by a full house of gamers. Three large screens hung above the choir and orchestra pit projecting videos of games from Super Mario Brothers, The Legend of Zelda, Halo, Final Fantasy, World of Warcraft, Kingdom Hearts, and many more, interspersed with live video feed of the orchestra and the conductor. The audience was encouraged to cheer, whistle, and applaud throughout the performance. And did we ever!

I was so impressed by tonight’s performance from start to finish that I went out and bought a CD/DVD album and a program guide as a memento of this occasion, then stood in line for autographs from composers Michael Curran and Geoff Knorr (Civilization V), Oleksa Lozowchuk (Dead Rising 2), and orchestra conductor Andy Brick. I was also given a free copy of a 2-disc album soundtrack to Civilization V while queuing.

I shall never forget about tonight’s wonderful musical performance.

As I sit here now browsing through eBay for the original Nintendo Entertainment System complete with the gun, Duck Hunt, and Super Mario Bros. game, I think this video game symphony may have been my foray into the world of video games, twenty-five years late.