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Video Games Live provides a hypnotic adventure
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Imagine a crowded concert hall. Thousands of avid fans eagerly wait for the orchestra to permeate their ears. The lights dim as the curtain reveals the instrumental menagerie. The conductor takes his position and the attendees fall silent, all eyes on the white baton. The conductor drops the baton and the audience is treated to a stirring performance of . Super Mario Brothers?
The defining feature of this concert (known as Video Games Live) is that every person in attendance is to some degree a gamer. They have come to hear a professional orchestra perform renditions of music from their favorite video games. The music comes from and is inspired by all types of games. From “Frogger” and “Space Invaders” to “God of War” and “Bioshock,” the music is definitely varied.
Video Games Live first debuted July 6, 2005 and featured the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. Since that day, VGL has been a yearly concert tour and has performed in Salt Lake City, Austin, Texas and New York City, among others. The concert series has also been seen outside the U.S. in countries such as Scotland, Canada and Mexico.
This year, the event started its tour in Orlando, Fla. on January 24 and has sold out every performance to date in 14 cities worldwide.
The event is scheduled to continue on throughout the remainder of 2008 and may very soon come to Boise. The official Website lists Boise as a tour stop though a venue and date have yet to be announced.
According to VGL’s Website, the event began as a way for the video game industry to “. help encourage and support the culture and art that video games have become.” The Website defines VGL as “. the power and emotion of a symphony orchestra mixed with the excitement and energy of a rock concert and the technology and interactivity of a video game all completely synchronized to amazing cutting edge video screen visuals, state-of-the-art lighting and special on-stage interactive segments with the audience.”
The concert series features live performances of popular and fan-favorite video game franchises such as “The Legend of Zelda,” “Final Fantasy,” “Halo” and “World of Warcraft.”
In addition to the musical aspect of the event, VGL also supplements the orchestral arrangements with synchronized video game footage.
The event organizers have also touted the show as an “all ages” show which means that no mature themed footage is shown according to the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) guidelines.
An interactive element is also present, which consists of two randomly chosen audience members brought on stage to compete in actual game-play challenges and accompanied in real-time by the orchestra to match the players’ actions.
The show includes live action performances complete with special effects and stage performers as well as a fully synchronized laser show to accompany the music. VGL creates an atmosphere of listening enjoyment specially tailored to please any video game fan.
A full list of tour dates, musical arrangements and video footage of Video Games Live can be found at the concert’s Website, videogameslive.com.
C. COLT CRANE
BizTech Writer
