Dear Future Gamer,

Keep up the good work. Now I'm writing about the importance of music within the games industry, or more to the point, where is it going, and is it being substituted by the new sexy graphics age?

I'm sure many of us can remember the tunes from Auf Weidersehen Monty on the Spectrum by Rob Hubbard, along with his Spellbound and Star Paws musician pieces. I can also remember games such as Amaurote, Glider Rider and the groovy sounds from Zub written by David Whittaker. I'm sure that these classics are known more for their music than anything else. Even though technology was limited, games still produced a catchy tune which I'm sure increased their playability and enjoyment value. I can remember loading up Death Wish III and immediately humming along to the tune. I would then continue humming it hours after I had turned it off.

Next came the Amiga, and along with it came the Allister Brimble generation, which again revolutionised games. WipeOut on the PlayStation was my next big WOW!. The graphics were superb, the music... fantastic. I enjoyed racing through the course with speakers blasting out Chemical Brothers tunes and the like. The music certainly added to the enjoyment of the game.

For the past two years I have been using a PC. During the first couple of months I had no sound while I played Command and Conquer (technical help did nothing). I never really enjoyed playing it, until I upgraded my machine. Then...wow! The CD quality sound had reached the PC. I then started actually enjoying the game. Does music give the game... life??

Within the last couple of months, Grim Fandago (with its jazz), Rollercoaster Tycoon (with Allister Brimble fairground antics) and Sim City 3000 has had excellent music. However one of the most disappointing games for music was Half-Life. Why couldn't they just add a soundtrack to the game? Is shooting people/aliens in quiet supposed to be more atmospheric or scary? Everyone mentions the superb graphics, but misses the other side of the game.

I prefer Unreal, simply because music plays throughout the game. And what about Total Annihilation? To me, blowing up robots with classical music playing in the background is overwhelming. This is how games should be made! Is music underrated? Are graphics overrated?

Mark Robertson

FG: Music is indeed a crucial part of gameplay - in its place. You mention Half-Life, I actually do think that some games work better without a bangin' choon in the background and Half-Life's one of them. I don't think music or graphics can ever replace gameplay but they can certainly make the gaming experience more enjoyable. As to whether music is underrated, I think it is but the situation's changing. Gone are the Rob Hubbard et al days of home composers, as in come the Fatboy Slims. This is neither a good thing nor a bad thing, but a different thing. It doesn't really matter who's created the music, as long as it complements the gameplay. We'll be exploring music in games in a future feature, watch out for it.