Yo party people~! The long wait is over and yes I am finally posting about my experience at Video Games Live here in Beijing. I’d like to apologise to my readers for my disappearance and delay of this specific post. I recently started working as an English teacher along with my Mandarin studies so it’s been a little tough trying to get used to all of that. So without further ado I present the Greek Man in Beijing report on VGL!
Video Games Live is probably every game “nerd’s” dream concert! An event where beloved tunes from our favorite pass-time are performed by a live orchestra and take us back on that magical journey we experienced for hours upon hours each day. The idea was created and produced by video game composers Tommy Tallarico and Jack Wall, with the latter being the orchestra’s maestro. Tommy acts as the host of the event and also participates in some pieces by playing his guitar. All I have to say is that they are both geniuses and the whole idea is just pure awesomeness! I did have a few gripes of course but we’ll get to that later.
As you all probably know, I’ve forgotten my camera back at home so I only have two pictures from the event here in Beijing, both taken from my less than stellar cell phone camera. So the venue is the Capital Indoor Stadium which is quite huge. I’m not sure which Olympic event took place here but it’s a very nice stadium. Kim had booked some really decent seats where we could see the whole thing. My first gripe came here and it was about the screen where all the game videos were shown. It was just too small really. It was a problem when trying to read the subtitles when a video game designer was talking in Japanese. Fortunately Hideo Kojima spoke in full English. Yay~! But besides that the rest of the videos could be seen just fine. Maybe next time they could add a bigger screen or multiple ones throughout the venue. So the lights go down and after a few introductory comedic videos the screen displays two familiar lines going up and down with a dot bouncing between them. At the same time the orchestra was simulating the sounds of Pong in sync with the video. Absolutely brilliant I have to tell you. And so begins a journey back to my past! For the next 2 hours I was between the ages 5 and 16. Hearing the orchestra playing the theme from the very first NES Super Mario Bros was one of my favorite moments. I could literarily imagine myself back when I was playing the game. The best part of all was when all the crowd started clapping along with the music.
The performance of the Metal Gear Solid music was one of the most epic moments. The whole effect of the live orchestra along with the acoustics of the huge venue just made it all feel so grand. Tied in along with scenes from all the MGS games on the screen it was from out of this world. I was also really moved when I heard one of my absolute favorite video game themes of all time: the intro to Chrono Cross. That song always felt like it came from an epic journey and made my mind travel. Hearing it live from a full orchestra was just priceless! Now here is where I’ll give my other gripe, or maybe just a semi-gripe really. There was a lot of Blizzard promotion going on. Not that I didn’t appreciate hearing music from games that are yet to be released (Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3) but ok having them split between sections of the concert felt more of an advertisement. Well I guess they do have to make some money as well right?
So after a trip down memory lane they decide to close with the music from Halo and that’s where I thought “Don’t you DARE close it like this!” No, I am not a big Halo fan and I don’t get the hype. It’s just a shooter, kay? :-p Of course they didn’t cause the entire crowd brought their hands together for an encore and what an encore it was! “One Winged Angel” from Final Fantasy VII! Enough said guys, really! If you play video games with the same passion as I do and don’t know this song then go play FF VII. One of the best RPGs ever made with some of the BEST game music ever performed.
So, yeah, I had an awesome time and I have Kim to thank for that! Best birthday present ever! :-D If you ever get a chance to see a VGL event and you like video games then I suggest you go see it. It’s an experience you will never forget!
Peace out all^^
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