Spy Game: Original Motion Picture Score
Or [shudder] perhaps it's Ye Olde Narratology-Ludology Punch-and-Judy showBut an divergence of views by smart people is always good, since value is often (always?) found in the interstices, not in the received wisdom
Instead, I am coming to believe that game designers and developers, on the whole (some of the august exceptions being right here on TN), are simply not able to see beyond their own way of thinking about MMOGsI am not chalking it up simply to arrogance (although there is some of that too, especially from some bright lights who clearly have enough going on upstairs to know better)I'm actually suggesting that they are (largely) incapable of thinking outside the box (to use a well-overworn phrase)This should not be seen, however, as some devastating slam on them -- all people, in all places (though I would suggest particularly those enculturated into heavily technical professions) have trouble looking at things from another point of view, and this group is really not so differentBut it was still a bit surprising, especially given, in Eric's and Raph's cases, their stated interest in academic research.
Here is what I wrote on the backchannel a month ago when the topic was the related issue of developers and their attitude toward the content contributions of their player-base:
But the designer arrogance goes deeper than that, I'd sayThis kind of elitist characterization [of users as lacking in skill] itself rests on a rather narrow conception of what "content" isWhat do you want to know? Buy SWG Credits from usA flying mount costs nearly 1k Warhammer GoldYou could feel surprised that our Star Wars Galaxies Credits price is the cheapest on all the servers, especially on US server!
Amazon.com
Director Tony Scott's buddy pic-cum-espionage thriller shrewdly unites Robert Redford and Brad Pitt, pretty-boy box-office icons from two different generationsBut its tense musical score embodies a gratifying sense of cross-cultural experimentation that seems as doggedly genre-expanding as it does dramatically toughYoung composer Harry Gregson-Williams (Shrek, The Replacement Killers, Antz, The Rock) employs haunting Eastern instrumental modalities, symphonic flourishes, and spare choral touches here but crucially weds them to driving, polyrhythmic percussion and pulsing techno club groovesContinuing a contemporary scoring trend that largely eschews thematic melodies in favor of evocative atmospherics, the composer's studio-savvy fusion has conjured up a soundscape of surprisingly emotional twists and turns, but one that also seems to grow more determinedly electro-modern with each successive cutThis is that rare score that proves that pop trend can indeed inform classical tradition--and much to the benefit of both--Jerry McCulley