Little Big Planet is a PlayStation classic game that was released in October of 2008. This was at a time where media was emerging into an individual outlet for others and more people had become able to “curate” their own story and persona online. These identities were heavily impacted by the new-age of media and its tendency to often be against the status quo.
Little Big Planet, stands today as one of the first game’s I have played that allowed me to think differently about my life. It does this in a very simple way. For me, the game soundtrack has traveled with me throughout all of my lived stages of life. It is interesting to consider it to be one of the best game’s I have ever played when it is not only outdated, but completely dead.
The main composer and music supervisor for the game was known as Kenneth C.M. Young. He worked to add certain tracks to the game that matched the undertone vibe and he also collaboratively composed tracks for the game. Notable tracks from the game consist of “Get It Together!” by The Go! Team, “The Orb Of Dreamers” by The Daniel Pemberton TV Orchestra, and “Cornman” by Kinky. All of these songs were chosen in a very particular way that would best suit the point of the game. For clarity, the point of the game was really to complete the platform-story levels in order to unleash your creativity. Once you finish the story-mode levels, the only thing left you had to do in the game was really create your own experience. Because there are tons of different people in the world with all different lived experiences, the music chosen also reflects diverse options that can either hinder or aid one’s creative process. The focus on choosing sound that not only has variety but also energy is a big part of kickstarting creative motivation. The first time I ever listened to “The Orb Of Dreamers” I was 5 years old and I will never forget how freed I felt.
A lot of the sounds in these songs, come off differently based on what levels they were to assist, but they all possess the same tone of encouragement. They can either come off pretty powerful or more mellow.
Now, the real reason I decided to discuss this game is to further explain the concept of how sound, in the early stages of development, can fully influence how you perceive music and preferences of certain sounds. We are to be heavily associated with the feeling first felt when listening to theses sounds and for me, all of these songs in this game curated the most positive and fun experiences I have ever encountered. I notice that a lot of music I tend to listen to today replicates similar variety and various energies. Furthermore, the soundscape tends to have a typical textured sound that heavily uses layering to create a sort of busy noise regardless of it being “soft” or not. Another detail is that a lot of these sounds have a constant and repetitive rhythm within them. This has turned into something I prefer in music with every new release! Overall I think its so cool that the impact of sound design can go very deep and even affect the perception of not only how music sounds, but how one goes about life and how that music may affect them and their authenticity as a person.