Music in 2600 Games

[DominiRican05]

One of my pet peeves with the 2600 is the lack of music in most games. Why was this? I know the 2600's sound capabilities were limited, but it was still very capable, especially after playing games like Dig Dug, Bobby's Going Home, and Smurfs. I know Pitfall II had extensive music as well but if I'm correct that was due to some special chip inside the game itself?

 

So, I'm wondering which other 2600 games had background music? Also, are there any homebrews with background music out there? I know that Go Fish! has music.

[Atari-Jess]

Yes, pitfall II had an Atari 8bit POKEY chip in it.

 

a big reason most 2600 games didn't have sound is because that takes away from available cycles. Which the 2600 needed a lot, but had a few.

 

VERY few games had background music, and those that did was usually quite simple. (dig dug being a good example)

[DominiRican05]

Yes, pitfall II had an Atari 8bit POKEY chip in it.

 

a big reason most 2600 games didn't have sound is because that takes away from available cycles. Which the 2600 needed a lot, but had a few.

 

VERY few games had background music, and those that did was usually quite simple. (dig dug being a good example)

899633[/snapback]

 

 

Makes sense. :-) I'd like to learn more about this POKEY chip, it was also used in some 7800 games too, right? Is there any sort of documentation on it that I could read up on? Thanks!

[+SpiceWare]

It wasn't a pokey chip. It was a custom chip designed by David Crane that helped with the graphics and the sound. They had planned to use it for other games but the crash happened before they could.

 

patent 4644495

An improved video memory system includes a program memory, a display data memory, and a plurality of data fetchers. The data fetchers are used to indirectly address the display data in the display data memory. The data fetchers are programmed during vertical blanking so that selected display data is fetched at selected vertical display positions. During each scan line each data fetcher is "read" by: (1) decrementing a counter in the data fetcher; (2) comparing the counter value against preselected top and bottom values; and (3) using the counter value to indirectly address display data that is to be displayed on the current scan line if the counter value is between the top and bottom values. This relieves the host computer of having to keep track of the current vertical display position, thereby freeing it to use the saved computer cycles to produce more interesting viedo games with more complex display graphics. In addition there are provided data fetchers that can be programmed to periodically issue signals usable either for drawing a line with a predefined slope or modulating the amplitude of a sound generator.

[+SpiceWare]

The helper chip was called the Display Processor Chip. I found an interview of David Crane at Good Deal Games. He has this to say about the DPC:

MT> As well as software, you have contributed to many hardware breakthroughs including the designs of two integrated circuits used in video games. Please tell us about the Display Processor Chip (DPC) and your innovative method of bank selecting. ...

 

DC> My background is in hardware design. I found hardware work to be a welcome change from thousands of hours of programming and that led to the designs you mentioned. I would have to go into a highly technical explanation to delve into those two chip designs, but their intention was to try to extend the life of the 2600 even further. The hope was that the machine's capabilities could be expanded by putting extra hardware into the cartridge. The DPC chip added more graphic capability as well as 3 channel music (plus drum), and made Pitfall II possible. Unfortunately, the 2600 business died before any other games could take advantage of that technology.

 

Edit - corrected DCP to DPC

Edited July 27, 2005 by SpiceWare

[kisrael]

Yes, pitfall II had an Atari 8bit POKEY chip in it.

 

a big reason most 2600 games didn't have sound is because that takes away from available cycles. Which the 2600 needed a lot, but had a few.

 

VERY few games had background music, and those that did was usually quite simple. (dig dug being a good example)

899633[/snapback]

I'd disagree. You can set the sound registers during the offscreen time of vblank and overscan. Unlike the onscreen / kernal time, you generally are not strapped for cycles at that point.

 

I'd say it's a few things:

* ROM space, perhaps; long tunes would eat up ROM, and short ones repeated could get annoying.

* Only 2 voices for both BGM *and* SFX

* Many games were still one-person operations, and while a programmer might be able to scrape together some ok graphics via trial and error, music takes more dedication, especially with the "non-musical" pitch tuning of the 2600

* Come to think of it, not many arcade games of the era had music either.

 

I had a brass instrument tutor who claimed his friend made a MINT off of royalties from Dig Dug. Actually if it was a royalty situation, I'm sure companies wouldn't be anxious to hire outside composers for help either...

 

If you don't know it, dig up "Gyruss" for the 2600 and dig its electronica cover of Tochatta and Fugue. For my money it even has Pitfall 2 beat, though that's a matter of opinion obviously.

 

EDIT:

Oh yeah, it's worth pointing out that 7800 Ballblazer is known for some really inventive music, they used math patterns to make a decent improvisation program.

 

I don't know what homebrews use music during gameplay ... my own JoustPong had a title screen riff, and Gunfight had a port of "Ring of Fire" I think that some have found inspirational.

Edited July 27, 2005 by kisrael

[joeybastard]

Pick up Thrust+ Platinum and Marble Craze from the AA store for some excellent VCS music by Paul Slocum.

 

The games themselves are kick ass too by the way.

 

EDIT: I should mention in Thrust the music isn't during gameplay

Edited July 27, 2005 by joeybastard

[Room 34]

One of my pet peeves with the 2600 is the lack of music in most games.  Why was this?

899631[/snapback]

Because the idea of background music in video games hadn't been conceived of yet!

 

(Besides, why would you want bleep-bloop music coming out of the TV when you could have Journey or REO Speedwagon blasting out of your 8-track player instead?)

[crunchysuperman]

. . . hello . . . Mcfly . . .

 

Moon Patrol?

[Atari-Jess]

gyruss is also flickery as hell and has no sound effects as I recall.

[supercat]

I know the 2600's sound capabilities were limited, but it was still very capable

899631[/snapback]

 

I don't know that I'd say "very" capable. The Atari 2600 has a rather odd assortment of notes that it can play, many of which are not very well in tune with anything else. Although the 2600 has a nice variety of timbres available for playing music ranging from smooth to buzzy to gravelly, most of the timbres use different sets of pitches. Each timbre has only one octave in which it can play chromatically, an octave in which it can kinda sorta play diatonically, and a few notes beyond. Although most different timbres have different sets of pitches available, the different sets of pitches generally do not fit usefully together. There are two timbre selections which sound about the same but differ in frequency by a factor of three. These two selection together can be used to yield about a three octave range that's reasonable in-tune though it doesn't go terribly low. Other timbres are pitched lower, but have few notes that are in tune with the upper ones.

 

All in all, a big mess which could have been substantially alleviated with the addition of two latches, two 'and' gates, and two 'or' gates.

[vdub_bobby]

I know the 2600's sound capabilities were limited, but it was still very capable

899631[/snapback]

 

I don't know that I'd say "very" capable.

Check out Thrust+ Platinum, Moon Patrol, Marble Madness, Seawolf, Gyruss, the tune P Slocum wrote for Davie's Boulder Dash demo, the soft synth experiments with the original Boulder Dash tune, the Zoo Keeper music released a few months ago, and (aw, shucks) Go Fish! - the 2600 is indeed very capable of nice music. It just ain't easy, it's ROM-intensive, and you generally have to make some compromises.

 

There are limitations but they aren't insurmountable. The limited pitch selection makes playing certain tunes difficult, especially during gameplay (with soft synth you can probably play almost anything (?) at the expense of a complicated display) and the two voices limit you to some extent as well.

[supercat]

Check out Thrust+ Platinum, Moon Patrol, Marble Madness, Seawolf, Gyruss, the tune P Slocum wrote for Davie's Boulder Dash demo, the soft synth experiments with the original Boulder Dash tune, the Zoo Keeper music released a few months ago, and (aw, shucks) Go Fish! - the 2600 is indeed very capable of nice music.  It just ain't easy, it's ROM-intensive, and you generally have to make some compromises.

 

I agree that it's possible to end up with decent-sounding music on the 2600, but I wouldn't say that means it's "very" capable. That fact that a one-in-a-million expert artisan can do good work with a tool does not mean that the tool is good. To me, saying that something is "very capable" of doing something implies that it can be made to do so easily--not that circumstances can be contrived in which the task can be performed.

[shadow460]

Listen to David Crane. Years later, Next Generation did an interview with the brothers of Rare, and they cited the same hardware additions as reasons they preferred developing cartridge games as opposed to CD-ROM.

I think if Rare had been a Saturn producer, we'd see more multi media games for it.

 

Anyway, for those who want BGM in their VCS Games, also check out the Official Frogger, Party Mix (three variations have music in them), and The Empire Strikes Back.

 

My personal favorite video tunes are NiGHTS into Dreams and Pitfall II.

 

I saw for myself today that's not a pokey in Pitfall II. I purchased a copy of it to day at gameXchange and opened the casing. The two chips look nearly identical to each other, but nothing like a pokey (they both have Activision logos on them).

[the 5th ghost]

Pressure Cooker has music between stages, and background music during gameplay.

 

The worst music, (unless you like it that way ) would have to go to Up 'N Down

 

Tapper isn't bad until it goes into that funky western music.

Edited July 28, 2005 by the 5th ghost

[kencrisis]

The thing about Gyruss is that it's ALL soundtrack. I think I would play it more if I could get a satisfying plink, boink, or swhoom when I shot something.

 

Although, I have to say, I just pulled it out and really do enjoy the stripped-down Bach.

[Feralstorm]

I thought the one-channel music used in Pengo and Moon Patrol (which could be turned on or off via difficulty switch) was a fairly decent compromise way to have background music without hobbling sound FX.Dig Dug does a pretty good job too, though usually music is killed when another sound kicks in (but it fit the pattern of the arcade game more or less, so no big deal there)

[moycon]

No one mentioned Mountain King?

 

For shame.

I think I like the music when you get the flame and head up the mountain better than any on the atari 2600.

 

I believe it plays....appropriately enough... The Hall Of The Mountain King.

That cart used a special chip as well.

 

AWESOME!

 

Also E.T. and Raiders both pull off recognizable versions of the actual movie theme songs (not during the game but it does show off the Atari's capabilities) and honestly people no-one mentioned Journey Escapes??

Edited July 28, 2005 by moycon

[kisrael]

I agree that it's possible to end up with decent-sounding music on the 2600, but I wouldn't say that means it's "very" capable.  That fact that a one-in-a-million expert artisan can do good work with a tool does not mean that the tool is good.  To me, saying that something is "very capable" of doing something implies that it can be made to do so easily--not that circumstances can be contrived in which the task can be performed.

I disagree with the "one-in-a-million" guesstimate, but agree it's not a terrific tool for it. I think that most companies didn't make the effort.

[DominiRican05]

Thanks for the list of games, I'll be sure to check them out, starting with the homebrews since I'm itching to try the new games and see what new developers are doing with the 2600.

 

I hope I didn't give the wrong impression when I said that I believed the 2600 was very capable of making background music, I just meant that it could be done, I know not to the extent of what was capable in later consoles of course, but something could've been done. Smurfs is good at using background music, albeit very loudly, even altering depending on the stage (like the spider scene). Also as was noted ET did a recognizable rendition of the theme song (one of the few redeeming qualities in the game).

 

I did listen to the title screen for Thrust+ Platinum, Paul Slocum does excellent work!

[yuppicide]

I wish we could see some homebrew games with that DCP chip inside.

[+FujiSkunk]

Lots of games have good incidental music. Besides the ones already listed, Ms. Pac-Man, Kangaroo, Pole Position, Crystal Castles, Jr. Pac-Man, and Midnight Magic all have listenable tunes. Some of the later red-label games got more ambitious, using the different "voices" available, with mixed results; Double Dunk pulled it off, but Sprintmaster's music sounds a little off to me.

 

A couple of third-party titles, not yet mentioned, also come to mind: Eggomania has good music, and while California Games could have used a better attempt at "Louie Louie," the rest of the tunes are good.

Edited July 28, 2005 by skunkworx

[NE146]

I was amazed when 2600 Ms. Pacman first came out with music.

 

I agree about Gyruss.. lack of sound effects or not I thought it was amazing they actually got the music in there. The arcade games main draw anyway... was the Bach and Roll tune! It was the first game with a real rocking dramatic soundtrack I think.. drums and all. So it was kind of mandatory they put that in. It's little things like a videogame background tune that that eventually get taken for granted these days that people forget how striking and different it was when it first came out.

 

Re: Moon Patrol. I've spoken about this before but yknow I went YEARS without realizing the 2600 version had a soundtrack What kind of dufus am I? But then again, I had the 5200 version so when I borrowed the 2600 version from a friend back in the day.. it was more of a curiousity if anything.

[The_Laird]

You've all forgotton easily the best 2600 music (without a chip) Double Dragon it has most of the original tunes from the arcade and they sound really good! Also 2 more games not mentioned with in-game tunes are Smurf which has the cartoon's theme and Firefly which is plain crap (both the music and the game). By all accounts the 2600's chip was alot better than most other 'sound' chips around at the time (and later - the 48k Spectrum - ugh!)

[Cybergoth]

Hi there!

 

By all accounts the 2600's chip was alot better than most other 'sound' chips around at the time (and later - the 48k Spectrum - ugh!)

 

So if the TIA was "by all accounts" better than the sound chip of the spectrum, why did Atari use the speccys chip for the Atari ST instead of its own "superior" TIA?

 

Greetings,

Manuel