Emperor Joshua Norton II
@joshuanortonii.bsky.social
Emperor of the Internet. An ongoing proclamation: The internet is for those who strive to be better today than they were yesterday. The rest can log off and fuck off.
Bigotry is a huge no. Cishet wereman.
Bigotry is a huge no. Cishet wereman.
Are you sure you're not still stuck in one of those alternate universes from the way you've tempered with both the past and future of NBA?
November 15, 2025 at 3:23 AM
Are you sure you're not still stuck in one of those alternate universes from the way you've tempered with both the past and future of NBA?
I am Tycho in video games and Gabe in board games.
Is that good or bad?
Is that good or bad?
November 15, 2025 at 2:33 AM
I am Tycho in video games and Gabe in board games.
Is that good or bad?
Is that good or bad?
Many heroic Americans died to smuggle this one bag into Canada.
November 14, 2025 at 8:54 PM
Many heroic Americans died to smuggle this one bag into Canada.
Victor F.: "I should just make new friends? Hmmmmm...."
November 14, 2025 at 8:19 PM
Victor F.: "I should just make new friends? Hmmmmm...."
That concludes my thesis on opera music as video game music.
Oh, and you probably want a link to that Gran Turismo 4 opening, right?
Well, here you go:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vwea...
Oh, and you probably want a link to that Gran Turismo 4 opening, right?
Well, here you go:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vwea...
Gran Turismo 4 Intro (Europe) HQ
YouTube video by SM93TV
www.youtube.com
November 14, 2025 at 8:13 PM
That concludes my thesis on opera music as video game music.
Oh, and you probably want a link to that Gran Turismo 4 opening, right?
Well, here you go:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vwea...
Oh, and you probably want a link to that Gran Turismo 4 opening, right?
Well, here you go:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vwea...
Anyway, in many video game cut-scenes, adding lyrics that you cannot understand is not a detriment, because the point of opera in video games is similar to that of opera itself:
To have a voice that helps to showcase the mood of the scene. And that goes beyond language barriers.
To have a voice that helps to showcase the mood of the scene. And that goes beyond language barriers.
November 14, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Anyway, in many video game cut-scenes, adding lyrics that you cannot understand is not a detriment, because the point of opera in video games is similar to that of opera itself:
To have a voice that helps to showcase the mood of the scene. And that goes beyond language barriers.
To have a voice that helps to showcase the mood of the scene. And that goes beyond language barriers.
(For more on this, feel free to read "Masquerade" by Terry Pratchett, who wrote the book after being introduced to opera).
November 14, 2025 at 8:13 PM
(For more on this, feel free to read "Masquerade" by Terry Pratchett, who wrote the book after being introduced to opera).
Add to this that there is one more obstacle to opera: That even when the lyrics are in your language, it can be hard to understand.
Part of that is that often, the point of an opera song isn't so much meant to have great lyrics as it is to showcase a great singing voice.
Part of that is that often, the point of an opera song isn't so much meant to have great lyrics as it is to showcase a great singing voice.
November 14, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Add to this that there is one more obstacle to opera: That even when the lyrics are in your language, it can be hard to understand.
Part of that is that often, the point of an opera song isn't so much meant to have great lyrics as it is to showcase a great singing voice.
Part of that is that often, the point of an opera song isn't so much meant to have great lyrics as it is to showcase a great singing voice.
One: The opera, inserted carefully, should not take attention away from the plot.
Heck, the game I mention, Gran Turismo 4 is a pure racing game. No story at all. None. And many games will also have cut-scenes without dialogue, because the story is told in a very, -very- different way from movies.
Heck, the game I mention, Gran Turismo 4 is a pure racing game. No story at all. None. And many games will also have cut-scenes without dialogue, because the story is told in a very, -very- different way from movies.
November 14, 2025 at 8:13 PM
One: The opera, inserted carefully, should not take attention away from the plot.
Heck, the game I mention, Gran Turismo 4 is a pure racing game. No story at all. None. And many games will also have cut-scenes without dialogue, because the story is told in a very, -very- different way from movies.
Heck, the game I mention, Gran Turismo 4 is a pure racing game. No story at all. None. And many games will also have cut-scenes without dialogue, because the story is told in a very, -very- different way from movies.
But now we come to the most modern of entertainment: Video games.
This is in fact a truly great environment for opera to be in, for many reasons.
This is in fact a truly great environment for opera to be in, for many reasons.
November 14, 2025 at 8:13 PM
But now we come to the most modern of entertainment: Video games.
This is in fact a truly great environment for opera to be in, for many reasons.
This is in fact a truly great environment for opera to be in, for many reasons.
In TV movies/series? Possibly, but there are often limits to how it can be used. Classical orchestras can work in the background in the way an opera singer cannot, especially in talking scenes, which is the most common scene in most movies. An opera singer would disturb that scene, not enhance it.
November 14, 2025 at 8:13 PM
In TV movies/series? Possibly, but there are often limits to how it can be used. Classical orchestras can work in the background in the way an opera singer cannot, especially in talking scenes, which is the most common scene in most movies. An opera singer would disturb that scene, not enhance it.
So it is not an easy genre to get into the traditional way.
Listening to it on radio? I'm sure many will disagree, but for me, opera is something to listen-listen to, not just have on in the background. It's a demanding style of music.
Listening to it on radio? I'm sure many will disagree, but for me, opera is something to listen-listen to, not just have on in the background. It's a demanding style of music.
November 14, 2025 at 8:13 PM
So it is not an easy genre to get into the traditional way.
Listening to it on radio? I'm sure many will disagree, but for me, opera is something to listen-listen to, not just have on in the background. It's a demanding style of music.
Listening to it on radio? I'm sure many will disagree, but for me, opera is something to listen-listen to, not just have on in the background. It's a demanding style of music.
Remember, going to the opera was at the time, more or less a whole affair. It was not something you just went to, it was a thing to truly prepare for.
(Of course, in the really old past, opera was also performed on low-end stages, mostly singing opera songs about drinking and fucking)
(Of course, in the really old past, opera was also performed on low-end stages, mostly singing opera songs about drinking and fucking)
November 14, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Remember, going to the opera was at the time, more or less a whole affair. It was not something you just went to, it was a thing to truly prepare for.
(Of course, in the really old past, opera was also performed on low-end stages, mostly singing opera songs about drinking and fucking)
(Of course, in the really old past, opera was also performed on low-end stages, mostly singing opera songs about drinking and fucking)
At the time (early 2000s), I had the idea that the main problem with opera is that it's generally so inaccessible in so many ways. Not just the snobbery, though that is part of it.
The idea was that the opera house is, in today's world, the worst place to introduce people to opera.
The idea was that the opera house is, in today's world, the worst place to introduce people to opera.
November 14, 2025 at 8:13 PM
At the time (early 2000s), I had the idea that the main problem with opera is that it's generally so inaccessible in so many ways. Not just the snobbery, though that is part of it.
The idea was that the opera house is, in today's world, the worst place to introduce people to opera.
The idea was that the opera house is, in today's world, the worst place to introduce people to opera.
And then, when the opera singer is at the end, and you think the intro is over... -Then- the rock music starts, and with that, the more common short, hard cuts of the racing game blares out.
This was my first experience of opera working in tandem with hard rock. And it worked perfectly.
This was my first experience of opera working in tandem with hard rock. And it worked perfectly.
November 14, 2025 at 8:13 PM
And then, when the opera singer is at the end, and you think the intro is over... -Then- the rock music starts, and with that, the more common short, hard cuts of the racing game blares out.
This was my first experience of opera working in tandem with hard rock. And it worked perfectly.
This was my first experience of opera working in tandem with hard rock. And it worked perfectly.
Then the solo opera singer comes in, and we're treated to some actual FMV of car crews and flags, all in slow motion, all in soft cuts from one to the other.
November 14, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Then the solo opera singer comes in, and we're treated to some actual FMV of car crews and flags, all in slow motion, all in soft cuts from one to the other.
Gran Turismo 4 went with opera.
Not just classical music. An opera singer.
Not right away, mind you. First there was a choir accompanying a beautiful ingame shot of one single car which gradually changed ingame environments as the camera circled it... So peaceful
Not just classical music. An opera singer.
Not right away, mind you. First there was a choir accompanying a beautiful ingame shot of one single car which gradually changed ingame environments as the camera circled it... So peaceful
November 14, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Gran Turismo 4 went with opera.
Not just classical music. An opera singer.
Not right away, mind you. First there was a choir accompanying a beautiful ingame shot of one single car which gradually changed ingame environments as the camera circled it... So peaceful
Not just classical music. An opera singer.
Not right away, mind you. First there was a choir accompanying a beautiful ingame shot of one single car which gradually changed ingame environments as the camera circled it... So peaceful
This video was, at the time, incredibly unique among racing games. Because all other racing games would more or less would use some high energy rock/metal/electronica with nothing but short, sharp cuts of the racing. A tried and true method.
November 14, 2025 at 8:13 PM
This video was, at the time, incredibly unique among racing games. Because all other racing games would more or less would use some high energy rock/metal/electronica with nothing but short, sharp cuts of the racing. A tried and true method.
But I will focus on the intro video of one particular game that changed -my- view on not just video game music, but also the classical music and its role in modern society as a whole.
The opening video of Gran Turismo 4, for Playstation 2.
The opening video of Gran Turismo 4, for Playstation 2.
November 14, 2025 at 8:13 PM
But I will focus on the intro video of one particular game that changed -my- view on not just video game music, but also the classical music and its role in modern society as a whole.
The opening video of Gran Turismo 4, for Playstation 2.
The opening video of Gran Turismo 4, for Playstation 2.
I think it's the Germans that like to dip their pickles in their coffee.
November 14, 2025 at 7:24 PM
I think it's the Germans that like to dip their pickles in their coffee.
That's because they try to accommodate to American tourists.
November 14, 2025 at 7:22 PM
That's because they try to accommodate to American tourists.
ANYWAY, despite those two missteps, I still think about this game regularly, about half a year after playing it.
And again, it's because the game is otherwise so incredibly good in practically every other way, that these things annoyed me more than they otherwise would have.
And again, it's because the game is otherwise so incredibly good in practically every other way, that these things annoyed me more than they otherwise would have.
November 14, 2025 at 7:21 PM
ANYWAY, despite those two missteps, I still think about this game regularly, about half a year after playing it.
And again, it's because the game is otherwise so incredibly good in practically every other way, that these things annoyed me more than they otherwise would have.
And again, it's because the game is otherwise so incredibly good in practically every other way, that these things annoyed me more than they otherwise would have.
And the whole "Verde gets to fuck either of the two adult women (your choice)" was not only handled as well as your typical visual novel game (that is, badly); at least one of them (Lune), it just would feel so wrong to have her accept his advances and/or hit on him. Clearly, I chose not to do that.
November 14, 2025 at 7:21 PM
And the whole "Verde gets to fuck either of the two adult women (your choice)" was not only handled as well as your typical visual novel game (that is, badly); at least one of them (Lune), it just would feel so wrong to have her accept his advances and/or hit on him. Clearly, I chose not to do that.
And for those familiar with Baseball and the term "Win Above Replacement"... Yeah, he's the replacement compared to someone who has a distinctly high WAR. He's the Jeff Francoeur to the Ken Griffin jr. (except Jeff Francoeur was a really likable guy).
November 14, 2025 at 7:21 PM
And for those familiar with Baseball and the term "Win Above Replacement"... Yeah, he's the replacement compared to someone who has a distinctly high WAR. He's the Jeff Francoeur to the Ken Griffin jr. (except Jeff Francoeur was a really likable guy).