7/07/2005
An Evening of Musical Gaming
Video game music celebrated at the Hollywood Bowl
by Kimi Matsuzaki, 07/06/2005
Video game developers, composers, and fans alike gathered tonight at the Hollywood Bowl for a celebration of video games and music, known as Video Games Live. Tonight was the premiere event which kicked off a tour of eighteen stops, including Canada. Video Games Live was co-created three years ago by Tommy Tallarico and Jack Wall, with the 1UP community's very own Becky Young, aka Aktrez, as Marketing Coordinator.
There were various activities for the pre-show event: Videotopia, an exhibit chronicling the history of arcade games complete with actual cabinets, Meet and Greet with Tommy Tallarico and Jack Wall, and a Costume Contest. The winner of the Costume Contest, Kevin, dressed as The Fury from Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, and won a PSP courtesy of 1UP along with a bag of Video Games Live swag. The runner-up, Becky, dressed as The Boss from the same game.
The audience was treated to a spectacular show of music by the LA Philharmonic, video game clips, laser light show, and interaction with the audience. One lucky person, a fourteen year old boy, beat out a lady at Frogger to win an AMD gaming laptop. Actors portraying Giddeon Wyeth from Advent Rising and characters from Tron made appearances on stage during their respective song sets. Following the classic crowd pleaser, Super Mario Brothers, Tommy Tallarico and Jack Wall took requests from the audience and predictably, Halo was what the crowd shouted out as their request. Video game pianist Martin Leung also made an appearance during the Final Fantasy song "One Winged-Angel".
A variety of video game developers and composers were involved during the show, including Hideo Kojima, Yuji Naka (making his first US appearance ever), Ted Price, Lorne Lanning, Marty O'Donnell, Koji Kondo via pre-recorded video. Elijah Wood and Stan Lee were also present. 1UP had the pleasure of interviewing many of these industry professionals, so stay tuned for more in-depth coverage!
Video game developers, composers, and fans alike gathered tonight at the Hollywood Bowl for a celebration of video games and music, known as Video Games Live. Tonight was the premiere event which kicked off a tour of eighteen stops, including Canada. Video Games Live was co-created three years ago by Tommy Tallarico and Jack Wall, with the 1UP community's very own Becky Young, aka Aktrez, as Marketing Coordinator.
There were various activities for the pre-show event: Videotopia, an exhibit chronicling the history of arcade games complete with actual cabinets, Meet and Greet with Tommy Tallarico and Jack Wall, and a Costume Contest. The winner of the Costume Contest, Kevin, dressed as The Fury from Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, and won a PSP courtesy of 1UP along with a bag of Video Games Live swag. The runner-up, Becky, dressed as The Boss from the same game.
The audience was treated to a spectacular show of music by the LA Philharmonic, video game clips, laser light show, and interaction with the audience. One lucky person, a fourteen year old boy, beat out a lady at Frogger to win an AMD gaming laptop. Actors portraying Giddeon Wyeth from Advent Rising and characters from Tron made appearances on stage during their respective song sets. Following the classic crowd pleaser, Super Mario Brothers, Tommy Tallarico and Jack Wall took requests from the audience and predictably, Halo was what the crowd shouted out as their request. Video game pianist Martin Leung also made an appearance during the Final Fantasy song "One Winged-Angel".
A variety of video game developers and composers were involved during the show, including Hideo Kojima, Yuji Naka (making his first US appearance ever), Ted Price, Lorne Lanning, Marty O'Donnell, Koji Kondo via pre-recorded video. Elijah Wood and Stan Lee were also present. 1UP had the pleasure of interviewing many of these industry professionals, so stay tuned for more in-depth coverage!
