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Video Game Score Plagiarism vs Influencing

CrocoDuck

Member
Ok, maybe I have something or I don't, but here's one.

This is a song from a Spanish singer named Camilo Sesto (love his music, I blame my mother) called "El Amor de Mi Vida" ("The Love of My Life") was released somewhere around the 70s or 80s.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=w9Wo98BMXWk

And now here's "The Great Warrior" from Final Fantasy 7. It plays during that really sad scene with you-know-who's father.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?list=PL77D98F68F6DBB35D&params=OAFIAVgv&v=lrI8bHs6Qvk&mode=NORMAL

I remember listening to the Sesto song and I kept thinking, this reminds me of something. I was playing the FF7 PS4 release at the time and, I think, there is some resemblance.
 

teh_pwn

"Saturated fat causes heart disease as much as Brawndo is what plants crave."
If you consider that outright theft I don't want anyone to follow your laws.

The theme from FF13 is from a moon over a planet. And the original is about being in a tin can above a planet. It's not a coincidence. If I pulled this stuff at work, I'd be fired yesterday.
 

Orfeas

Member
The theme from FF13 is from a moon over a planet. And the original is about being in a tin can above a planet. It's not a coincidence. If I pulled this stuff at work, I'd be fired yesterday.

If you're serious about suggesting this is why they are similar, then it's a reference, not plagiarism.
 

teh_pwn

"Saturated fat causes heart disease as much as Brawndo is what plants crave."
If you're serious about suggesting this is why they are similar, then it's a reference, not plagiarism.

Well...you're right. I guess my premise was off on the wrong foot. I was like "aha, I know that" but with neoGAF accusations.

Anyway, y'all continue discussing for the betterment of neoGAF's margins.
 

Screaming Meat

Unconfirmed Member
It's really not. I mean there are certainly points (39 and 56 second marks), but it's nowhere near the "plagiarism" people make it out to be. Similar? Yes. But not as close as say other examples in this thread.

As I recall, the melody - at least in terms of intervals - is note for note the same. The major difference is its phrasing and rhythm.
 

retroman

Member
Bomb Jack - Level Theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5BU2baDH04

Jean Michel Jarre - Magnetic Fields Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttIL4EnqXdU


Yie Ar Kung-Fu - Title: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=s49Syn14GZc

Jean Michel Jarre - Magnetic Fields Part 4: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6la2_NptyaE


Last Ninja 2 - The Mansion: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vMJjqVB9JCM

Tangerine Dream - Alchemy Of The Heart: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NBeiRu6CquA


Streets Of Rage II - Under Logic: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EQE28QcYMSo

The Shamen - Move Any Mountain: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SACTy2rZ7kE
 

Oh man, I started going through this person's channel and it's hilarious hearing them just pop the Flintstones theme seamlessly in game soundtracks (among other various remixes).

Like this star fox theme/Flintstones https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_t4GveMOEI

(For those who don't know that Kirby song isn't the original, it's from some infamous for uploading modified game songs)

EDIT: Oh my god they did Sonic 06 with Flintstones (and many more) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFOgjNvV9ZQ
 

Nessus

Member
Elements of the original NES Zelda soundtrack are clearly inspired by a particular Deep Purple song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toonXjN2wTM

Especially the keyboard solo at 2:00 that maybe goes a little beyond just inspiration when he pretty much copied it for part of the Zelda dungeon theme.

Koji Kondo has been pretty open about Deep Purple being one of his influences though (he used to play in a cover band that played Deep Purple songs).
 

tsundoku

Member
Those fuckers were responsible for the theme being removed from the rest of the series after mgs2. I hope they're real proud of themselves.

Probably the composer should have just made a song of his own, instead of replicating he didnt have the rights too. I agree that theme was super epic and it IS sad they don't/can't use it anymore.
 
The video? What do you mean proof? The person who did the mgs theme basically copied the Russian song.

I'm asking you for proof that the MGS composer deliberately copied the Russian composition.

It's a common theory that's existed for hundreds of years that suggests that people can and have unwittingly come up with the same concept, be it an invention, an idea for a movie script, or in this case, a musical composition. It can happen at any time, decades or centuries apart.

Just saying he "copied" it without any proof is quite an insult to the MGS composer. The guy probably hadn't heard the song before in his life and simply just channeled the same series of notes the Russian composer had. Certainly Kojima had never heard it before. He looked surprised as hell.
 

TannerDemoz

Member
Anyone unable to see the SERIOUS similarities to the Metal Gear Tune is insane.

I have a couple of games I play where I hear other tunes in my head because they're in a similar key.

I thought this was a really interesting one from FFXV and Super Mario Kart

FFXV Lestallum Theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTFWMvlxnF8
Super Mario Kart Title Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6uDtRjaycU


In terms of being dangerously similar, I think Yuzo Koshiro, Streets of Rage composer, was 'HEAVILY INFLUENCED' by Black Box

List of similarities here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNllOFIjif8

Not knocking the soundtrack because SOR soundtrack is OST goat
 
I'm asking you for proof that the MGS composer deliberately copied the Russian composition.

It's a common theory that's existed for hundreds of years that suggests that people can and have unwittingly come up with the same concept, be it an invention, an idea for a movie script, or in this case, a musical composition. It can happen at any time, decades or centuries apart.

Just saying he "copied" it without any proof is quite an insult to the MGS composer. The guy probably hadn't heard the song before in his life and simply just channeled the same series of notes the Russian composer had.

Well, it's kinda impossible to ascribe intent when it comes to creative works most of the time, however, from the MGS fandom wiki page it does appear that Konami was approached by the rights holders of the original Russian composition and so thus they went ahead and removed it from any future games. No idea if there was any hush money paid to prevent a lawsuit for them using it in MGS2 and 3.
 
I miss the classic MGS theme, but you can't seriously argue that it's not based substantially on the Russian track. It's not just one small passage, it's a fair chunk of it. Some stuff is different in the MGS track but MGS just feels slighly simplified. I think the theme was credited to TAPPY on the original release.

To suggest its coincidence (big coinkidink) or they modified it by 30% to make something original is weird.
(edited)

An example of people justifying reusing someone else's work uncredited and passing it off as their own is this clip Vanilla Ice claiming Ice Ice Baby was purely his work because he added a cymbal sound to Queen/Bowie's Under Pressure.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-1_9-z9rbY

Konami did the smart thing in not using the theme after MGS3. But they could have also made it right and licenced the original track if they had wanted to/were prepared to spend the cash.

So much 80s and 90s games music sounds way too similar to other stuff. Maybe its unintentional, but it's still based off someone else's work.
 
1 - couple of people were
2 - I don't really see how that link is relevant – especially in reference to musical/more creative pursuits – but it was interesting to read.

I miss the classic MGS theme, but you can't seriously argue that it's not based substantially on the Russian track. It's not just one small passage, it's a fair chunk of it. Some stuff is different in the MGS track but MGS just feels slighly simplified. I think the theme was credited to TAPPY on the original release.

To suggest its coincidence (big coinkidink) or they modified it by 30% to make something original is weird.

Ok I'm going to tell you guys a little story.

In 2008 I came up with an idea for a short horror story. It was about a house that had a staircase that seemingly had no end. In addition, the house was bigger on the inside than it was on the outside. I didn't think it was anything special, but I pitched it to my sister who was my roommate at the time. Her response?

"Have you ever read House of Leaves?"

I'd never heard of it.

Turns out hey, my idea had already been done. Granted, Mark Danielewski did a much better job than I would have ever done.

But then it doesn't end there.

Flash forward four years to 2012. And a little indie video game by the name of SCP-087 was released.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvPEmUKcoQs

I literally lost my shit at that point.

Are you guys really not seeing my point now? There are seven billion people on this planet. It is entirely possible, and indeed factual, that the same ideas can and have been manifested by different individuals at different times in entirely different parts of the world.

Handwaiving everything that looks or sounds similar as an immediate "copy" is simply reductive and short-sighted. I'm not arguing that artists can and are inspired by other works, but it's not all black and white.

And fuck Vanilla Ice. Dude knew he was using Queen.
 
I understand what you are saying, but the track is almost exactly the same as the russian classical piece. There is 0 doubt in my mind the melody was lifted from the russian song.

Konami should have just played nice and paid some money for the sample rights or something. Such a shame because that song will always remind me of MGS.

I love Metal Gear, and I'm sad that theme cannot be used anymore but there is 0 doubt in my mind the songs are almost identical, and I'm gonna say that's not coincidence anymore.
 

TannerDemoz

Member
Ok I'm going to tell you guys a little story.

In 2008 I came up with an idea for a short horror story. It was about a house that had a staircase that seemingly had no end. In addition, the house was bigger on the inside than it was on the outside. I didn't think it was anything special, but I pitched it to my sister who was my roommate at the time. Her response?

"Have you ever read House of Leaves?"

I'd never heard of it.

Turns out hey, my idea had already been done. Granted, Mark Danielewski did a much better job than I would have ever done.

But then it doesn't end there.

Flash forward four years to 2012. And a little indie video game by the name of SCP-087 was released.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvPEmUKcoQs

I literally lost my shit at that point.

Are you guys really not seeing my point now? There are seven billion people on this planet. It is entirely possible, and indeed factual, that the same ideas can and have been manifested by different individuals at different times in entirely different parts of the world.

Handwaiving everything that looks or sounds similar as an immediate "copy" is simply reductive and short-sighted. I'm not arguing that artists can and are inspired by other works, but it's not all black and white.

And fuck Vanilla Ice. Dude knew he was using Queen.

Yeah, there are, but I agree with the post directly below yours.

As a musician myself, and a writer, I completely understand the restrictions/freedom of working within both fields. Music: you're moving from motif to motif and working within the confines of related keys (with the exceptions of expressional genres etc.). This means you're working within a set number of related keys and this often limits harmonic progession, but the way you move around these keys is entirely up to you – same applies to cadences etc and moving out of ideas into new ones.

The melodies move and modulate in the same way, and while there's some difference in certain refrains, I refuse to believe it was 'accidental' considering the melodic progression. As you say, there's no proof to this – and probably never will be  – but I'm pretty certain MGS's composer was 'HEAVILY INFLUENCED' by the original Russian tune.

It it was just one melody or idea, I'd agree with you. But there are literally 3+ ideas that are imitated.
 

Easy_D

never left the stone age

It's the theeeeeeeeeeme from A Summer Placeeeeeeeeeeee. I don't really hear it though, but that's the best part of the Guardia Castle theme. God damn Mitsuda and his sick tracks.

Crowded Street for 3s def has a bit of the James Bond theme going on. Much doper tho.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxSzC2LhxN8

I quite like this "version" of the Bond theme in Mega Man Zero: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7bWBVDbnlE
This track would feel right at home in Goldeneye 64 lol


Edit: There was also the time Super Robot Wars plagiarized Chrono Trigger: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKt16h-MOls

Edit:
I always thought these two sounded very similar

Oblivion Main Theme

Pirates of the Carribean Specifically about 1 Min (Then it goes a bit MGS)

Might be delusion though.

Problem witht this is that the Oblivion theme (Actually, the Morrowind theme, they just reuse it) came out before Pirates of the Caribbean

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJD-Ufi1jGk

What you're hearing is Soule adhering to the bombastic conventions of orchestral music at the time, but theme itself is at least one year older than Pirates of the Carribean :p
 

Easy_D

never left the stone age
I was so surprised by this that I had to look up how they changed it in the DS remake.

And... it sounds like Planet Robobot's main theme!? Now I'm even more confused.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPz5eKgjlTs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vw_H1J0eTfA

I have to admit you've been bamboozled, good sir. That channel is full of joke uploads where they alter music in sneaky ways (sometimes not very sneaky). That Robobot theme is one they've mixed into a ton of different songs lol.
 
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