<![CDATA[The importance of an identifiable theme]]>Once upon a time, television shows had ‘intros’ or ‘theme songs’. This allowed users flipping channels or nearby to know that their show is on. But the theme is identifiable with the show itself. When you see these TV shows only having around 30 min to an hour, not counting commercials, the intro eats into precious show time. But the intro explains the show to first time users as well.

That’s all you need to know in order to start watching the show. The theme song also carries the tone of the show in a way.

The intro explains the show’s premise and its “theme” gives the show its identity.

The Brady Bunch intro explains the show and has its theme song. Everyone will recognize this.

Damn, I still think Daisy is hot…

Hey! Hey! It’s the Monkees!

The reader might be wondering, “Gee, Malstrom, why are you putting up these old TV intros.” Well, these shows are very popular. Anyone who saw them immediately recognize the theme songs.

They did not require tons of cutscenes to explain the show. Just an intro… with a badass theme song.

The Game Industry keeps trying ram ‘cinematic expressions’ (oh, that phrase!) at us, but gaming was more fun when it was like TV. Video games had identifiable themes. Some had intros of their own! Just like TV! Let’s take a look.

Great song. It shows us the character wagging sarcastically at us. I love how it shows the overworld behind the logo. You just know this would be a fun game.

An absolutely incredible theme. The game tells us all we need to know. Today, Nintendo would make ‘cutscenes’ like a dumb movie. But the dirty little secret is that we watched that intro over and over and over when we turned on our NES. Admit it, reader. You know you did.

If Contra was a TV show, this would be its introduction.

That theme song! Damn! And it tells us all we need to know. We watched it again and again when we turned on the NES. Interesting that Mega Man 1 and 3 did not have a ‘TV introduction’. Perhaps that might have helped Mega Man 2 be more accessible.

Strong theme song. Tells you everything you need to know. It’s like a TV intro.

While this may not be the best example to use (as Red Alert does go heavy on the cutscenes), this is an excellent example of very, very strong theme song. The imagery alone explains everything. No words need to be said.

Stop after 1:40. Strong theme song. Shows the logo. Shows the ship blowing up the enemy ship. What more is there to know?

This is to show off the attract mode of Pac-Man. Ignore the stupid music the uploader added. Pac-Man does have a very memorable theme that begins when you press start. The attract mode tells you what you need to know.

After all, what is a TV intro but an attract mode?

This is one of my favorites. Just watching that will tell you why the game became a blockbuster.

Even Twilight Princess put out a neat little intro.

The attract modes of Super Metroid.

This video quality isn’t what it should be, but the theme cannot be forgotten.

Perfect TV-like intro. Perfect.

This intro shows you everything you need to know how to play the game.

Ultima IV has a strong ‘TV theme’.

I can go on and on, but you get the idea. Intros and attract modes aside, what happened to the theme song? Notice that the best selling games also tend to have very strong themes.

As Tetris shows, you don’t need graphics. But a strong theme song helps.

“But what about Minecraft, Malstrom. That doesn’t have an identifiable theme song.”

I think it does.

Very unlike other games.

I’m very sad that TV intros have gone the wayside. I think gaming can learn much from them. They have a very strong theme song that identifies the game and the ‘intro’ does little more than an attract mode for an arcade machine that tells you the premise of the game.

And to anyone who disagrees, you philistines on the Internet, I invite you to watch just one more. I dare you to disagree.

]]>