Feature: 20 songs that should be used in a game trailer

‘Tis the time of season for game trailers and teasers, and as the past has shown us, a little bit of music can really set the mood. The guys at Epic (Gears of War franchise) are the masters of this art, but other companies are beginning to catch on. Still, this sort of thing invites cliches and cheesiness, so I’ve made this list to help publishers market their games. With that in mind, I’ve tried to put myself in the shoes of the marketing team for a major publisher and have decided to stick to generally well-known songs and have avoided excessive profanity, with a few exceptions. I’ve also avoided instrumental pieces, as that would just make for too easy of a list. So I hope you enjoy my take on this under-discussed topic and have your own songs to add. My list is by no means definitive, and even I feel as though it is unbalanced and doesn’t equally represent enough fields of music, but it is what it is. Now ~~read~~ listen!

“Ballad of Serenity” – Sonny Rhodes

Okay, so maybe this song is a little specific, but I think we all know that there will be a hole in the world until a Firefly game is made. All they’d have to do for the trailer is take the intro theme and play it to either game footage or cinematics, either of which would have to roughly match up to the TV show’s intro. Well, that’s assuming the game puts us in the shoes of Capt. Mal Reynolds and crew. I guess they could just do something in the general universe. Regardless, this song still needs to be in the trailer. Joss Whedon nerds the world over would FLIP OUT!

“Black Dog” – Led Zeppelin

Sick of all the classic rock in racing games? Too frickin’ bad, brosif. Just imagine Robert Plant’s voice belting, “Hey, hey, Mama, said the way you move, gonna make you sweat, gonna make you groove,” over a black screen, then as soon as the guitar kicks in you get a real close up of an ultra realistic Ferrari tail light. Switch back to Plant’s vocals with a few quick cuts of cars zooming down the circuit. The guitar comes back accompanied by a close up of a spinning tire. Back to quick cuts of racing with the lyrics. The guitar riff returns with a close up of the Ferrari insignia. When the guitar riff extends at 42 seconds it’s all racing and hot cars until the screen fades to black around the 1 minute mark. Then you get the game’s logo. See what I did there? Awesome, no? It’s like the sexay lady is a car. Hooray for objectifying objects!

“Blow Up the Outside World” – Soundgarden

This would have to be in a trailer for some sort of open-world anti-hero game, along the lines of Prototype, but better. You’d play the lead role of a jaded super-hero who has become disillusioned with his power and has lost his purpose. The narrative could eventually see the hero rediscovering his lust for life, but until then, there would be a lot of moody destruction. That’s why a slow-mo trailer of all the cool destructive stuff you can do in the game set to the first 2 minutes of this song would fit perfectly.

“Civil War” – Guns ‘n’ Roses

The idea of a war on American soil has always fascinated us (at least from an entertainment perspective). Unfortunately, the most recent conflict in that setting took place in an age of less than fascinating weaponry and tactics. So the next logical step is to create a fictional second American Civil War in the near future. The up-coming game Homefront is actually doing something along those lines with North Korea invading the United States and everyday Joes taking up arms in the backyards of the New World. But there’s still no civil conflict in that scenario. Civil war is a very interesting and thought-provoking topic that can be used to address divisive social issues in a fictional setting. So, someone should make a game about the Second American Civil War. Open the trailer with slow pans of various protests, riots, and situations of social unrest. Make a point of showcasing major American landmarks. Then when the noise pumps up at 1:20, show a typical young man lighting a Molotov cocktail and chucking it towards an American flag. The screen cuts to black just before the bomb hits at 1:27 and the game’s logo comes up in flames as the song fades out for the next 15 seconds.

“C.R.E.A.M.” – Wu-Tang Clan

For as big a part as music and pop culture plays in the Grand Theft Auto series, I can’t think of one memorable trailer utilizing those resources. Let’s change that. If Rockstar continues to go in the direction of serious story-telling on par with Hollywood crime epics, then I’m assuming that cash is going to rule everything around the next game’s protagonist. The trailer would simply sync in-game actions, whether they be story-related or random events, with the lyrics of this hip-hop classic for a minute and 27 seconds. Then the next ten seconds of “Cash rules everything around me. CREAM, get the money. Dolla, dolla bills y’all,” would ride the trailer out with the logo for the next entry in the iconic series.

“Dammit” – Blink 182

Maybe I’m just getting old and out of touch, but for me, Blink 182 is the definitive representation of teenage life and I think their best song is “Dammit.” So with that in mind, I’m going to pitch a game that I’ve wanted to see made for a while now–the game of high school. Just think about it. It’s structured like any other RPG, but instead of slaying monsters and saving the world, you do favors for social cliques and graduate. I won’t bother going into more details, as I’ve already written about them in the link, but just know that every social group would be represented. So in the trailer for this ground-breaking game, you’d have a lot of cool skateboarding set pieces, some exciting football games, dramatic break-ups, and so on set to this teen anthem. It’d obviously be a fast-paced trailer with lots of quick cuts and stylish angles. It’d be full of awesome. And if this whole high school idea is too much for you to wrap your head around, then just imagine a skateboarding game with some RPG elements (read: engaging narrative) thrown in to spice things up.

“Don’t Stop Me Now” – Queen

Queen might be a little racy when you consider how homophobic most gamers seem to be, but Nintendo doesn’t really cater to that core demographic anyways. And in case you haven’t put it together by now, how is this song not perfect for Super Mario Galaxy? Start at 31 seconds and let the viewer know right away what the game is all about–a good time. For the next minute and three seconds, just show lots of fun gameplay that keeps pace with the song. Everybody gets the point, everybody gets caught up in the energy, everybody wants to buy the game. And if that doesn’t work, we could always just make a Shaun of the Dead game and put the trailer to this song.

“Fire, Water, Burn” – The Bloodhound Gang

So there’s a bit of profanity in this song. No matter. Just imagine a commercial for your favorite popular multiplayer shooter starting at 53 seconds with “Hello, my name is Jimmy Pop and I’m a dumb white guy…” Then for the next 39 seconds we’d get alternating images of the most disgustingly stereotypical nerd imaginable holding a controller in his dark basement and wearing a shirt with the game’s logo paired with highlight reels of pure multiplayer ownage. Then the commercial fades out with “The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire” up to 1:46, thus cutting out the swears and leaving only sexual innuendo, which is fine by the FCC. The egotistical lyrics of the song fit perfectly with your average Modern Warfare 2 player, the average player would think the nerd in the commercial is funny, and the more intelligent players would realize the lyrics are poking fun at the jerks who take the game way too seriously. Everybody’s happy and the core value of the game is clearly demonstrated through skilled deathmatch footage. This is right up Infinity Ward’s alley.

“Frank Sinatra” – Cake

The Fallout series has built a bit of a reputation for awesome musical trailers as of late, but the gimmick of old big band hits could be used against the franchise as well. If another post-apocalyptic game were to come around and it wanted to steal some of Fallout‘s thunder, a major selling point could be a more culturally modern setting. Now I love the satirical take on 1950′s America offered by Fallout, but some people just aren’t into it. So take a jab at it with “Frank Sinatra.” Hell, the word “radiation” is in the first line of the song, the entropic tone fits perfectly, and the fact that it’s a modern song that references an older song directly undermines Fallout‘s whole advertising angle. Plus it sounds awesome. 2:15 would probably be a good time to cut out.

“Friendship” – Tenacious D

This is one of those silly songs that would perfectly compliment a game that puts fun first. But I didn’t select a song called “Friendship” simply for the sound of it! No, this piece would quite obviously play along side footage of a co-op focused game like Army of Two. I also feel that Salem and Rios are two of the only video game characters capable of providing enough high-fives for my vision of this trailer. The song would have to start fading out around 1:10 or so, making sure to cut out the “and Tenacious D” lyric in the name of destroying cross-promotion. But otherwise, I think this choice works well.

“Hotel California” – The Eagles

The song pretty much sells itself, so I don’t know why this hasn’t been tried before. I mean, everybody knows the song, everybody loves the song, why is everybody not putting the song to a sweet game trailer? The particular teaser I have in mind centers around a classic Film Noir setting like that of L.A. Confidential. The player would control a hard-boiled detective looking for the answers to a crime that took place at the “Hotel California.” The player would also drive a convertible. Said convertible would be heavily featured in the trailer. There would also be some shots of the detective putting on an ankle holster. Cigarette smoking is essential too. As long as all of those things find their way in before 1:46, at which point the refrain fades out to the image of a flickering neon “Hotel California” sign, then everything is peaches. And if that idea doesn’t suit your fancy, then how about a psychological horror thriller? This classic song works for that just as well.

“Huddle Formation” – The Go! Team

I don’t know why, but whenever I hear this song I can’t help but think of Little Big Planet. Maybe it’s the kids singing the lyrics, or the upbeat tempo, I don’t really know. All I know is that this song makes me think of Little Big Planet and that Sony should use it in marketing the sequel.

“Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” – Bob Dylan

I really apologize for making you suffer through Vevo, but I swear this is the only version of the song on YouTube that’s not a cover. And even with Dylan performing, I feel like the studio version is better, but this will have to do for demonstration purposes. Anyways, I can’t imagine a better song to end an emotionally charged trilogy with. Gears of War 3 is certainly going for the whole “this is the end of the line” vibe, and the series has a history of using good music in its trailers, so why not? I guarantee Epic could make an awesome and touching trailer with this song. The key to the whole thing is to take the 15 second guitar intro, then skip right to 2:27 so you can get the “Mama, my guns have hit the ground” verse. In the studio version, Dylan’s voice retains the subdued tone of the earlier verse, so we still get the somber mood. Then the song fades out with the refrain around 3:15 as Marcus and the gang are back to back and surrounded on all sides, desperately firing Lancers in all directions. I could also see this working with Mass Effect 3 if BioWare decides to take a darker narrative direction.

“Seven Nation Army” – The White Stripes

This is probably one of the more cliched songs on my list, but one cannot argue with the badassery of it. You don’t want to mess with the guy detailed in Jack White’s lyrics. And considering video games deal with a lot of those mysterious “You don’t want to mess with me” types, that makes this hit a pretty good fit. The hard part is finding the right game. Obviously some sort of revenge tale like that of Kill Bill would work quite splendidly, but I’m actually having trouble thinking of many games in that particular genre. So instead, I’ll go the route of matching imagery to lyrics and say that Deus Ex: Human Revolution, which has put an emphasis on cigarettes (34 seconds, not to mention the screen shots of lighters and such that were released before any trailers were) thus far in its marketing campaign is probably a candidate. And when you think about it, you will be playing as a bad ass in that game, just not in the most traditional sense. And who knows, maybe there’s even some revenge to be had! Regardless, I could see a cool trailer for that game coming out of “Seven Nation Army.” Just put some moody imagery and bad ass gameplay to the first minute and seven seconds of the song.

“Tales of Brave Ulysses” – Cream

Let’s get this straight right now–Homer’s Odyssey is one of the most epic tales ever told. It also happens to be a rather violent story that would translate pretty well to a video game. Think God of War, but using one of the greatest literary works of all time as a primary inspiration. I guess that could describe Dante’s Inferno, but this would be way better, because the developers wouldn’t have to use nearly as much creative license in an effort to craft a fun gameplay experience. I know I’d be clamoring to play as Odysseus (Ulysses in the Roman version) if someone made this game. And quite frankly, I can’t think of any voice that could make the game’s announcement so smoothly as Jack Bruce’s. “You thought the leaden winter, would bring you down forever. But you rode upon a steamer, to the violence of the sun.” Then bam! Gruesomely violent combat flashes in with the music. And since the song is just so great, the trailer can just use the whole thing to show off all aspects of gameplay, which would involve combat, puzzles, platforming, and dialogue. Make this game! Then make this trailer for this game!

“The Look You Give That Guy” – Eels

This is probably the most unorthodox song on the list, at least in the context of a video game trailer, but just bear with me. Putting the pure awesomeness of this song and the Eels aside, allow me to explain my idea and how wonderfully it works. You’ve played Braid, right? Well, if you haven’t then you should. You should also be warned of spoilers in this paragraph. But anyways, as we know, the protagonist turns out to be a creepy stalker guy who is jealous of the knight in shining armor for being the apple of his love’s eye. We’ve probably all felt that horrible powerlessness at some point in our lives. It sucks to sit there wishing the girl of your dreams would give you the look that she gives that other guy. That’s why this song is so beautiful. So what Jonathan Blow should do is make a sequel to Braid where Tim’s loneliness has driven him to become a diabolical mad man hell-bent on kidnapping the princess. There could still be platforming and puzzles and such, but maybe throw some unique RTS elements in there to give the player a sense of being the big bad who goes through henchmen and goons like toilet paper. But the catch is, Tim’s not evil. He’s just love-sick. And this song, and the trailer it’d be set to, would communicate this.

“The Spy” – The Doors

You know what game has a lot of personality and character, despite having no real narrative? If you guessed Team Fortress 2, you win a space buck! You know what character in that game deserves his own spin-off? The Spy. And considering his risque affairs with the Scout’s mother, I think the Doors’ sexy number “The Spy” is quite becoming of the man. The repetitive format of the song offers multiple points to start or stop a trailer, so Valve would have a lot of flexibility in how long they wanted to make the teaser. All I know the tone matches the character flawlessly and that the trailer could be both hilarious and exciting at the same time. I’d buy this game.

“Toxicity” – System of a Down

This fantastic song could be taken in one of two directions depending on whether the publisher cares about the meaning behind the lyrics or not. If they do, then it’s a pretty heavy song that might be too serious for most games. I could see it working with Grand Theft Auto because of Rockstar’s penchant for political and social satire, but then you have the irony of using a song that damns consumerism selling a product. It’d probably be a better idea to just play on the phrase, “The toxicity of our city” and use it for a game about super heroes and villains battling for control of a city. The villains would obviously be trying to pollute the city with chaotic toxins, thus causing disorder. The heroes fight the villains, and everybody gets to use sweet super powers in the process. Either way, the fade out needs to happen around 1:38.

“Wish You Were Here” – Pink Floyd

One of the most universally recognized songs of the 20th century, it’s hard not to like this selection. As far as fitting it to a game goes, the game would have to be the sequel to a game that saw a beloved NPC separated from the player at the end, maybe sent to jail or just choosing to leave the group. Or perhaps more interestingly, the player character from the first game could go away at the end and the sequel could take place from the perspective of one of the first game’s NPCs . Whatever the case, the game that this trailer is advertising would center around reuniting with that lost friend or lover. Sure, a heart-felt reunion short-changes the layered and complex lyrics of this classic song, but the masses are probably just going to be paying attention to the words, “Wish you were here.” So use this song, feature lots of slow-mo brooding from both parties in the trailer, and make the game’s objective clear. The key is for the audience to actually miss the character they’re going after, thus helping them to sympathize with the lyrics. Start the fade out at 2:24.

“Woke Up This Morning” – Alabama 3

I could take the easy way out on this one and place it to a crime game, or even more specifically, a Sopranos game. But I won’t do that. I’ll put an extra emphasis on the line “Woke up this morning, got yourself a gun” and make this trailer about guns. The two franchises that come to mind when I think of guns are Borderlands and Ratchet and Clank. I think both have the sort of tongue-in-cheek vibe that could make this song work for a funny trailer. All you need is approximately two minutes of gameplay showcasing all the different guns in the game and there’s your trailer. Maybe throw some blue moons in just for imagery’s sake.

So there’s my list of 20 songs that should be used in a game trailer. I know, you’re probably thinking it sucks and that I wasted a lot of time in making it. Meh. I’d like to see you do better. No, really, give me your suggestions!

Author: Cody