Musicologist Dr. Neil Lerner Discusses the Sounds of Early Video Games

In the 1970s, early video games had arrived. And although primitive by today's standards, they gradually grew in complexity and scope - both in terms of gameplay and sound and music. Dr. Neil Lerner, a musicologist at Davidson College in North Carolina, recently spoke with WAMC's  Lucas Willard about the influences on the sound of early video games.

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Credit Billy Hicks

Featured sound comes from:

Pong (1972) published by Atari Inc.

Circus (1977) by Exidy

Kangaroo (1982) by Sun Electronics

Space Invaders (1978) by Taito Corporation

Phenoix (1980) by Amstar Electronics

Gyruss (1983) by Konami

"The Origins of Musical Style in Video Games, 1977-1983," in The Oxford Handbook of Film Music Studies, edited by David Neumeyer (Oxford University Press, in press).