DHAHRAN: It is “game on” at the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture after it opened its doors to an event on Thursday.
The orchestral performance, which is being held nightly at the Ithra Theater — with two shows scheduled for Friday — celebrates the soundtracks of popular video games and attempts to breathe new life into them.
The concert features symphonic arrangements paired with in-game HD visuals and exclusive concept art from popular titles such as League of Legends, Overwatch, Assassin’s Creed, and The Witcher 3.
The event featured music from Guild Wars 2, World of Warcraft, The Witcher 3 and Assassin’s Creed 2, among many others. (Supplied)
Sergey Smbatyan, founder of the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra and the artistic director and principal conductor since 2005, was on hand to lend context and commentary between the scores on opening night.
He told the crowd before the show: “If you’re not a gamer, what I want you to do is to imagine that you’re in a museum — an art museum — but instead of a curator telling you about the images that you’re going to see on this huge screen, let these musicians tell you that exact story.
“Tonight there is no right time to clap; there is no wrong time to clap. If you hear something you like from these guys (gesturing to the orchestra behind him on stage), let us know.
“We're going to start off tonight with role-play games, or what are known as RPGs, where players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. The game is focused on interactive storytelling, decision-making and strategy.”
Dhahran resident Paul Blay took his two daughters Sylvia, 11, and Celeste, 10, to the show.
Blay, who is a father of six, told Arab News: “I get emails about Ithra events and saw this one and I thought it would be fun for me and the girls to go to. Like with anyone that you love, I shared the things I love with them.”
The Blay family moved to the Kingdom last year and were keen to attend an event that merged gaming with music.
Celeste told Arab News: “I really like video game music; the music is really pretty and I like listening to that. It is kind of what motivated me to come here. And, also, my dad likes video games.”
The older Blay sisters have both taken music lessons and play multiple instruments, including the piano, the harp and the clarinet.
Their father said: “Some of the best music that’s being composed nowadays is for movies and video games. I expected it to be really high quality and good (at Ithra).”
The event featured music from Guild Wars 2, World of Warcraft, The Witcher 3 and Assassin’s Creed 2, among many others.
The last show takes place on April 5, with tickets starting at SR200 ($53), available at the venue or via the Ithra website.
