Music producer Shota Nakama, creator of the Video Game Orchestra, was confirmed as one of the attractions at Brasil Game Show 2018, taking part in a free "Meet & Greeting" where fans could take photos and ask for autographs.
We thought everyone should know more about Shota Nakama, and BGS provided an excellent opportunity: he gave a talk about some of his musical journey in games, served as a judge in a cosplay contest, and more. But if you still want a "preview" of the professional, we have brought some additional information.
And if you want to attend other editions of the event, you can purchase tickets on its official website.
From RPGs to Orchestras
At 36, Shota Nakama became known worldwide as the producer of the Video Game Orchestra, taking music from classic games such as Final Fantasy, Sonic, Chrono Trigger, the Mana series, and others and turning them into orchestral arrangements.
The project began in 2008 in Boston, United States, for an audience of 150 people. Following the first edition's success, the Video Game Orchestra has only continued to grow, and Nakama has performed in several countries, including Canada, Japan, China, and Poland.
His career has taken off since then, and he has composed for several successful games such as Final Fantasy XIII: Lightning Returns and XV; Tales of Zestiria; Kingdom Hearts ReMIX 1.5 and 2.5; and many more.
In addition, Capcom hired him to produce the Capcom Live event, a kind of "Video Game Orchestra" specializing in the company's games, and SEGA did the same for the recently launched Sonic The Hedgehog Live.
Music for Everyone, Not Only Gamers
In an interview with DualShockers, journalist Azario Lopez asked why Shota Nakama chose to work with video game music. As expected, the answer was clear and direct: "I love video games!"
"In Japan, no matter your age, you cannot 'escape' video games, so I grew up with everyone owning a Nintendo (8-bit NES) and Super Nintendo, and we played those consoles 'until we could not play anymore.' I truly believe I was privileged to grow up in the 'golden' age of video games, which brought me to composing. If someone composes for video games and does not love them, that person should not be in the industry."
Shota Nakama also says that he composes music from the player's perspective, looking at the proposed scene and trying to "translate" the emotions the gamer is feeling. As an example, he cites the composition "Hellfire," Ifrit's theme in Final Fantasy XV. He also says this was the game he most enjoyed working on.
Even though gamers are the target audience, the Video Game Orchestra team strives to make its music appealing to the general public, not only video game fans. To do that, they added singers and incorporate video scenes throughout the production so that "non-gamer" listeners enjoy the work as much as someone who spends hours of the day playing.
The Fifth Grader Inside Us
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Clearly, we cannot let the composer's name pass without comment, since it has an amusing association for us Brazilians.
Shota means "Little Boy" in Japanese, and Nakama means "Companion." His name in Japan can be translated as "Boy-Companion," suggesting something nobler than it seems to us.
In Brazil, you already know what it means, and what inspires jokes and laughter also ends up serving as a powerful promotional tool for the composer. After all, many people will become interested in the musician's work after laughing hard at the pun.
https://twitter.com/MatosC_Marjorie/status/1034890397070315521?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/nathan_gonzales/status/1034917747657003018?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
In any case, Shota is charming and even jokes about it in the BGS announcement. He was certainly an excellent choice of attraction by the event's organizers.
