Music is a fantastic tool for creating mood and tone for your game, and will help greatly with setting. Given the genre of 80s Cop an appropriate soundtrack is a must. Here are some suggestions.

Instrumentals

There are many different ways you can go with this, but lets just break it down to two basics; Orchestral score and synth.

• Orchestral Scores: The “go to” move for action movies. It’s loud, dramatic and overwrought, which is perfect as it has to compete with gunfire and explosions for your attention. Kamen, Silvestri, Horner, Williams, Zimmer, Goldsmith, Poledouris, Fiedel.

• Synthesizer Scores: In the early 80s the synthesizer was king, and many soundtracks were produced with this in mind. They ran the gauntlet from the brilliant to the dire. Vangelis, Jarre, Copeland, De Vorzoun, Hammer, Faltermier, Fiedel, Carpenter, Moroder, Tangerine Dream.

The Power Ballad or Cheesy Rock Anthem

Rock, new wave, punk, early electro, ska, early hip hop, metal…..you name it, if it had a market it would have been placed in a soundtrack in the 80s or 90s, and will be fair game for the genre. As MTV grew into a monster, people realized the power of combining music and images; not just in the newly emerging music video arena, but also in movie and TV soundtracks. Here are some tips to make sure a song is appropriate.

Try to get the Title of the movie into your song. Honestly this is a must for cross promotion and happens more often than you think. Really.

Don’t be afraid of the “solo”. After 70s punk, many 80s bands went out of the way to show that they could actually play instruments. Be it guitar, sax, keyboard or drums, self indulgent solos are a hallmark of 80s music caused by a desire to let individualism shine (and not rampant egomania).

WiP

Retro
Don’t be afraid to cast your net wider than the 80s. Retro nostalgia had a strong home in the 80s and every decade since the invention of Rock and Roll was plundered (and a even bit before). Be it the hip 40s, the rebellious 50s, the swinging 60s, and….well let’s face it, it was “too soon” for the 70s but disco and stadium rock bleeds through to the 80s and has a big impression on the soundtracks.