Some people may remember Tommy Tallarico from the G4 television series Judgment Day (also known as Reviews on the Run). Others may know him as the savvy Intellivision CEO gearing up for the Amico's upcoming launch. However, Tallarico is more important to the video game industry than people might think. With the help of The Terminator, Tommy Tallarico revolutionized video game music seemingly overnight.
The 1990s were huge for video games. Graphics transitioned from 2D to 3D, Sony introduced the PlayStation into the market and video games were slowly becoming a part of mainstream culture. Video game music also started evolving from basic bleeps and bloops to sophisticated musical melodies, partially thanks to Tallarico's work on the Sega CD's Terminator game.
Tallarico wanted to do something different for the Terminator soundtrack and take advantage of the Sega CD's technology to make something new. He created a fully CD-based soundtrack featuring live guitars and other real instruments, something that was unheard of at the time. Despite the naysayers, Tallarico managed to pull off his vision and became the first person to use a live guitar and 3D audio in a video game.
Tallarico's innovative video game music opened new doors for upcoming composers. CD-based technology allowed him to take his craft to new heights, inspiring many others with his groundbreaking soundtracks. More games started moving away from generic robot sounds and began incorporating live music in their soundtracks.
The Terminator soundtrack launched Tallarico into video game stardom. He won dozens of awards for his work and is now considered one of the most important video game composers in the industry today. Tallarico went on to create Video Games Live, a live concert series where top orchestras and choirs perform music for the world's most popular video games. Although he isn't as involved in video game music as he once was, he is still highly regarded in the industry and continues pushing the boundaries of both video games and music composition.
It's hard to believe a Terminator tie-in game for the Sega CD could be so innovative. Thanks to Tallarico's revolutionary work on the side-scrolling shooter, video game music went from simplistic synth sounds to an advanced musical art form. His contributions to the industry might not be common knowledge, but his work paved the way for many of the video game soundtracks gamers know and love today.