Continuing my three-week series of video game music for the holiday season, let’s now listen to some tracks that set the mood for cozy and comfortable holiday evenings at home, sipping hot cocoa by the fireside while watching the snow turn the world outside into a marshmallow dream.

Bar Oasis 2 (2012)

This IOS game casts the player as a bartender. The challenge comes in the mixology, but the interest is entirely derived from the cast of characters and elaborate storyline. The music also includes a mellow version of “Silent Night” carried at first only by piano, with a bit of synth and shaker to keep things moving. Soon, however, the music swells with soulful holiday spirit.

The 3rd Birthday (2012)

In this roleplaying shooter game, the city of Manhattan is decimated by a swarm of horrific creatures that burst forth from under the city on Christmas Eve.  Despite this, there is some festive holiday spirit to be found in the musical soundtrack.  Taken out of the context of the ghastly backstory, the holiday music in this game is perfectly warm and comfy for a fireside evening.  Here’s a low-keyed, jazzy track called “Come Again to Christmas.”

Ragnarök Online (2002)

A Korean massively multiplayer roleplaying game, Ragnarök Online is set in an elaborate fantasy world based on Norse mythology. Incorporated into this solemn fantasy setting is a more cheerful place called Lutie, the town of eternal Christmas, which can only be reached by talking to an NPC character resembling Santa Claus.  This track is a mellow theme that greets players while wandering this holiday-inspired town.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)

I composed the music for this video game tie-in to the Tim Burton film of the same name. Given the whimsical nature of a story involving rambunctious children in a gigantic candy factory, the music had lots of opportunities to display fanciful and glittering textures and motifs, many of which are appropriate for the holiday season. This is one of the more hushed and spellbound tracks that play while the children explore the factory’s miraculous “Inventing Room.”

Bonus Suggestions

After last week’s post, I’ve had a couple of extra suggestions for video game tunes appropriate to the holiday season.  First, here’s “Fort Frosty” from the game Clayfighter for the SNES (thanks Robert Workman / @TheDCD):

And here’s “Frosty Village” from Diddy Kong Racing for the Nintendo 64 (thanks Veronica Gonzalez / spacenona.blogspot.com):