CD GOLD : SOUNDTRACK PLAYBACKS TAKE MUSIC TO NEXT LEVEL.

Byline: P.J. Huffstutter Daily News Staff Writer

While stationed in Bosnia, soldiers often amuse themselves with video games. Grid Runner. Tomb Raider. Cyber Speedway. Whatever titles they can get.

And when they get bored, the soldiers can turn off the game, take out the CD and play it on their stereo.

``I keep getting e-mail from these soldiers saying, `I love that Bygone Dogs song you hear while you're driving the car in Cyber Speedway. You should have put more of their stuff in the game,' '' said Spencer Nilsen, a music director for Sega of America.

The soundtrack for the next millennium may be found in computer games. From Mortal Kombat to Super Mario 64, American companies are warming to a concept that has worked in Japan for years: They can extend the life of their latest title by releasing a soundtrack.

Older game tunes might sound dinky - think Ms. Pac-Man and the sound of an ice cream truck stuck in an eternal groove - but more sophisticated vibes have arrived on the digital screen.

``The music gives the emotional backdrop to a game,'' said Dan Forden, a Chicago-based musician who wrote all the music for the Mortal Kombat series. ``Without it, you're not going to get the same overall adrenaline charge.''

For years, video game music languished as software companies focused more on flashy effects and less on setting a mood. Programmers developed the technology to add sound, but were unable to create catchy tunes on the limited memory devoted to music on a typical game cartridge. The original Nintendo and Atari machines utilized chips that could only generate simple tones.

As technology evolved, the processor inside these game machines sped up and the capability of the sound chips expanded. With the advent of next-generation systems like Nintendo 64, Sega Saturn and the Sony PlayStation, musicians could now toy with sampled audio clips in digital sound. Nevermind the blips, here come the symphonies.

``It's a thrill having kids know my music who may never have heard me play any other way,'' said blues guitarist Ronnie Montrose, whose blues-infused work is found on the Mr. Bones Sega game and accompanying soundtrack. ``At least it gets the music into the house. And it's cooler than hearing your music playing in an elevator or in the grocery store.''

By 1992, video game music had become a multimillion-dollar business in Japan, where record stores devote entire sections to this genre of music. Instead of one soundtrack, game companies often release three or four versions of the same tunes, but interpreted in different musical styles: techno, classical, jazz, rock and blues.

``The composers are treated like rock stars,'' said David Halverson, editor in chief of GameFan magazine in Agoura Hills. ``Their concerts sell out and when they release an album, the lines around the stores wrap around the block. It's like what you would see out here in Hollywood at a movie premiere.''

This adulation comes primarily from older consumers. Unlike the American game market which attracts mostly prepubescent and teen-age males, Japanese consumers' fascination with games crosses several generations, Halverson said.

``Over there, you'll see grown men playing games against little kids,'' Halverson said. ``The older audience pays attention to what they hear as well as what they see. It's a lot more difficult to make an impact in the U.S. because people here consider gaming a hobby for kids.''

In the competitive American market, game companies hope soundtracks will extend the shelf life of their titles. Sony made overtures toward its American record company subsidiaries to tap artists for its multimedia titles. And Nintendo, which creates most of its music in-house, has released stand-alone audio CD soundtracks from Donkey Kong Country and Mario 64.

``This is serious music done by serious artists in all different genres,'' Nilsen said. ``You're not doing justice to the industry if you say there's on`ly great techno music coming out of this.''

Sega Japan and Sony Japan regularly use the London Philharmonic Orchestra for soundtrack work. The Saturn title Panzer Dragoon features work by the Warsaw Philharmonic, while one of the Final Fantasy games offers players bits from an Italian opera.

Yet electronic music continues to dominate the game market. Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, an avid fan of Doom, created the industrial sound effects for the game's sequel, Quake. Thomas Dolby wrote the atmospheric and Gothic sounds for Rocket Science's Obsidian. Guitar virtuosos Steve Vai and Joe Satriani developed the rock soundtrack for the Sony PlayStation title Formula One. And British techno artists Pop Will Eat Itself added tracks to Loaded, a Saturn game.

Psygnosis's Wipeout XL marks a popular example of electronic bands crossing into the game world. A sequel to last year's hovercraft racing game, this PlayStation title features songs by some of rock's most hip techno bands: the Future Sound of London, Photek, the Prodigy and Orbital.

But according to Paul Hartnoll of Orbital, making music for multimedia has its constraints. Technology only goes so far, and a rich aural experience can become a thin squeaky one when played on different sound cards and different hardware.

And unlike the linear format of film, a game requires music that can move backward, forward and sideways. Some players finish a level in one minute, while others may take 10 minutes or more. The music must be able to capture an emotional feeling - be it excitement, fear or anxiety - and maintain it as the same section is played over and over again.

``It was like writing music from a car chase scene that kept changing in a sci-fi movie,'' Hartnoll said. ``(The game developers) left everything in our hands. We worked with a video of the game. All they asked for was a six-minute track that built up over time.''

Yet on the original Wipeout, some Orbital tracks were taken off the U.S. release because record compani`es and publishers could not resolve licensing and royalty issues. That conflict continues to plague game developers.

Last year the British firm Gremlin Interactive wanted techno-rockers and avid gamers Pop Will Eat Itself to write several songs for Loaded. Though the band eagerly accepted the job, the group's music publisher balked over royalty issues.

``Everyone's after a slice of the profits,'' said Mark Mattocks, marketing manager for Gremlin. ``But the fact is you can't get as big of a royalty cut on a video game as you would on an audio CD. If the programmers are only getting 6 percent, it's outrageous for the publishing companies to ask for more.''

The U.K. game company and the music publishers eventually compromised, allowing Gremlin to promote the band to a new audience, and Pop Will Eat Itself to give the game firm musical credibility.

Despite corporate interest in video game music, artists say the American market remains limited to a subculture of the computer game community.

Fans can search Japanese specialty stores, like Asahiya Bookstores USA in downtown Los Angeles, which provide vast selections of soundtracks imported from Tokyo.

They also can turn to the Internet, where mail-order companies like Game Music Online (http://www.gamemusic.com) and the Game Cave (http://www.gamecave.com) offer fans a chance to browse through extensively on-line audio libraries before making their selection.

Though some national record store chains carry these soundtracks, video game music enthusiasts still might have difficulty finding them. Tommy Tallarico, who has written game music for six years, discovered this after Capitol Records released his debut album in 1994. One Tower Records store carried it in its sound effects section. Another placed it in the pop and rock racks.

When Tallarico released his follow-up ``Games Greatest Hits, Vol. II'' this month, he decided to bypass the record stores, and sell the album at software and video game shops.

``I know people w`ant to buy this kind of music,'' said Tallarico, an Orange County-based musician who has written soundtracks for such game companies as Virgin Interactive Entertainment, Electronic Arts and Disney. ``It's just a matter of putting it in a place where the public can find it.''

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Bradford Mar/Daily News