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[Taking a look at the Japanese fan-based Comiket (Comic Market) convention and its gigantic cache of video game music-inspired cover albums and even books, Gamasutra interviews many of the intriguing Japanese musicians selling their unofficial tributes to classic and modern game soundtracks.]

Comic Market, which takes place twice a year at the enormous Tokyo Big Sight convention center in Japan, defies comparison with any other hobbyist gathering in the world.

Over the course of its three-day run “Comiket” attracts hundreds of thousands of amateur artists from all over Japan. As with the comparatively intimate Music MediaMix Market, booths are set up for individuals and groups called “circles” to sell their homemade doujin collectibles.

This winter’s 77th installment was host to all manner of retro game revivals, particularly in the sphere of videogame music: Freelance writer Ryota Musha helped publish a book on the contemporary use of retro game consoles in the creation of original chip music.

Meanwhile the delightfully named Magical Trick Society looked to a Western game series for their latest remix album, paying tribute to Kentaro Haneda’s influential game soundtracks to the Famicom ports of the Wizardry series.

This in-depth look at the remixed videogame music of Comic Market 77 includes interviews with the participants and embedded video Q&As with band takrockers!! and two industry game composers frequently in attendance.

Freelancer Ryota Musha and the expression of his 8bitlove

Drawing staggering numbers to the Tokyo Big Sight building not far from Kokusai Tenjijo train station, Comiket is widely popular among gaming enthusiasts for featuring a varied mix of the familiar and the unexpected. Crowds grow so large prior to the 10 o’clock opening each morning that the event staff equipped with loudspeakers are constantly directing the giant, snaking lines around blocks and up stairways. Admission is free, while event organizers recoup costs by selling program catalogs whose girth calls to mind the Yellow Pages.

One of the biggest surprises for chiptune enthusiasts this Comiket was the coffee table book 8bitlove, independently financed and on sale for 1000 yen. While several of the writers contributed anonymously to avoid potential conflicts with employers, Ryota Musha was on hand to field questions about the publication. A freelancer and frequent contributor both to Kotaku Japan and Gizmodo, the writer says that embarking upon publishing the book reinvigorated his love for writing, a process emphasizing fun over business.

8bitlove offers Japanese readers a window into the overseas chip music scene, compiling photos and URLs in a visually dazzling layout of low-fi phenomena like the band Anamanaguchi, video jockey Paris Graphics and filmmakers 2 Player Productions. Also featured are Japan’s chiptune luminaries, among them Hally’s VORC Records label, Saitone and Kplecraft. The custom pixel art depicted on the cover comes courtesy of illustrator ta2nb.