Many games nowadays are about spectacle, those amazingly honed set pieces that wouldn't look out of place in a Hollywood production. But what about those quiet more contemplative moments in games, moments that stay with you long after the end credits roll? Well I'm sure we all have them but these are some of my favourites in no particular order. If you can think of some more let me know. Oh and BTW Spoilers alert!

Red Dead Redemption- John Marston entering Mexico to that Jose Gonzales track. When I played the game the sun was slowly setting in the horizon and I had my horse at a gentle gallop to take in the beautiful scenery.

Superbrothers Swords and Sworcery- This game has many moments like sitting at the Moon Grotto or going to the Concert in the Woods but for me the ending as you float down the stream dead sticks out. Perhaps it would have been insincere to have the Sythian survive her wofeul erand.

Fallout 3- This is one of the most breathtaking moment I have ever experienced in a game. You open the vault door and with the sun blinding you, your eyes adjust to the light. Then you look out and you see the Washington Monument with huge chunks missing and the Capitol Building with part of the dome caved in- you realise just how fragile the world really is...

Assassins Creed 2- It's a-me Mario! Nuff said.

Ico- In a game about friendship and love the moment that most sticks with me is sitting down with Yorda. A moment of respite and peace in a hostile world.

Bioshock Infinite- This game upped the ante from the original Bioshock. The opening when you ascend into the sky and enter Columbia will stick with me for a long time. The scene with the candles and baptism is really spellbinding.

Journey- This game is full of moments but the ending where you die, just before reaching the mountains zenith is heartbreaking. However the journey is not over, you come back and travel the world as a spirit- this game is transcendant!

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons- This game is beautiful to look at, rather like those strange Eastern Block country animations and Jim Henson's The Storyteller style art prevalent in the late 70's and early 80's in particular. The ending is a real heartwrencher, I completed this game with my cousin and we both sat there in shock and full of despair. Get the tissues ready!

Final Fantasy 6- The opera scene where Celes poses as the Opera singer Maria and turns in a legendary performance. At the time this blew my mind!

Links Awakening- The Windfish waking up is a masterpiece on the Gameboy. This is one of my favourite Zelda moments of all time!

Monument Valley- In Monument Valley you'll guide Ida, the silent princess, through many levels that are filled with optical illusions, mysterious Crow people and more. You are all alone in this hostile world until you befriend a totem, then he dies.... slowly... in front of your eyes. Gaaaah the feels, the feels!

Proteus- This whole game is beautiful and full of wonderful imagery but I particularly remember the sunsets. Magical. In the video it starts at 12 minutes)

Okami- This is one of the most beautiful and underappreciated games of all time. The art style is unique and will never age but the thing that sticks with me is the marraige of the visuals to the sound, especially when the world is in bloom.

Thomas Was Alone- This game has some wonderful dialogue but Level 7.9 has some of the most honest writing in gaming; "James still felt weird, but he realised that everyone else was too. They were a crew of weirdos." It's difficult to convey the humanity of this game, especially because everyone in it is a quadrilateral, but trust me, it will get to you and make you think about friendships, relationships and your past and formative years. It's that good!

Deadly Premonition- Out of all the games this was the one that will stick with me forever due to the pure weirdness and brutality of the deaths. For those who don't know a homicidal maniac known as the 'Raincoat Killer' is murdering people ritualistically. there are many horrible deaths but this one of Becky Ames is tempered with moments of beauty as she becomes a Goddess. A twisted masterpiece that needs to be played, especially for those who are fans of Twin Peaks and David Lynch.

So these are the moments of gaming that will stick with me, not all are wonderfully cheerful but they do have a beauty to them that I like. So are there parts of a game that will stay with you?

Prog Rock or Progressive Rock to give it it's full name, is looked down upon in this day and age. To many it is seen as pretentious and ridiculous, and to be honest it did get that way.... with 20 minute keytar solos and unlistenable tracks which only made sense when you were stoned (apparently, as I've never touched drugs to check the validity of this statement). However this is a disservice to the entire genre, there were amazing bands who pushed the boundaries in live shows and wonderful albums made, and their influence can still be felt today in bands like Arcade Fire, Muse and Radiohead.

But for a whole generation of computer game composers Prog was the inspiration for their music, especially in Japan, Germany and Italy where Prog seemed to really resonate with the people. Legendary Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu cites Emerson, Lake and Palmer and Uriah Heap as his inspirations. Tim Follin, game composer for many NES, C64 and SNES games has said that the audio limitations of older machines created a challenge when working on computer game music; to create music that was not only enjoyable the first time but also on subsequent loops until the level/ boss/ mission was done.

Prog Rock offered a good link as many albums were concept albums which contained characters, themes and stories... not too different from computer games. A lot of 8 and 16-bit games could get very intricate and complex and the music had to reflect this and so you had a situation where games composers were liberally borrowing elements from Prog Rock.

One of the best examples I can think of is the last battle in Final Fantasy 6, where the team face off against Kefka... listen to this piece and tell me it's not Prog Rock inspired. The game left such an indelible mark on me that I even created a deadpixels cover homage of it with me and Simon as lead characters. As well as being an epic battle the music is such an integral part of it, composed in 3 parts to reflect the 3 transformations of Kefka.

Rick Wakeman , the legendary keyboardist from Prog Rock group 'Yes' went solo in the 70's to create thematic albums around books and history. His most famous work is 'Journey To The Centre Of The Earth' which was a landmark achievement, selling over 15 million records worldwide. 2014 marked the 40th Anniversary of the release of the album and I was lucky enough to get tickets for the concert at the royal Albert Hall.

The concert was amazing, a real spectacle. To see a sellout audience silent and entranced by Rick Wakeman and his orchestra brought home to me the fact that even though Prog did get crazy mad, there were still amazing gems that still shine today and this was one of them.

Prog is not dead, it is alive and well!