RPGs: music or not

[Photokoi]

Many rpgs are made by their music. Morrowind. Baldurs Gate. Betrayal at Krondor. When you first feel nostalgia, I'm guessing 7 times out of 10, the game music will make you teary eyed. Though not an RPG, this happened to me when I looked up Zelda Ocarina of time. The music killed me inside. I couldn't do any homework the night I looked it up on YouTube. Flashes of my childhood and the wonderful times with the first game I beat. I was 7 when I beat that back then. When I looked up the title screen, it was emotional to say the least.

Now. There many classics so to speak that don't have music (obviously). Pool of Radiance, Wizardry, DOS ultimas till 6 etc.

Since I was never brought up with these games I can't imagine what it woulve been without music.

The games I love have great music. But can q game still be very immersive without? Can a game be even more immersive without music? I bring this up because I know the blogger of crpgaddict doesn't care for music and almost turns it off which concerns me because a lot of games have wonderful immersive tracks.

Tell me your experience with soundless musicless games. I sound so spoiled admitting that I need music in rpgs, but its true.

Anyways just an interesting thought

 

[DalekFlay]

Some people turn off the music in Elder Scrolls games because they say it's more immersive. Others play shitty modern rock over top of the game while they play. Everyone's different, who fucking knows. I leave shit as-is and yeah, the Morrowind music is nostalgia trip for sure. I was already a little older when Morrowind came out though, so it's not really a trip back to being a kid, which is where the real emotion comes in. Games like Space Quest III and Under a Killing Moon give me much larger nostalgia hard-ons in the music department.

Honestly 80's commercials are the best nostalgia trip. Makes me feel like a kid again.

 

[sea]

I think games like Dark Souls show that lack of music can be just as powerful in establishing atmosphere and creating an emotional response as any soundtrack. By having absolutely no music except in a few key situations (town, boss battles), it makes you alert to every little ambient sound and reinforces the cold and unforgiving nature of the world.

I know in ages past I definitely played some old games without music (in part because they required a CD in the drive, which I didn't have). Dungeon crawlers which share the same sort of atmosphere as Dark Souls etc. benefit heavily from a lack of music (i.e. Ultima Underworld, even non-RPGs like Quake).

 

[SCO]

what's wrong nostalgiafags?

 

[Deleted member 7219]

I always leave the music on in video games because it is part of the game. It would be like going into the game files and deleting a load of textures, why would you do it?

Also, there are so many games where the music really is terrific, and muting it is a crime against all decency.

The only time when I might turn off the music is if I am listening to a podcast and want to run around and fuck shit up in a game like Just Cause 2.

 

[SCO]

If i could i'd have turned the music on Valkyrie Profile off.

 

[Infinitron]

Ultima Underworld

Hmmm?

 

[valcik]

It depends. There is great atmosphere in System Shock 2 with music turned off; turning off the music in Fallout is a fucking blasphemy!

 

[sea]

Infinitron, I played Ultima Underworld without the music back in the day, but it's possible I had a shareware version without it, or someone turned it off and I never realized. :D

And yes valcik, System Shock 2 is another great game that benefits heavily from lack of music at times (great soundtrack, but it does arguably take away from the ambiance of the game and make it less scary). The quality of the ambient sound design and how much the game relies on audio cues really seems to influence how well it takes to disabling music.

There are tons of games I would never think of turning off the soundtrack in, especially RPGs, but most RPGs also don't really rely on audio to communicate gameplay in the same way a horror or action game might.

 

[Krraloth]

If i could i'd have turned the music on Valkyrie Profile off.

Come on now.
IT SHALL BE ENGRAVED UPON YOUR SOUL!
Without cheesy music is just not the same.

 

[Broseph]

Morrowind. Also Neverwinter Nights and to a lesser extent, Skyrim and Oblivion (music being one of the few redeeming aspects of the latter). I dunno, I'm a sucker for Jeremy Soule. Arcanum, Might and Magic VI (and VII and VIII), that fucking main menu theme from Wizardry 8...

Also this song from Daggerfall will be stuck in my head from here to eternity.

 

[Luzur]

as long as it isnt dubstep im cool with music in RPG's.

also:

God, you cant get more right exploration music.

 

[Luzur]

Also this song from Daggerfall will be stuck in my head from here to eternity.

i hear it everytime i go to town and shop.

 

[Outlander]

Gothic 1 and 2 are very unique in this regard (very dark, moody and tribal), which is sadly often overlooked. Composer Kai Rosenkranz did an outstanding job with these, however he went for a more bombastic/epic style in G3 and while there are still some very good low key tunes in some towns, it just wasn't the same.

The music is such an essential part of these games for me, I could't imagine playing them without it.



TES for example sounded like generic epic tripe to me, I can't remember a single piece of music from any of them, so I don't blame people turning the music off to 'enhance' their immersion.

Ideally, low key ambient music fits RPGs very well:

 

[Starwars]

It always depend on the game in my opinion. There shouldn't be some rule of music, just as there shouldn't be a rule of no-music. I tend to like music when it's a bit more in the background, but there are games where it fits with eyes that tend to draw eyes to it more. People always complain about the music in Oblivion here for example and I cannot for the life of me understand that. No, it's not innovative or anything. But it's still beautiful to listen to. Doesn't save the game at all but the music in that game is fucking strong.

One thing though is that I think RPGs need to focus more on sound-design overall. Sound effects and silence can be used to great effect many times. Overreliance on music can kill the soundtrack overall.

 

[MicoSelva]

I sometimes turn the music off when I am replaying games I have finished many times before, like Baldur's Gate. But yeah, usually I want to experience everything the game has to offer, music included.

And there was this one time when I swapped Fallout music files with those from IWD. Best Fallout playthrough ever.

 

[Drew]

In RPGs, I think music is an especially important point that has been sorrowfully overlooked since actual soundtracks have been implemented.

Shit, I remember more of Final Fantasy Tactics music than I do of Skyrim's.

 

[catfood]

I couldn't imagine TOEE without the music. Especially the Homlett and Moathouse Exterior themes complement the tastefully done graphics in making one of the most atmosphere heavy RPGs. You wouldn't think that a combat focused game could benefit so much from it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnSVmJAhObk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MOvDv_Gr_o

 

[Darth Roxor]

I don't think I've ever turned off music in *any* game. Maybe decrease the volume a lot, but never turn off completely. No matter how generic and forgettable, the soundtracks usually serve some kind of a purpose, and I feel that every game loses a lot of its identity without its original music.

There are a bunch of games (in general, not rpgs) that are designed from the get-go to have no music at all, and when they pull it off properly as a conscious design decision, the effect of that can be absolutely stunning. Suddenly, you are much more focused on every single sound around you, I guess you could say it also adds to some immershun.

I can't think of many examples of the above right now, except for a recent one. And that is Betrayer. The only "music" in that game is in the main menu, and it compensates for that completely with its RIDICULOUSLY good sound design.

 

[potatojohn]

The only games where I liked and left the music on is VVVVVV and Arcanum

 

[Abelian]

I always leave the music on in video games because it is part of the game. It would be like going into the game files and deleting a load of textures, why would you do it?

My sentiments exactly. Like MicoSelva said, the only reason why I ever mute the soundtrack is because I replayed it too many times.

 

[Karwelas]

I always leave the music on in video games because it is part of the game. It would be like going into the game files and deleting a load of textures, why would you do it? .

Yeah. Imagine damn Baldur's Gate or Betrayal at Krondor without music. Music is part of climate. You can't just set it off if you want to feel. The only reason to mute music in game I ever have is becouse I listen it too many times.

 

[Broseph]

After playing a game for so many hours I tend to substitute the music with something from my iTunes library. With some older games where the sound is minimalistic and tolerable at best you pretty much have to anyway.

 

[eric__s]

Betrayal at Krondor shop theme

what's wrong nostalgiafags?

awwwwwww this is my jam

Yeah, I care a lot about the music in games. I started a blog about game music not too long ago. When I was about 8 years old, I sat down with a tape recorder and recorded all my favorite songs from Phantasy Star IV, which is still one of my favorite soundtracks of all time. A few years later, I decided that I wanted to make music (not just for games, I write a lot of pop music too but writing soundtracks for games was one of my big goals) and taught myself from scratch how to read and write music. I even invented my own notation system that I use to this day. I never took any courses or read any books on it, everything I know about music is something I had to teach myself. Now I work as a musician (among other things!) for games and have written the soundtracks for at least 2 dozen. In fact, a fairly well-known rapper has even used my version of a C64 Robocop song.

What I like about a lot of older game music is that it's pop. If it had been produced in any other context, it would have been played on the radio. I care less about how immersive a song is and more about how catchy it is and how much character it has. I think my favorite Western RPG soundtracks are Daggerfall, Realms of Arkania: Star Trail, King of Dragon Pass and who knows what else, there's too much to name. It's fun, enjoyable music and that's all that really matters.

 

[subotaiy]

Gothic 1 and 2 are very unique in this regard (very dark, moody and tribal), which is sadly often overlooked. Composer Kai Rosenkranz did an outstanding job with these, however he went for a more bombastic/epic style in G3 and while there are still some very good low key tunes in some towns, it just wasn't the same.

I also enjoyed his work from Risen, some very relaxing tracks there. Such a shame he left PB after that, his contribution weighted a lot indeed to their games.