RPGs: music or not

[Cadmus]

I don't think I've ever turned the music off, maybe in games like HoMaM where or games I've played million times already and use the time spent on the game to listen to my stuff I need to practice or just want to hear.
I like the Gothic music but I much prefer a memorable, intrusive score to ambient music. As someone's said, Oblivion had wonderful music (not so much Skyrim) and Morrowind of course, too. I also really like it when the game is silent and the music starts pumping only during important events (like in Max Payne).

 

[norolim]

I get the best nostalgia trip, when I listen to this:


Oh, and Drew, change your avatar, please

 

[DraQ]

Many rpgs are made by their music. Morrowind.

Nope.

While Morrowind's music instantly brings back my good memories of Morrowind, I never considered it particularly great in itself.

Music is an extra, it might be an important extra when it comes to creating game's atmosphere (see PS:T), but in itself it doesn't make or break immersion.

 

[Drew]

Oh, and Drew, change your avatar, please

Why would I do something sensible like that?

 

[Necroscope]

RPGs made by their music? SOTN is probably the most terrific example:


Every track is wicked in its own way and perfectly fits the location.
Also, there's a potato aspect; the "Moonlight Nocturne" track was performed by the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra!

 

[DraQ]

As someone's said, Oblivion had wonderful music (not so much Skyrim) and Morrowind of course, too.

And this is something I can't wrap my head around.

You like Morrowind's music, yet think Skyrim's is shit despite being to a substantial degree a rehash of Morrowind tracks (plus some stuff like adaptations of inn tunes from Daggerfall being played by bards in the inns).

I much prefer a memorable, intrusive score to ambient music.

I don't.

Especially in games that are meant to be played for long stretches of time loud intrusive scores usually become tiring no matter how good they might be.

That's why Unreal will always remain one of the greatest achievements in video game music.

 

[zwanzig_zwoelf]

Persona 3 battle theme made the game.


Seriously, I really wanted to eject the disk and gift the game to a friend that has his/her birthday on April 1st.

Spoiler

I have none.

 

[Necroscope]

That's why Unreal will always remain one of the greatest achievements in video game music.

Anything by Alexander Brandon is a great achievement in video game music.

 

[Cadmus]

As someone's said, Oblivion had wonderful music (not so much Skyrim) and Morrowind of course, too.

And this is something I can't wrap my head around.

You like Morrowind's music, yet think Skyrim's is shit despite being to a substantial degree a rehash of Morrowind tracks (plus some stuff like adaptations of inn tunes from Daggerfall being played by bards in the inns).

I much prefer a memorable, intrusive score to ambient music.

I don't.

Especially in games that are meant to be played for long stretches of time loud intrusive scores usually become tiring no matter how good they might be.

That's why Unreal will always remain one of the greatest achievements in video game music.

You said it yourself - it was a rehash of Morrowind and felt kinda funky to me. Oblivion's music felt new. And here we go again...

I don't mean to say I like to be constantly pounded with loud noises when playing a game but I like for the tracks to be memorable and not just a background noise. There should be nice melodies, the music should fluctuate and there should be a theme and various versions of it.

hey uh do you guys agree that it's very often the case that the battle music is total shit but exploration music is beautiful? A good case of this is TES games. It always sounds so dissonant and not melodic it just annoys me.

 

[Baron Dupek]

Speaking of Unreal - UT3 got pretty nice OST, better than UT2k4 one, dare to say. And must say Prisco part was better than Jesper Kyd.

Music in games is half of the game value.
Never found bad music, if game don't have any then I can use my own.

ZZ that song is cool, not sure what's bad is about it.

 

[markec]

Some of my favorite memories of gaming involves entering certain locations and just standing and listening music.











The only problem I have with soundtracks is when music interferes with gameplay, like walking around listening a tune and suddenly it changes to war music because someone attacked you even if you dont see who or where the attacker is. All adventurers should have a bard following them and play music when there is danger present.

 

[A user named cat]

I'm not sure if I would have even enjoyed Divine Divinity without the music. That's a good case where the soundtrack basically makes the game, and creates the entire mood and atmosphere of the different areas you explore. Without Kirill's work, I likely would have never made it past the bloated opening dungeon. I've replayed the game around 3-4 times now completely, so that tells you how important music can be.

Divinity Tunes

Despite not being RPG-related, you could perhaps make the same argument for the Silent Hill games as well due to amazing tracks from Akira Yamaoka. Those games wouldn't remotely be the same without his songs creating and enhancing moments of intensity or unease.

SH Tunes

 

[Turjan]

I'm not sure if I would have even enjoyed Divine Divinity without the music.

I just wanted to post the same. Although with this example:

 

[GlutenBurger]

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.

Of course a game can be immersive without sound, especially if it has a lot of writing, as demonstrated by IF. Hell, I've even sometimes ended up absorbed into a game of Nethack, and that's with very little writing, no proper images, and barely any animation.

However, I think it's a mistake to define a game as "a thing you get immersed in." Sometimes, it's equally enjoyable to be fully aware that you're playing a game. Chess isn't a worse game because you don't get explosion sounds when you capture pieces, triumphant fanfares at every check, and an increasingly intense soundtrack as the king gets more and more hedged in.

Actually, maybe it would be better with that stuff.

Still, what I'm getting at is that if you find the game's sound isn't adding anything to the experience for you, or if it's even detracting from the experience by being repetitive and annoying, it is perfectly reasonable to simply turn it off and enjoy the gameplay alone. You can then listen to the radio, and be satisfied that you're not wasting your time on frivolities because you're simultaneously enriching your mind with a stimulating debate about the role of cumquats in modern society.

 

[skacky]

I leave the music on in games a vast majority of the time. I often disable it in Doom because it's overused to death, and I often disable it in multiplayer games as well.

 

[dnf]

Many rpgs are made by their music. Morrowind.

Nope.

While Morrowind's music instantly brings back my good memories of Morrowind, I never considered it particularly great in itself.

Music is an extra, it might be an important extra when it comes to creating game's atmosphere (see PS:T), but in itself it doesn't make or break immersion.

I would say that music can make or break a large segment of a game, just like art direction, systems or themes. People who don't give a damn about music or graphics can go back to play wire frame games for all i care. Music/ambient sounds can participate in the interactivity of a game, case in point: Soul Reaver, Deus Ex series, Hitman Series and Metal Gear Rising.

P.s. Arcanum Kombat music is as shitty as the combat itself.

 

[Lemming42]

Also since Daggerfall music was posted earlier in the thread, can anyone explain why, if you fall into water in Arena or Daggerfall, it kicks in with this really sombre-sounding, reflective music?



It always struck me as really weird, since while accidentally falling into water might suck, it doesn't warrant this incredibly sad, mystical music. I always figured it was a song that was written but ultimately didn't have any use, so they just threw it in.

 

[Sunsetspawn]

Music, or lack thereof, is very important. As many have already mentioned in this thread, there are plenty of games that use their soundtracks to incredible effect. First two Gothics, Risens, all three Deus Exes, DA:O, Mass Effect, Morrowind, BG2, Fallouts 1,3, & NV, Dark Souls: these are just a few games off of the top of my head which benefit to an almost multiplicative degree by their soundtracks.

So their are a shit-ton of examples of games with soundtracks that enhances the experience. But what about the opposite?
Let's take Dragon's Dogma, for example. Dragon's Dogma was chock full of extremely well composed music, and yet all of that music actually detracts from the overall quality of the game. Here's a little something I wrote about Dragon's Dogma in another thread.

The score, in general, could use a little stability and focus considering the game seems to be aiming at an OVERTLY medieval motif. Piano, seventh chords, chromatic runs, massive symphonies, and electric guitar have no real place in this game, and yet they're all there. And don't get me started on the jPOP opening in vanilla.
Here, look...


Awesome, but the flute runs and electric guitar make it a bit modern.


Smooth jazz-fusion nonsense that has no place in the game.


Awesomer, but the overwhelming nature of the choir at the end breaks the mood.


New age jazzy crap which is the theme song for the first town, and it just doesn't belong. That chromatic run at 0:37 makes me cringe every time I hear it. This kind of new-agey, smooth-jazz, anachronistic nonsense has become as staple of the jRPG and I don't like it one bit.


Starts off great and creepy, though a little too carnival, but the jazz harmonies from 0:16-0:23 annoy me to no end.

I could post them all and give little examples here and there, but there's a 5 media limit. The whole score is on youtube for your perusal.

Maybe I'm autistic, but to me, the music, while brilliantly composed, just never sets the mood properly. This is one of the faults of the Japanese game industry that often holds it back.

 

[Scroo]

I always keep the game's music turned on. I also would never listen to some other music while playing a game (except maybe for Football Manager since this is basically a playable excel sheet).

But I also think that games without music can be very atmospheric too, see Wizardry VI or Dark Heart of UUkrul for example.

 

[zwanzig_zwoelf]

ZZ that song is cool, not sure what's bad is about it.

At first it feels out of place.
Then by the time it feels in place, it annoys the crap out of me.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

I have played Ultima Underworld 1 & 2 without the music, as it actually detracts from the game at points (you can track monsters by sound, but not while the music is playing).

Ditto with System Shock 1 & 2. Actually, SS2 is the one game I ALWAYS play with the music turned off. I just don't feel that it fits the game.

In my only playthrough of Arcanum I quickly turned the music off. It just didn't fit with me.

Thousands of players don't play EVE Online with the sound on. At all. Of those that DO have sounds turned on, many have the music turned all the way down.

I don't agree with the argument about not playing the music is like deleting a bunch of textures from the game files. There are many games made with the mindset that it MUST have music, regardless of reason. Before killap fixed everything that was wrong with Fallout 2, there was one map that never played any music due to an error. Having a moment or two with absolute silence actually improved the atmosphere of the game. Just because a great has a great soundtrack doesn't mean that it has to be blaring all the time.

And since people seem to be posting great bits of music, I'll throw in a few under a spoiler tag so that Firefox won't break down and cry:

Spoiler

 

[Broseph]

In my only playthrough of Arcanum I quickly turned the music off. It just didn't fit with me.

The music is literally the best thing about that game.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

Yeah, I've gotten flak for that before. *shrugs*

 

[G.O.D]

So iconic.

 

[skacky]

Arcanum's music is amazing but it tends to get repetitive after a while. I always keep SS2's music on but I do lower its volume as it's too loud on default. However the music in SS1 is so great I always keep it on no matter what.