How Important Is Game Music?

Couchpotato · April 11, 2015

Another question that I've been thinking about is game music in RPGs. So guys is music an important part of your gaming experience, or is it just a distraction?

As for me it depends as I find most BioWare, Deus Ex , and Bethesda games always have music that adds to the immersion while I play them. :sing:

Here is an example of music that fits the game, and enhances your gaming experience.

So here is a new poll asking about game music.

Nerevarine · April 11, 2015

Very important to me. A good soundtrack can enhance the mood of a game enormously. The original Deus Ex, Arcanum, Kotor, and several others had music that still evokes a strong response when I hear those songs to this day. While I was playing the games, they made me want to linger just a little longer in their worlds.

As an example, the Unatco song from Deus Ex still sends shivers down my spine, and I remember wandering around aimlessly in the headquarters for a lot longer than I needed to just because of how swept away I was at the music that was playing.

JDR13 · April 11, 2015

Nerevarine said:
As an example, the Unatco song from Deus Ex still sends shivers down my spine, and I remember wandering around aimlessly in the headquarters for a lot longer than I needed to just because of how swept away I was at the music that was playing.

I haven't played Deus Ex in years, but I can still hear the title screen music perfectly in my head. All of the music and sound effects are superb in that game.

A funny thing that always stuck in my head about Deus Ex was hearing that sound bite of the guy with the Russian accent saying "I spill my drink!" when you adjusted the volume in the options menu.

danutz_plusplus · April 11, 2015

Definitely very important. I get some of the best nostalgia-hits to my memory when I hear a tune or a music piece that I can link to a certain event/place in a game. And that Human Revolution main theme is amazing. Good thing they have the same guy doing the music for Mankind Divided.

Music and also environmental-sounds give a lot of life to a scene/place in a game. But sometimes it can go wrong, especially with things I predict. Sometimes, if there's an emotional scene in the game, and some "emotionally-inducing" piece starts playing it can completely take me out of it. It's very important that I don't notice the music starting to play, which is hard to do I think, since I'm not sure what exactly makes me notice it and what doesn't make me notice it. But noticing it can completely ruin the moment, (the same thing I've seen happen to me with films). It's like I see the puppet-strings of the composer, and see him trying to manipulate/steer me towards feeling something. A powerful-scene should make you do that regardless of music, but music should also help guide you towards that. I guess it's the same as with make-up. The best kind of make-up is the one you don't even notice.

wolfgrimdark · April 11, 2015

Music is extremely important in a game to me - especially when it fits the theme. I always listen to game music unless it is just too horrible to deal with (and I am easy to please as an FYI - I am not one of those fussy players).

sakichop · April 11, 2015

Not important at all. I usually turn it way down. I prefer really good ambient sounds which is much more immersive than music playing from nowhere.

I especially dislike combat music that is played too early acting as an enemy alarm such as in skyrim. Several times the music would warn me of enemies before I even saw them.

joxer · April 11, 2015

It's so important to me I tend to forgive poor stories, lousy quests, repetitiveness, boredom, mediocrity and annoyances if the music kicks arse and am recommending the game.
Voted on option #1.

When it comes to music, I'm not easy to please however like wolfgrimdark.

I hate when publishers cut scores out, usually the best ones, or rearrange them differently when making OST (EA, Ubi), definetly can't stand releasing several OST periodically instead of one as it's nothing but milking (japanese publishers).

SleepingDog · April 11, 2015

I think that music can have a huge impact on a game but sometimes that's not a good thing. Music has a habit of altering your reactions in certain situations. (Try playing Meatloaf while driving on a clear motorway, then try it with something much gentler).
The music tends to make me react without thinking which isn't good in the early stages of a RPG. Yes I get a rush but I then get fed up with re-loading. I find that I switch it off and rely on the ambient sound.

Alrik Fassbauer · April 11, 2015

Depends on the game and on the situation within the game, imho.

The Elven Forest in Drakensang without THAT kind of music - unthinkable now for me !

Or Rayman : Origins with that music - very well fitting !

Or Tropico 1 … just great, imho.

Racing games … well, I don't think that I need music there.

I'd just concetrate on the racng part, not so much on the music.

CelticFrost · April 11, 2015

Like all things in life music can really set the mood good or bad.

Nephologist · April 11, 2015

Very very important to me.

Somewhat related story:

Every few years I build myself a new PC. One of the first things I do after putting a new PC together is install Icewind Dale, create a party and get them to Kuldahar. Sometimes I continue playing after that but mostly I just keep a save at Kuldahar.

Anytime I'm having a bad day, or in a bad mood I load up that save in IWD. After five or ten minutes of listening to the Kuldahar theme with the ambient sounds in the background, taking my characters around town and interacting with the townsfolk, I'm always in a better mood.

While good music doesn't necessarily mean a good game, in order for a game to be perfect in my eyes, it needs to have good music.

Deleted User · April 11, 2015

Music is extremely important to me, and has been ever since I was a child playing RPGs on my Nintendo and Super Nintendo.

Even 20 years later, all the classic themes from the RPGs of my youth still stick with me, and when I hear them again, a flood of nostalgia, a rush of emotions and memories come whistling back in my mind, and I'm taken back to the time when I was a kid without a care in the world.

Music is always important to me because I'm a musician myself, and I have a desire to craft music for RPGs. The music sets the mood, atmosphere and ambiance of a game.

I can never imagine playing other music while I'm playing a game. At that point, I'm not fully invested in the game, so I question why I should be playing at all. I like to get immersed deeply in my RPGs, and it takes the right in-game music to help that process along.

danutz_plusplus · April 11, 2015

Nephologist said:
Every few years I build myself a new PC. One of the first things I do after putting a new PC together is install Icewind Dale, create a party and get them to Kuldahar. Sometimes I continue playing after that but mostly I just keep a save at Kuldahar.

That Kuldahar theme song is one of the most impressive pieces I ever heard in any game. Jeremy Soule really knocked it out of the park with that one. Just, unreal and kind of seems like a one-in-a-lifetime accidents that it turned out that amazing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B92P1-OUNJo

Aubrielle · April 11, 2015

Jeremy Soule is absolutely incredible.

Music is tremendously important. With Divinity: Original Sin, the music direction was really scattered and confused. I really don't think Pokrovsky is a very good composer, and I don't think he knew what he wanted to do in D:OS. So if you play with the music on, the music tends to go off and do its own thing sometimes and completely ruin your immersion.

Some games - like Pillars of Eternity and Arcanum - are totally spot on with their music and creating an ambiance. Other games have music that can ruin the experience.

joxer · April 11, 2015

Pokrovsky is good but D:OS arrangements feel unfinished/unpolished/ment_only_for_orchestra. IMO completely odd choices of instruments are in those scores, like a sort of placeholders.

An example, Flutter of a Butterfly:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPzeDWAkeF8
See how odd that sounds? It's still a harmony, no wrong notes, just odd instrument picks.
I can only hope we'll eventually hear an orchestrated version of this score (and possibly others from the game).

Aubrielle · April 11, 2015

You're right, Joxer, and I see what you're talking about. The really sad part is in one of the Kickstarter update videos I heard Pokrovsky mumbling something about how he doesn't like orchestras because they're always out of tune, or something. He said he doesn't want to work with one - instead, he wanted to have each instrument composed piecemeal and dub them together. I facepalmed - an orchestra was one of the Kickstarter stretch goals. :-/

Still. I agree. Orchestrated pieces could do a lot to help that soundtrack.

joxer · April 11, 2015

I just have to remind everyone that in a year Skyrim was generally getting GOTY awards, DX:HR was getting the best soundtrack of the year awards everywhere.
And it was well deserved IMO.

But I totally get sad when a game that is not RPG gets superb soundtrack. NonRPG with great music to me feels like a wasted potential. Isn't it "throwing pearls to pigs"? :evilgrin:

Or maybe I'm just too spoiled with awsome music we get in RPGs thus believe the only genre that should have it is RPG?

Dez · April 11, 2015

I recall reading that Kirill fell ill during Orginal sin Development and it took him quite a while to recover. So that may explain why orginal sin soundtrack may not always be in synch what happens in game.

(found this thread about this http://www.larian.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=498720)

Imo he doesn't lack talent and Orginal sin soundtrack is quite good, but slightly unbalanced at times. It may have needed more work and polish.

edit: I agree with Aubrielle about the orchestra. It was so strange that they did not do that when it was one of the goals during the ks campaign.

Corwin · April 12, 2015

I usually switch all music and sound OFF as I find it a distraction!!

Darkant · April 12, 2015

One of the first things I do when I start playing a game is go to the options screen and turn off the music.

How Important Is Game Music?

How Important Is Game Music?

Very Important To Me

Depends on the Game

I Listen to My Own Music

Not Important at All

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