Ambient / in-game music

[Mistb0rn]

I personally think that music is a very important part of the gameplay experience. The lack of music in previous titles has been a significant detriment to my enjoyment of Jeff's games.

This especially hit me when watching the Avadon Steam trailer; it made me think "this could be such a great game if it really had good music."

For me, the sudden transition from menu/character creation to the silence in-game is a bit jarring. I also find my attention waning more when playing games without music.

 

But I'm guessing I may be in the minority here; what do you guys think?

[Skwish-E]

I don't like music that gets in the way of the sound effects, but background is OK as long as it isn't too repetetive. 40 + hours of 5 bars of music repeated would make me want to strangle kittens.

[madrigan]

I loved the music in Neverwinter Nights, for example, but it was much more elaborate than anything Jeff could afford to do, and in addition it was synced so well that the battle music always ended just as the last enemy fell like in an action movie, and I have no idea how hard that it is to do.

 

I don't think adding in-game music would be an efficient use of Jeff's time, given the scope of his duties, and besides, in RL there isn't appropriate music playing all the time. I would rather just have more area-specific environmental noises.

[Earth]

some music during travels but not during fights, steel hitting steel and flesh and fire causing burns and energy causing wounds and bites meeting flesh is enuf music.

[Alorael at Large]

Very good music in a game can enhance mood and atmosphere and work wonders. Merely decent music is unnecessary: I have iTunes.

 

—Alorael, who has seen games that have a programmed-in music player without music. He'd actually be happy to supply his own battle music, town music, cave music, and so on. Final bosses go very well with O Fortuna, but it's a mood killer to have to put it on himself.

[A less presumptuous name.]

Originally Posted By: Musical Malpractice

I have iTunes.
—Alorael

This is where I sit. If a game has a large enough budget to have a really good soundtrack, then yeah, I'll listen to it. But I will often mute a game and either play with just the sounds or with my own iTunes library running in the background. Jeff doesn't have the budget to bring in a large amount of high-quality music, so I'd rather he not waste time, money, and effort to put out a bad soundtrack.

[Enraged Slith]

A great soundtrack is important, but equally important is good editing. I can sit and play a soundtrack over the game, but it wont have any structure and may detract from the experience.

 

However, bad soundtracks can destroy a game, and Jeff doesn't have the money to fund a composer like Inon Zur or Hitoshi Sakimoto. Bad music is not forgivable in the same vein as outdated graphics.

[Ceiling Durkheim]

Quote:

Final bosses go very well with O Fortuna, but it's a mood killer to have to put it on himself.

I'm partial to Dies Irae (Mozart or Verdi), myself.

I agree with the last few posters: good soundtrack music can be a thing of beauty, and really enhance a game experience. It also takes a lot of money and time, neither of which indie developers tend to have in any great quantity.

[*i]

Quote:

However, bad soundtracks can destroy a game, and Jeff doesn't have the money to fund a composer like Inon Zur or Hitoshi Sakimoto. Bad music is not forgivable in the same vein as outdated graphics.

This. No music is often better than poor music. Even if you can turn it off, players will not forgive. Additionally, Jeff has a limited budget to spend on these games. Getting good music is probably out of the price range. Even if it were achievable, core elements would necessarily suffer.

[Necris Omega]

Originally Posted By: *i

Quote:

However, bad soundtracks can destroy a game, and Jeff doesn't have the money to fund a composer like Inon Zur or Hitoshi Sakimoto. Bad music is not forgivable in the same vein as outdated graphics.

This. No music is often better than poor music. Even if you can turn it off, players will not forgive. Additionally, Jeff has a limited budget to spend on these games. Getting good music is probably out of the price range. Even if it were achievable, core elements would necessarily suffer.

Most definitely.

… Maybe if Avadon's unprecedented success paves the way for greater exposure and funding in future, maybe then Jeff could look more into the audio aspect of his games, but until then… I'd rather that money go towards a prolonged development time and more/cleaner content myself.

Though I will say that one of I think Avadon's stronger points was, surprisingly enough, how catchy the intro music was.

[Quiconque]

The intro music to Avadon is some of the best SW has had in a long while.

[Ceiling Durkheim]

I still like G5's the best, but I suspect I'm idiosyncratic in that respect. I think there's also been a general increase in quality, as well. I recall enjoying the intro music from Nethergate and A2 (A1 wasn't bad, either), but aside from that I find everything until G5, A6, and Avadon basically forgettable.

[Necris Omega]

I always thought the intro to A2 sounded like it could have been a sample from a theme to a Law and Order spin off, or other dark, gritty police drama for some reason.

[Cairo Jim]

I quite like the intro music to Nethergate. I didn't mind the music that played through E1 and 2 either.

[Harehunter]

The MYST series had good sound tracks, but looking at the credits it was an incredible investment. Plus, I don't see how such a scheme would fit into Jeff's games. I am trying to get into Realms of Arkania which has a continuous background music, but I have just started so I am not sure how it will play out.

[Dintiradan]

Originally Posted By: Necris Omega

I always thought the intro to A2 sounded like it could have been a sample from a theme to a Law and Order spin off, or other dark, gritty police drama for some reason.

I've always thought it sounded like a clip from a Dire Straits song (A1 too). Nice on its own, but something like A3's theme fit the game better.

Avadon's intro music was nice and epic, but it only should have played once.

[Enraged Slith]

Avernum 5 had the best intro music of them all, but it was just a little too quiet.

[DewdropsOTG]

I always thought that the intro music to Avernum II was the best meself.

[Lightning Spammer]

So long as I have an option to turn it off or turn it down...

 

I remember Realmz. That old midi-style music. Some of the tracks I disliked, but some I loved. Enough that I figured out how to extract them (sort of) and stuff them into my iTunes. Heh.

 

I can do without it, though. I'd rather have the ambient sounds in Jeff's games done a little better before (and if) he adds in music. And those have been getting better. I still remember some of the early Geneforge ambients in the towns... "blah blah blah blah blah blah! Blah blah blah blah blah blah! Blah blah blah blah blah!" Gods, that was annoying. O_O; Kind of funny too, but annoying and something I learned to tune out whenever wandering in towns with that ambient track.

[Necris Omega]

... I think the ambient noise might have been why I tended to go full Obeyer/loyalist in many Geneforges, simply because the Serviles were clearly way too iritating when not properly bound and gagged. >>;

[mauvebutterfly]

I would prefer ambient noise to music, and think that Spiderweb usually does a pretty good job of this. I never found the towns in Geneforge to be annoying, actually. I liked the contrast from the wilderness zones.