Every game I play, the first thing I do is turn off music in the audio setting. You would think I do that only for scary games, but nope I have always cannot stand music in any game. Including the radio in any Grand Theft Audio games. People say games like Dragon Age: Origin and Dragon Dogma have amazing orchestra and music but I'm like meh. I rather listen to my country music thank you very much. I like listening to the sfx, environment, and voice which is what really immerse me into a game than music, music just distract from the overall experience.
Every game I play, the first thing I do is turn off music in the audio setting. You would think I do that only for scary games, but nope I have always cannot stand music in any game. Am I the only person to do this?
Another "Am I the only person that...?" 'thehotsung thread' Dragon Age Origins had an awesome soundtrack. So too do many other games, old & new. The reason it didn't have a country music soundtrack is because it wouldn't fit the game. There's a very good reason why composers like Jeremy Soule and Inon Zur have racked up award after award producing music for over 50 games (in addition to TV & film and other work) - most people like them.
I very regularly either turn down to turn off in-game music. Note I do care about how well positioned the sound is and its quality for things you mentioned, like general sound fx, environmental sound, voice, etc.
Well quality matters more when I'm using real headphones, since mine broke what I am using sucks in all regards. But when I eventually get a new set it will matter.
I actually own the soundtrack to Dragon Age Origins...and Skyrim (4 disc)...and well, many games. I think my favorite is the Command & Conquer soundtrack. My guess is that if your not the type that would listen to classical or symphonic music outside of gaming, you aren't likely to appreciate it much in gaming. I'm not saying there is anything wrote with not liking it though. To each our own.
That said, I do turn the music off for certain types of gaming. For example, I don't tend to have the music for WoW running because I like to watch tv while grinding. That's after I've heard it all though. I own the World of Warcraft Soundtracks also...
Another "Am I the only person that...?" 'thehotsung thread' Dragon Age Origins had an awesome soundtrack. So too do many other games, old & new. The reason it didn't have a country music soundtrack is because it wouldn't fit the game. There's a very good reason why composers like Jeremy Soule and Inon Zur have racked up award after award producing music for over 50 games (in addition to TV & film and other work) - most people like them.
It members like you that make this the default gaming forum for me and even though Vietnamese New Year (not Chinese New Year) has passed, I hope you live a long and healthy and productive () life!
You're definitely in the minority, was playing Witcher 2 over the weekend and the music adds a ton to the ambiance and atmosphere of the game.
I listen to music sometimes for multiplayer games, but I can't imagine playing a single player RPG like that, it would kill the immersion completely for me.
You're definitely in the minority, was playing Witcher 2 over the weekend and the music adds a ton to the ambiance and atmosphere of the game.
I listen to music sometimes for multiplayer games, but I can't imagine playing a single player RPG like that, it would kill the immersion completely for me.
Immersion is simply "what sucks you in". It could be an excellent plot, realistic graphics, excellent audio / voice acting, etc. Soundtracks do the same by evoking some emotional response that draws you further into a game. Examples:-
- 50's / 60's music is what gives Bioshock and No One Lives Forever games their identity and makes them unique beyond otherwise being "just another shooter". It simply "fits" the decade the game's are based in and adds a huge amount of ambience. NOLF2 had some great soundtracks that fit the locations, eg, Japan, Russia, India, etc, where the music matched the locations perfectly. If location-relevant soundtracks make you feel like you're there more beyond the effect of looking at textures of foreign cities, then that's immersion right there. On top of that the music slightly changed style depending on enemy alertness (eg, ambient vs tension vs high action). Not a new mechanic, but they perfected it in those games. Given that one NOLF1 mission involved infiltrating a nightclub, I can't see how watching people dance in silence (the effect of turning the music off) is more immersive than leaving it on.
Same with Bioshock - "Under The Sea" is an obvious reference to the city of Rapture and the core plot. As are several other tracks in Bioshock 2 (Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea, Daddy Won't You Please Come Home, My Heart Belongs To Daddy, Daddy's Little Girl, etc which fit B2's plot perfectly). For Bioshock Infinite it was even part of the plot that
Jeremiah Fink's brother was stealing music from the future via dimensional tears, and re-writing it in the old era, which explained why "future" songs like Tainted Love, Girls Just Want To Have Fun, Everybody Wants To Rule The World, Fortunate Son, etc, were in the game. Same with the DLC and Elizabeth in Paris with "La Vie En Rose" playing. Or the crowd in Raffle Square singing to "Goodnight Irene" followed by "Bridal Chorus" after picking "no 77"
. If you'd have disabled music, you wouldn't have a clue what was going on watching people dance in silence, or what at least two plot-relevant voxophones were referring to.
- Orchestral soundscapes can add a sense of awe, excitement or sadness (eg, of the majestic environments in Morrowind, Oblivion & Skyrim) which can easily increase immersion over silence. How much varies from person to person.
- The eerie haunting piano solo's in SOMA (and a few other games) fit the feeling of abandoned loneliness perfectly
- The Salsa / Rumba style music is what added a lot to Tropico's amusing atmosphere and South American setting
- I remember the "graveyard music" made The 7th Guest twice as freaky when I played it age 12 all those years ago.
- Deus Ex was just made for that techno-soundtrack, and like NOLF it involved infiltrating a nightclub. More "watching people dance in silence" if you disabled the music.
- Contrast's entire "noir" setting and plot involved
early on a jazz singer working at a club, then later a circus
. Kinda hard to cut the music out of a game where the soundtrack is actually part of the plot & puzzles.
- Party Hard's entire plot is about playing a guy who kills an entire party of people for playing music too loudly.
- Many RPG's include "tavern music" from Baldur's Gate & NWN to modern ones. Again, it's not very immersive to watch people dance to a bard strumming on his lute in silence.
- Grim Fandango and Sam & Max wouldn't remotely have the same ambience without "that jazz sound" that's long been part of both games identity
- Even low budget games like Don't Starve, Gray Matter, Syberia, The Inner World, This War Of Mine, and many others are greatly enhanced by both vocal & non-vocal soundtracks alike.
At the end of the day, there's only so much you can quantify something in words. As Anteaus said earlier, "if you're not the type that would listen to classical or symphonic music outside of gaming, you aren't likely to appreciate it much in gaming". But if you do, then it can significantly contribute to immersion without really needing or being able to explain "why" music is immersive, used prevalently in games & movies or why the effect varies from one person to another.
No you are not the only one,I much rather hear the sound effects then the music. I turn off the music right away in everything I play, or turn it down to where I can barely hear it at all.
Depends I guess, on what you are doing and the game.
Used to have a WOW guild I raided with about a decade ago we had one guy more or less doing DJ over Ventrillo, we would only have 4 group leaders speaking during boss fights and Johnny Cash or Led Zep or things he'd have cued on a playlist in the background I'd still leave the non music audio up for cues etc of course.
I even had a soft mallet and a cowbell off my set I'd bonk a few times for luck before a boss fight, people got a kick out of, became almost SOP.
If playing a game solo I'll leave the music up sometimes on the audio system these days, do not even own a decent headset atm.
Depends, is that music in the movies produced by a nobody, made by one person on a MIDI keyboard with the same theme played over and over again that sounds like crap, that you cannot stand to listen to? Like in some movies, I can stand to listen to the music, but in most no. Like when I play my racing games, I prefer to listen to my music rather then the crap they have me listen to. In movies, there is some music Id rather not have to hear, but Im forced to, and there is no setting to turn it off, but in a game, thank god, there is.
You cannot tell me, in all the movies out there, you like every song they have put in every movie made to this date
I turn the sound off completely in most games. The vast majority of game audio (especially the 'background music') is incredibly annoying. I only leave the sound on if a game has spoken dialogue that does not include the option for subtitles, and even on those rare games, the music is always muted.
it's that age old thing of console vs pc. of relaxed enjoyment vs competitive attitude.
even when playing FTL (which you can pause, so there's hardly any pressure when playing) i turn off the music, because i find it distracts me from thinking about the right moves.
and obviously any shooter, as i need to hear the footsteps and other ambient sounds / audio clues.
by habit, i turn it off on anything. on bloodbowl 2, on deserts of kharak, in minecraft ...
and that's about all the games i own.
it actually freaks me out when there's music, it's been so long.
anyway, it's all due to my oldskool attitude "games are hard and they must be beat", i approach the game with the intent of beating it, not enjoying it.. very few games i have actually enjoyed.. Oblivion, sometimes i'd play just to walk around and watch the scenery. Minecraft as well, back before the launch, but it lost the magic when it crashed one too many times with a corrupt save.
i remember WipeOut 2097 had this amazing soundtrack.. for its time. No-nonsense techno, when you really needed to go to underground clubs to hear Block-Rocking Beats or Firestarter.
Even that game we played it without the music, but would turn it back on every now and then. Wipeout was def one of the best games i have ever played, and one where the soundtrack added to the experience.
Doom also comes to mind; and Command & Conquer 95. but in the modern age, i can't think of games which have had a good soundtrack.
My guess is that most "epic" games went for a full orchestral score, and honestly unless you are John Williams, you should stay away from that.. i'd rather have no music than dull, boring music.
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