The Necessity of Music in Video Games

[Dana Scully]

I read an interesting editorial on Kotaku by someone who believes video game music is not necessary - to the point where they suggest that composers are not required in a video game's development.

Personally, the notion of playing a game without its soundtrack, at least during the first playthrough, actually offends me on some weird level. It just seems incredibly wrong to get rid of such an important part of the atmosphere, especially in single player games. Plus, game music often provides vital queues about the gameplay - like in L4D, for example.

However, in multiplayer games, where you're essentially repeating the same thing over and over, I can see turning off the music for some of your own. For some time in WoW I had an addon called Soundtrack that allowed you to import your own music and bind it to events in the game (somewhat ironically, I replaced all the WoW tracks with FF7 Comp tracks).

So I'm curious what you guys do when you play - do you mute the sound? Does it depend on the game? Do you feel that video games don't need a soundtrack and that you can just provide your own?

 

[Joker]

Games without music is like writing without a voice - it doesn't really serve any purpose.

For one, I always leave the music on in every game I play, with literally two exceptions; in amy game with lots of grinding, especially whose music gets a bit repetitive in (FFXIII, Disgaea, that sort of thing), and fighting games, whose music TYPICALLY isn't that great to begin with (o just mute the sound after a certain point, because I don't need the audio cues. The other is...Mass Effect, specifically ANY part that is a vehicle segment. The planetary exploration music isn't bad, but it adds to mt frustration when driving the Mako because I already feel the need to scream at something.

Bit playing, say, L4D without sound, especially music, is insane.

/post from phone

 

[Octo]

Hmmm I guess it depends on the game. Most of the games I play have got decent music that enhances the experience. Some game music is fucking awful though, I found some of the music in Crisis Core unlistenable (mainly the battle themes) and so the sound would go off for those.

As for games without music...depending on the type of game it could work. Something like Silent Hill, as much as I love that series' soundtrack, I cant help but wonder if it would be scarier with no music at all. I have had the ocassional fucked up nightmare...and there was no soundtrack for those

I was watching something recently about the movie Deliverance, and on some of the prints of that film the 'incidental music' was edited out...making for a more of an unsettling experience (with the exeption of Dueling Banjos of course) It could be argued that music serves as a reminder that what we are watching/playing is not real, so perhaps without it we could have a more immersive experience?

 

[Bex]

Two words:

Aerith's Theme

All I need to say.

 

[X-SOLDIER]

I think that it entirely depends one one thing: WHY are you playing the game?

• Playing a game for multiplayer*/amusement/to kill time: No.
• Playing a game to be immersed in the game's story/atmosphere/setting: Yes.

Here's an example:

The PixelJunk games are specifically designed as a music/art collaboration effort, and it becomes as much a part of the game's design as the graphics. Once you've beaten PixelJunk Eden, it gives you the option to use your own music, because it's no longer a part of the game's initial experience. In Braid, while you do get a sense of the atmosphere changes by the differences in background, but it doesn't carry the same weight as it does with its soundtrack.

That being said, there doesn't need to be music in all parts of a game. In something with an empty expanse, like in RDR it could be fine with just the ambient sound, but that's more like saying that there doesn't need to be music at all points in a film, but it's a different argument than saying that it's not needed at all. Most of the games that I play, I feel DO need the music, because it's as much a part of the atmosphere as the other ambient sounds, at LEAST the first time I play through them.

*Doesn't apply to all multiplayer, but it's usually a social experience, rather than an immersive one, with exceptions, like L4D.



X

 

[Dana Scully]

As for games without music...depending on the type of game it could work. Something like Silent Hill, as much as I love that series' soundtrack, I cant help but wonder if it would be scarier with no music at all. I have had the ocassional fucked up nightmare...and there was no soundtrack for those

Actually I think having no music works best when there usually is music, because it creates this incredible contrast and you start freaking out oh god where is the music something terrible is going to happen I know it.

For example, on one of my FF7 playthroughs the game bugged out when Aerith died and there was no music for the Jenova fight. There was just the sound effects, and it was actually really effective. That said, even when the game doesn't bug out and Aerith's Theme plays during the fight like it's supposed to, it's still very emotional.

I was watching something recently about the movie Deliverance, and on some of the prints of that film the 'incidental music' was edited out...making for a more of an unsettling experience (with the exeption of Dueling Banjos of course) It could be argued that music serves as a reminder that what we are watching/playing is not real, so perhaps without it we could have a more immersive experience?

But music is about emotion, and for a game to be truly immersive you have to have a degree of emotional attachment to it. And if a soundtrack makes you feel less immersed then I think the composers are doing it wrong.

I think that it entirely depends one one thing: WHY are you playing the game?

• Playing a game for multiplayer*/amusement/to kill time: No.
• Playing a game to be immersed in the game's story/atmosphere/setting: Yes.

Most of the games that I play, I feel DO need the music, because it's as much a part of the atmosphere as the other ambient sounds, at LEAST the first time I play through them.

This, very much.

 

[X-SOLDIER]

But music is about emotion, and for a game to be truly immersive you have to have a degree of emotional attachment to it. And if a soundtrack makes you feel less immersed then I think the composers are doing it wrong.

Exactly.

There is a small amount of times where I feel that they add soft/ambient music where no music would work as well, like the RDR horse riding, etc where it only gets repetitive after hearing again and again over time, depending on how often they do it the activity occurrs, which is really tied to the % of gameplay spend there, and isn't (always) the fault of the composer.


Also, this comes to mind. LACK of sound can be just as powerful at times, for example, DeadSpace going into Zero-Gravity. If you hadn't been playing with soundtrack, or had been listening to something else the stark lack of noise in empty space wouldn't be nearly as impactful.

Again, it's all back to the reason you're playing.


X

 

[Joe]

Unless it feels like the game's soundtrack really isn't relevant to what I am playing, I will never turn it off. Using Keen's example of the Mako sections in Mass Effect, and the grinding parts of Disgaea, I still have to have the music in. Yes it is repetitive, and yes it does add to the frustration. But I've found that the music in situations like that, is the only thing keeping me soldiering through it. Otherwise I don't feel like i'm accomplishing anything, and will likely just turn the game off.

I feel like if I had kept the music turned on while I was playing WoW, I may have played it for a bit longer. I eventually got to a point where I felt completely seperated from the game, which isn't good for an MMO where you should feel part of your character.

Then you have games like Halo: ODST, where the soundtrack forms such a massive part of the game, that if you had it turned off then you would be missing out on an amazing experience. The game creates this very survivalist atmosphere, that when combined with the music, make it one of the immersive single-player games I have ever played.

 

[Alex Strife]

I would ellaborate on this, but... for Chrissake, music is so necessary in video games!!

 

[Alessa Gillespie]

Two words:

Aerith's Theme

All I need to say.

One more word:

True.

if you've played SH2, it's the song that plays when James finds out. You know what I'm talking about if you know the story.

But basically, music is like salt to video games' steak: it adds the extra panache that video games need to really get an emotional response. If there's absolutely no story, I can totally understand turning off the sound: but if you turned off the sound for say, Mother 3 or Fatal Frame 4, you would not get nearly the emotional response that you would otherwise get in those games.

 

[Celes Chere]

if you've played SH2, it's the song that plays when James finds out.

Best... Song... EVER. The music in that game added to the feeling so much. I think Silent Hill 3 also has some of the most kick ass music I've ever heard. Whether it be for the creepy factor, or for something more touching.

Aerith's Theme

What I really like about when this song starts playing, is that they timed it PERFECTLY. T^T

The song "Heart" from Assassin's Creed II is one of my favorites... that song is just... you can't describe it in words.

I agree with everyone else that music definitely adds more emotion in the game. Even if it's annoying (see the Pokemon games, where you turn the game off and you're hearing that damn town theme in your sleep) when you turn it off, you miss it. I think music just helps you get lost in the game, drowns out the sounds of reality if you will.

A lot of people say they wish their lives had a soundtrack, so I guess this is the closest to that you can get.

 

[ForceStealer]

What I really like about when this song starts playing, is that they timed it PERFECTLY.

I always loved how the ominous "vocals" or what they are on Those Chosen By the Planet kick in right when Sephiroth says, "I'm going to see my mother." That was another example of excellent timing. (Then later, I had my opinions vindicated when I saw that exact event mentioned somewhere on tvtropes once )


Also, Shadow of the Colossus. Yeah.

 

[Glaurung]

It depends on the game. For example, I still remember when I arrived at Cania in "Hordes of the Underdark", it was the music which carried the feeling of issolation and hopelessness to you. Heroes of Might and Magic IV was a very forgettable game, but I still preserve the music. On the other hand, I played a bit of SMT: Devil Survivor, and it came to a point where I had to turn the volume down because combat music was too repetitive.

But most times the music score is what makes me like games more. Like in Oblivion, there was nothing like walking through the countryside listening to the music (or adding your own tracks, if you had the PC version). And, what would be of games like FF or Castlevania without music?

 

[Hisako]

to the point where they suggest that composers are not required in a video game's development.

An opinion suggesting extremes is fucking absurd.

The best sound direction in a videogame is one that holds a good balance between the use of music and the lack thereof. There are also other factors. Do you want them to immerse themselves fully into the game so that they determine the atmosphere themselves, do you want to gently guide them to the emotions the director conveys in the scene, or do you want to decide the emotions for them?

For the majority of games, you probably could enjoy a videogame without the music. But you're probably missing out on something.

 

[Obsidian Fire]

Having no sound only packs an emotional punch when there is music usually. That's the reason why Aerith's Theme works so well; you're expecting battle music, but instead you get something completely different.

If a game has not music, you just get used to it until having no music looses its meaning.

 

[ForceStealer]

I skimmed this article before, now that I took the time to read it properly, I can say that this guy's an idiot.

That is all.

 

[Alex]

I skimmed this article before, now that I took the time to read it properly, I can say that this guy's an idiot.

I'm not even going to read the article before leaping to the conclusion that the guy is an idiot.

 

[Ⓐaron]

I have a better two words than Bex's:

FFVI Opera.

That is all.

To be honest I'm not sure I'd even have gotten into the FF series if not for the soundtracks. The fact that Uematsu hasn't been heavily involved with the soundtracks for the recent entries might have something to do with why I've been less interested in them. That said, I don't always listen to game soundtracks when I play the games anymore; I'll be a lot more likely to listen to the game soundtrack if it's for something like Zelda, Dragon Quest, or Final Fantasy than I'd be for something like Mario or Wii Sports. For some reason the soundtrack seems a lot more essential for the former games.