Music in games

[Gors]

music is very important in a game

like... usually i'd want it to sound good
but it's also a sensorial cue
you can condition a person through music - and make it relate to complex things musically
for example I play a music while the screen turns red, then it means red relates to that song in particular
then any instances of that song would have to do with red
usually this works for character themes - but i think you can apply it to completely abstract things

what's interesting about music is that they are lingering - you can have fun playing but the music is what remains the most in the head, as melodies

the simple hearing of the music reminds you of the gameplay, and vice-versa - so they're almost only one entity

There is a place for every type of music: ambient-oriented and melody-oriented, but the best bet is to make them fit the actual scene in-game

But it's very hard to do that... music is not a visual art, how can you make a music that looks like a mountain, for example?

Sound cues are much more subtle, and if you want to compose something entirely new, this is a very hard task

For you, how important is music in video games?

[AuraLancer]

Music is extremely important to game presentation. An excellent soundtrack can easily make a bad game seem okay and a mediocre game seem good.

[Koh]

For me, the OST should be atmospheric above all else, even catchiness, which is why soundtracks like Final Fantasy Tactics are top tier for me. The OST fits the scene, and also evokes all the proper emotions that are felt by the characters at the time, such as anguish, fear, suspicion, and so on. Many game OSTs nowadays seem bland by comparison, trying too much to make characters seem "badass" or "cool" or something, instead of focusing on what's actually happening in the game at the time.

Perfect example of what I'm talking about being the Lucavi theme from Final Fantasy Tactics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gt8CqDjbr3o
The track gives off fear, horror, hopelessness and suspense, as it should. You're fighting other worldly demons who want large amounts of bloodshed. Demons, whom folktales have misinterpreted as being heroes. This is no situation for something catchy or dance clubby, the OST should be working to give the player the same feelings the characters have, and FFT's entire OST does it perfectly.

[DarkGrievous7145]

It definitely is important for there to be a shared theme or connection between the game and its soundtrack.

I feel like the EBF series and its spin-offs are starting to become detached from their OST's...

When I personally reviewed the beta version of BH2 via email, I told Matt that I can't quite put my finger on what, but some of the music just feels like it's detached from the game itself. I'm not really sure why. half of this honestly might be that I like the soundtracks for EBF3 and BH1 so much. But idk, it feels like some element is just...missing from the new games' OST's...

[SchAlternate]

More often than not, the most memorable component of any video game I play is the soundtrack. I may enjoy the visuals, or have fun with how the game controls, but the music always gets ingrained into my brain, be it because of the ambiance or the composition, perhaps because it amplifies the mood of the situation it plays in, or happens to have a really catchy melody overall.

What I find funny is that, most of the time, the soundtrack may be a game's saving grace. Maybe the game looks like crap or is beyond unplayable, but it may have some hidden musical gems, or at least, some enjoyable themes. Key examples are games like Sonic 06, the 2D Zelda CDi games, Mega Man X7, and such. This is not always the case, of course, but it happens more often than you'd think.

[DarkGrievous7145]

Yes, while I'm unfamiliar with pretty much, all your examples, I totally understand your reasoning.

[~Axis~]

Music in a game is very important to me. I dont want the music to be just good, or even amazing. I want it to match its surroundings. This will make it or break it for me. It is hard to make music to paint a picture in someone's head using just music and expect someone to go head over heels for it. But coupled with visuals, it can do wonders. Music in a game for me should be able to pull me into the moment.

Lets take Undertale for instance. I just started playing the game, but a few months back i began watching a walkthrough of it to see if it was worth my time. As I was 2 mins (maybe less lol) into the video showing the opening and the first segment of the game where you walk over into a room to meet Flowey for the first time i was turned off by the graphics and completely rejected it because i was focused on the visuals during the silence, and nothing else. This resulted in me just closing the video and ignoring the game. Recently, as I played through the game, I have noticed the great gem of the game that is its soundtrack. 9 times out of 10 it will sound amazing and actually fit in with the mood.... no.... it creates the mood. The music completely sucked me into the game. I play because I actually can feel the emotion during a certain event and just be absorbed by it. Take the music played when you fight Toriel for instance. It sounds sad, yet fills you with the drive to continue on. It creates the mood. You know that you shouldn't fight and it might not end well, but it is something that you must do and cant avoid. The music turned what could have been just a cheesy, boring fight into something very memorable and touching (seriously just look at the entire situation, you cant tell me that aint cheesy without the kickass music). Same with the ominous music that plays if you decide to mercilously slaughter everyone. The music that plays on the battle screen gives me that cold shiver down my spine, it makes me feel like that i've done something very wrong. It gives me the creeps which is good. Thats how im supposed to feel... it creates that mood.

The music in the game has to create the mood and be of good quality. Thats what builds into painting that image in the player's mind and the overall experience. I think in the order of importance, music is 2nd on the list, the first being gameplay.

[Gors]

composing a music for those events - in other words, being able to render a visual thing in sounds, is very difficult

Different than graphically drawing a scene, composing music for it is a lot more abstract and more often than not I get stumped on how to represent such thing musically.

The sheer importance of music in games stem from this cohesiveness

[Koh]

Just some examples off the top of my head that have greatly achieved that cohesiveness...

Final Fantasy Tactics
Tomb Raider series
Vagrant Story
Legend of Legaia
Streets of Rage/Bare Knuckle series
Mana/Seiken Densetsu series
Terranigma
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and A2
Kingdom Hearts series
Final Fantasy (numbered) series
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles series
Ys series
Shinobi series
Dragon Quest series
SaGa series
Harry Potter RPG Trilogy (GBC Philosopher's Stone and Chamber of Secrets, GBA Prisoner of Azkaban)
Skeleton Warriors (PS1)
A Bug's Life (PS1)
The Lion King (Genesis)

[DarkGrievous7145]

Different than graphically drawing a scene, composing music for it is a lot more abstract and more often than not I get stumped on how to represent such thing musically.

This is why I'll either try to find free to use music, or hire someone to do such things for me, when it comes down to it! XD
My only skill with music would be I can sing.
(and occasionally draft a parody or put my spin on things)

[Zero Kirby]

I consider music pretty important, yeah. It doesn't always have to be something I'd want to listen to in my leisure time (Metroid Prime has an excellent soundtrack but few are the tunes I have on my iPod), but I'll admit, Metal Gear Rising would not be nearly as fun without the boss fight music.

One of the reasons I actually don't like the second Phoenix Wright game as much as the others is because the soundtrack for that game is mostly garbage.

This discussion actually reminds me that for a while I used to play games while running different music over them that I thought would fit. Like playing Ocarina of Time and playing the Hyrule Field theme from A Link Between Worlds over, well, Hyrule Field. Or Bramble Blast from Brawl over the Lost Woods.

You'd be surprised how well the Epic Mickey soundtrack goes with the GoldenEye Wii remake.

[DarkGrievous7145]

If I'm not listening to "normal" songs on youtube, I'll listen to video game music while working on projects or homework or shit.

It usually helps me focus, or at least, keep going

I agree there definitely are song tracks that basically set the mood, though.
Speaking of boxx music, well, I love the boss theme from Radtioactive Teddybear Zombies
And, to mention EBF for the umteenth time on this site, EBF has some awesome boss tracks.
Lookup "Acruta Lao D'noir" , just to name one (assuming I didn't spell this wrong)
The intro theme to EBF3, well, I think I've already told Matt that I prefer EBF3's intro over the one in EBF4 any day! lol
It just has a more "epic/badass" vibe, if you know what I mean? between the theme, itself, and the perfectly synchronized animations, it's like, perfect! The theme, alone, is pretty good, though.

[Maxpphire]

Music is one of the most important things in a game for me, and I'll leave the Bemani Games out of this conversation.

It's super important because it impacts mood and surrounding at the same time.

For example take a mountain in the distance. In Journey it sounds very different than it does in Dark Cloud 2. Music mostly impacts the mood, but takes into affect whats in the background to tie the two things together and thus creating atmosphere.

Also one of the best video game soundtracks that I've heard to this day that fits it's game the best is Undertale. I dunno I guess have an issue with a song or two in pretty much every game I've played except for that one. All the music fits everything in that game perfectly and if you play it for anything, it's atmosphere was done spot on.

[miyabi95_]

Most CAVE shmups have very immersive OSTs. Even DonPachi from 1995 has some well-written music despite the sound-quality being the equivalent of an old record player. More recent titles have unique techno/trance flow that keeps you attached to the game itself (Espgaluda, Deathsmiles, Mushihimesama, etc.). An exception probably being Muchi Mucho Pork, since it's mostly a parody of cutesy anime J-pop.

[StardustDragon08]

I've found that any game that I have enjoyed playing usually has great music with it. To me, a good game is 50% how well they use the music and 60% everything else.