Game music

[Musopticon?]

Yes, the subject is obvious. We've had at least three soundtrack and music threads before, all of which were rather succesful and seemed to appeal to all kinds. With that thought in min; I'm not restricting this topic to discussing mere favs or why Soule just sucks the big one, rather; I'd like to see different views on game music as a whole. Do you mind the grand scores fps' seem to need nowadays? Do you tend to turn music off when you play or change it to something else? Minimalism or orchestra? Does the quality matter?

 

And to get this thing going; recently, I've become more and more a sucker for simple ambient tracks and sounds of blowing wind, not grand scores, but PoP3: The Two Thrones' soundtrack's contrast to it's predecessor, Warrior Within, took me by suprise. True, it's reaching for the same old movie sountrack-like ochestral symphonies like any other fantasy game, with some persian flavor thrown in, but while Warrior Within's music reached from annoying to decent(certain ambient comes to mind), Two Thrones is a solid work. I wouldn't call it masterpiece, but it takes the cake, so to say. Very very enjoyable after the metal-variant they called soundtrack in WW.

[Meshugger]

Soundtracks in general are 50% of the game experience IMO. Even FPS's need a good score (not a necessarily a grand one) to make the player immersed in the game. I can give some examples of games with excellent soundtracks that made the game much better:

 

- Unreal 1 (Alexander Brandon)

- Deus Ex 1(same)

- System Shock 2 (Unknown artist, maybe the most ambient one)

- Final Fantasy-series (Uematsu, very diverse)

- Baten Kaitos (Sakuraba, has fimiliar style as Uematsu, but the structures of the songs might be more rock:ish)

- KotOR 1 & 2 (well duh!)

 

In RPG's, i would say that a good score is a must.

[CoM_Solaufein]

A game has to have a decent soundtrack otherwise I won't play it. Some of the best ones are: Icewind Dale, VtM: Bloodlines, Kotor, Kotor2, Baldur's Gate, Baldur's Gate 2.

 

I would say it's 50% of the gaming experiance, with the rest being story, graphics, etc.

[Diamond]

- Unreal 1 (Alexander Brandon)

(still have on my HD)

- Final Fantasy-series (Uematsu, very diverse)

 

Also:

Torment's music was awesome, but I'm tired of it already.

Tone Rebellion (I wonder if anyone here played it).

Fallout, minimalistic, but fits the game just right (also Louis Armstrong's song was a good choice.)

 

 

Music is crucially important for me in forming the atmosphere. As for it being orchestral or minimalistic, it depends on the game.

Edited December 17, 2005 by Diamond

[Janmanden]

I used to think that Pursuit of Greed also had some pretty good techno music (music by Necros (Andrew Sega) which was apparently also used in Unreal), but I realized that is really all it have. Sort of like an 80% music and 20% game experience. "...and there is only a 10% chance that is true.".

[SteveThaiBinh]

Do you mind the grand scores fps' seem to need nowadays?

Absolutely not. If you want an epic feel to a game, you need an epic score. I don't know about FPS games, but most RPGs need that (although a good score is not a substitute for making a substantial game.)

 

That said, greater variety and contrasts can add to the character of different locations and points in the game. Morrowind was stirring, and it was fantastic when the score hit its emotional highpoint when you were crossing the peak of a mountain or rounding the corner to see a whole new area laid out before you, less so when you were fiddling in your inventory. And it was repetitive.

 

With so many RPGs set in a Tolkienesque fantasy world, it's inevitable that soundtracks will try to imitate the Lord of the Rings. Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines was refreshing and fun, because the setting was refreshing and the soundtrack had room to be different. More RPGs in more original and interesting settings, please, with music to match.

 

(And FPS, if we must.)

[Musopticon?]

System Shock 2 (Unknown artist, maybe the most ambient one)

 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The artist is Eric Brosius. My alltime favorite, as he did some of this stuff:

 

http://www.thief-thecircle.com/media/music/

Edited December 17, 2005 by Musopticon?

[213374U]

Soundtracks in general are 50% of the game experience IMO. Even FPS's need a good score (not a necessarily a grand one) to make the player immersed in the game. I can give some examples of games with excellent soundtracks that made the game much better:

 

- Unreal 1 (Alexander Brandon)

- Deus Ex 1(same)

- System Shock 2 (Unknown artist, maybe the most ambient one)

- Final Fantasy-series (Uematsu, very diverse)

- Baten Kaitos (Sakuraba, has fimiliar style as Uematsu, but the structures of the songs might be more rock:ish)

- KotOR 1 & 2 (well duh!)

 

In RPG's, i would say that a good score is a must.

I couldn't have put it better myself.

[Atreides]

Bloodlines music's really good and sets the tone of the setting well, esp in the club. Anyone know what the genre is and where I can find more (artists, albums etc)?

[213374U]

Are you referring to the Voermans' club or Ash's club in Hollywood?

Edited December 17, 2005 by 213374U

[Atreides]

The Voermans. I didn't make it to Ash's club

 

In general I liked their selection of licenced music (in Licenced folder).

[Musopticon?]

"Isolated" has stuck to my head permanently. I agree, good choice on music.

Edited December 17, 2005 by Musopticon?

[213374U]

That'd be Isolated from Chiasm. I didn't quite like that track myself, so I can't tell you where to find more of that genre.

 

And what do you mean you never made it to Ash's? Have you started playing recently?

[Atreides]

I quit around the mission to blow up the warehouse. The game started freezing on me and my mild motion sickness for fps started kicking in. No denying that it was fun up till then.

[213374U]

Sucks for you. You missed most of the game...

[Judge Hades]

My top favorites are Planescape Torment, the Fallouts, Jade Empire, the Icewind Dales, and Deus Ex IW.

[Atreides]

Yeah, any leads on the music though Numbers?

[213374U]

Yeah, any leads on the music though Numbers?

I'm a bit slow today so bear with me. What music are you referring to now?

 

As far as I know, the whole soundtrack for the game is inside the "Licenced" folder, albeit in really low quality versions. There just isn't any more music used in the game, except for perhaps the ambient music of Downtown, Santa Monica, and what not.

 

This is the complete list, and I have added the few locations where I remember they are played:

 

Aerial

[LoneWolf16]

I'm most likely a minority...but I liked Marty O'Donnel's stuff from the Halo 2 soundtrack. I just thought they fit well in the context of the game, and added to the sense of atmosphere. That, and the song placement within the game was great. Nothing quite like nailing a Jackal between the eyes with a beam rifle the instant the bass kicks in on "Impend".

 

Rememberance and the Last Spartan

 

 

System Shock 2 (Unknown artist, maybe the most ambient one)

 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The artist is Eric Brosius. My alltime favorite, as he did some of this stuff:

 

http://www.thief-thecircle.com/media/music/

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ooh. Me like.

 

Edit: With the bloodlines licenced music folder...can I add songs to that? Or to any of the other folders, for that matter? I'd like a wider variety in songs...

Edited December 17, 2005 by LoneWolf16

[Llyranor]

The coolest thing I think to happen to game music recent is http://www.directsong.com

 

Whether you're sick of Jeremy Soule or not is irrelevant, the fact that this will allow players to purchase additional music built specifically for new games is very good news. 6 bucks for 60 new minutes of music for Guild Wars was a very good deal. Having more music for the games I love = good.

[Child of Flame]

Max Payne 2.

[Meshugger]

System Shock 2 (Unknown artist, maybe the most ambient one)

 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The artist is Eric Brosius. My alltime favorite, as he did some of this stuff:

 

http://www.thief-thecircle.com/media/music/

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Paljon kiitoksia. I've been looking for that one for a while.

[Meshugger]

I'm most likely a minority...but I liked Marty O'Donnel's stuff from the Halo 2 soundtrack. I just thought they fit well in the context of the game, and added to the sense of atmosphere. That, and the song placement within the game was great. Nothing quite like nailing a Jackal between the eyes with a beam rifle the instant the bass kicks in on "Impend".

 

Rememberance and the Last Spartan

 

 

System Shock 2 (Unknown artist, maybe the most ambient one)

 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The artist is Eric Brosius. My alltime favorite, as he did some of this stuff:

 

http://www.thief-thecircle.com/media/music/

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ooh. Me like.

 

Edit: With the bloodlines licenced music folder...can I add songs to that? Or to any of the other folders, for that matter? I'd like a wider variety in songs...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

The first Halo had a very good soundtrack, but the second seemed to have the very same, sometimes the key was diffirent, sometimes a another instrument was added and so on. Thus, very little original songs.

[Craigboy2]

IWD

[Haitoku]

Yuki Kajiura is becoming one of my favorites.

She just has such a unique style.

 

The moment I got the Xenosaga II Movie Scene OST, I literally just looped it for hours. Some of the tracks are down right addictive.

 

I can't really describe it well, it's sort of a collage of electronica, techno, orchestra, celtic... It just comes out beautiful.

 

Of course I love Nobuo Uematsu as well. I have at least a dozen of the Final Fantasy albums that were arranged by him. The piano collections are just awsome.

 

Another of my favorites is singer who isn't known too well, she did some work Uematsu.

Risa Ohki man, I've never seen this women, but she is beautiful. She sings in at least five different languages.

 

I can't leave out Yasunori Mitsuda, I can't go more then two days without listening to Xenogears - Creid. It's a beautiful celtic arrangment.