Music, one of the most important issues?

[JFSOCC]

But if you don't enjoy music you don;t have to listen to it. Does that mean the game should have no score at all?

I'd rather they spend effort and love on a good sound, even if not everyone will get to enjoy it.

[Justin Bell]

[...] spend effort and love on a good sound [...]

This will happen

[JFSOCC]

I will hold you to that.

[Phinelete]

Did some people in this thread really call the music in Arcanum "terrible"? I mean, REALLY? One of the best soundtracks ever created..."terrible"?

 

Seriously guys, some of you are either trolling or on drugs. Or both. There's no other explanation.

[ogrezilla]

But if you don't enjoy music you don;t have to listen to it. Does that mean the game should have no score at all?

I'd rather they spend effort and love on a good sound, even if not everyone will get to enjoy it.

I don't want that at all. I actually do enjoy music and I hope the music is good. Just pointing out that there are reasons some people wouldn't listen to it.

[Guest Papylon]

In terms of music for games I don't think there are many better composers than Paul Anthony Romero (Heroes of Might & Magic series).

 

Apparently he also made the theme song for Storm of Zehir. :0

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJAfIpAzaPE&

 

Wow, almost forgot that soudtrack. It was nice in it´s very cartoonish way. Very cute and got quite tiresome in the long run.

[Guest Papylon]

The whole discussion of taste is basically pointless. Page 1 in internet debates. Of course we have different tastes. What is interesting is what makes for good computer game music, what setting fits with what kind of combination of ambient sound, tempo of music and what degree of repetition that is ok. I guess that the music of Eternity Project is not going to be a full orchestra, although orchestras can be emulated. Although Mark Morgan or Michael Hoenig did not use that many live musicians, or did they?

 

One question I would like to raise is whether the culturally western mediaval and classical (or at least the way we THINK it sounds) music of Baldurs Gate and IW 2 is really the best for a fantasy setting or if it´s more interesting to take the route of Bastion:

 

 

...Where we still have a fantasy-ish setting but with music that is more contemporary and has another take on the role of a soundtrack.

[Justin Bell]

Bastion is, at least in an indirect way, an inspiration of mine when it comes to writing music. Check out this video of the composer talking about his process, its great.

 

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/175296/Video_Creating_the_audio_for_Bastion.php

[Guest Papylon]

Bastion is, at least in an indirect way, an inspiration of mine when it comes to writing music. Check out this video of the composer talking about his process, its great.

 

http://www.gamasutra...for_Bastion.php

 

Just started watching, very interesting. One thing he says stood out, "music led the design", which is really nice to hear. Maybe if more developers took this route they might end up in places they did not previously expect to end up in.

[stkaye]

[...] spend effort and love on a good sound [...]

This will happen

 

Justin, while we've got you here, just have to say: love those last few seconds from the Dirge of Eir Glanfath, with the whispering winds and the chimes and the flute and the bells. Haunting and evocative, completely nailed it.

[Kevadu]

Lots of people like Arcanum's soundtrack, don't listen to the JRPG players, their opinions are worthless.

 

You are a small-minded fool.

 

I play all manner of RPGs, never much cared for this particular cultural divide. And actually my favorite sound track of all time goes to an obscure under-appreciated JRPG called Nier. The soundtrack alone makes that game worth playing in my opinion. Some examples (more than I could embed, so I'll just do links):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ah heck, every track in this game is worth listening to. Just go check it out.

 

One interesting thing about the Nier soundtrack is the heavy use of vocals, which is unusual in RPGs but they're in a very subdued and haunting style (in most tracks) so they still work as background music. I mean, the first one I linked to is the standard field music. But it works. The last link I posted is from a boss fight, so you have some idea what this style sounds like in combat. But it's the soft, quiet themes like Grandma and Kaine where this soundtrack really shines.

 

So yeah, I like Nier's music. A lot.

[Justin Bell]

Justin, while we've got you here, just have to say: love those last few seconds from the Dirge of Eir Glanfath, with the whispering winds and the chimes and the flute and the bells. Haunting and evocative, completely nailed it.

Thanks! I'm happy with it turned out too.

[Asdraguuhl]

Justin,

 

Do you think it would be a interesting idea if the composer were to compose a suite based on the in-game music in the same vein as Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky? I think that that would be a great addon to the game soundtrack.

[AwesomeOcelot]

Lots of people like Arcanum's soundtrack, don't listen to the JRPG players, their opinions are worthless.

 

You are a small-minded fool.

 

I play all manner of RPGs, never much cared for this particular cultural divide. And actually my favorite sound track of all time goes to an obscure under-appreciated JRPG called Nier. The soundtrack alone makes that game worth playing in my opinion. Some examples (more than I could embed, so I'll just do links):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ah heck, every track in this game is worth listening to. Just go check it out.

 

One interesting thing about the Nier soundtrack is the heavy use of vocals, which is unusual in RPGs but they're in a very subdued and haunting style (in most tracks) so they still work as background music. I mean, the first one I linked to is the standard field music. But it works. The last link I posted is from a boss fight, so you have some idea what this style sounds like in combat. But it's the soft, quiet themes like Grandma and Kaine where this soundtrack really shines.

 

So yeah, I like Nier's music. A lot.

 

Never heard of it. Please make it stop, it hurts. Your taste is bad, you should feel bad. Apart from

and

.

[Emeraude]

Wow check that out! That's VERY old school.

 

I'm such a sucker for old synths...

 

On the Arcanum front: while I think the string quartet was a great idea, beautifully executed, which fit the game to a t, I did end up thinking its voluntary lack of breadth hurt it a bit in the end. Not to mention, it was probably too involved/involving for what it is supposed to be - I tend to find it works better on its own than as a part of the whole (one of my percussionist friends want to strangle "whoever thought it was a good idea" though... to each his own).

 

As for that weird jRPG divide... Isn't great music great music, no matter ts origin ? Is Sakimoto's music diminished by your not liking FFXII (let's not talk about the compression) ?

 

Count me in the camp of people that just cannot get the appeal the narrator/music of Bastion seem to have for some people... found it jarringly intrusive at best - and for no particular benefit.

 

Oh, and if anything, all those Nier extracts comfort me in my opinion that the access to live instrumentation and better quality of sound actually hurt video game music in general (though it did wonders in some particular cases) - more isn't always better, and there was a sketchiness to older game music that matched the higher graphical abstraction of those, and I find was often more fitting.

[Emeraude]

Justin, while we've got you here, just have to say: love those last few seconds from the Dirge of Eir Glanfath, with the whispering winds and the chimes and the flute and the bells. Haunting and evocative, completely nailed it.

Thanks! I'm happy with it turned out too.

 

Oh yeah, the sound work at the end was probably my favorite part of it. Great work on that.

[Razsius]

I'm a little miffed my first post was immediately grouped into a subset of players that supposedly lack taste in music. Gee thanks. The funny part is orchestral pieces are some of my absolute favorites. So I did go back and listen to the main Arcanum theme and found it quite good actually. On another note how about songs in Latin.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2FGCFKFz3A

 

Which translates to:

 

Marrow, Never to Come

 

The moon silently tells

With a voice unheard by all

Of the ever-repeating rise of the tide

Whose sight I remember from my fading memories

 

The stars secretly tell

With letters known by none

Of infinite, swirling words

That birth books beyond count

 

The sky is too vast for one such as me

And the pace of time is far too swift

Forever lost

The words gathered for naught

Will simply rot inside the earth

 

Even so I will shout out

I will raise my voice not knowing why

At least its echo can reach the heavens

And before long the sun will rise

 

 

Also, did everyone *forget* how awesome The Witcher music was or something?

 

[wirednow]

I like Arcanum's music, not all of it, but in general.

 

In terms of music for games I don't think there are many better composers than Paul Anthony Romero (Heroes of Might & Magic series).

 

Apparently he also made the theme song for Storm of Zehir. :0

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJAfIpAzaPE&

 

They sound like rearrangements, or just played in a different key. Many oddly familiar pieces, that is..

Edited October 14, 2012 by wirednow

[Agent_DZ-015]

I am unfortunately one of the few people who really liked Arcanum's soundtrack.

 

You're not the only one. I LOVED Arcanum's string quartet score. Wish more games had scores that moved away from the full orchestral sound and used chamber music or other types of spare instrumentation. That said, some of Jeremy Soule's orchestral music is fantastic; the percussive menu/main theme for Icewind Dale is one of my all time favorite pieces of game music.

 

Basically, there are definitely times when a full, sweeping orchestral score is called for, but I hope they don't use it everywhere in PE just because it's the default for games like this. Given Justin Bell's comments, though, there seems to be good thinking on Obsidian's part on the types and functions of music in the game.

[jivex5k]

Personally, I think they should hire Skrillex to score the entire game.

[StrangeCat]

Justin are you going to be using different ethnic styles to represent cultures in the game or are you guys going for an over all

style for the game.

 

When they say Ancient for music are you talking about the over all feel of the music not say the instruments.

 

I just did game piece for fun using just East West's Platinum and Lexicon 960. I hit ever Cliche' in the book in this piece folks!

and I suck at spelling.

 

[Godwin]

I'd like the music to be similar to the music in BG2.

 

I very much like this music.

 

Edited October 14, 2012 by Godwin

[ArchBeast]

Naw times somesomething a little bit harder

 

I have one based on jrps movie music for you sorry ocelot

 

Beggining it's not to good but ater 40 sec it's goooood...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcUulyx5HM0

 

And From Vampire Masquarade Bloodlines imagine this music while figting

Sarevok

 

muhahahahahaha

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFi4YunHFNQ

Edited October 14, 2012 by ArchBeast

[Godwin]

I hated that Archbeast.

[smithereen]

Now imagine this song while exploring some wilderness,

 

Edited October 15, 2012 by smithereen