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Video game music
Topic Started: Oct 6 2011, 04:49 PM (16,000 Views)
A Wizard Did It
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Lets make a thread to discuss music in video games. How important is the music in a video game to you? How do you think it can enhance the gaming experience or do you even notice it at all?

Also, please feel free to post some video game music to enjoy!

I personally think that the music used in a video game can vastly magnify its quality past just how good the songs are themselves. It can completely set the mood and if you want to see how critical music is to some games, play the original Deus Ex, Amnesia the Dark Descent, or any of the Mega Man games without music. It makes for an entirely different, and much lessened experience. I won't say that great music is necessary to have a good game, but I do think it's important to make a good game great.

The best soundtrack in a game so far for me this year is Deus Ex's soundtrack. It's the perfect blend of moody and sci-fi that just sets the mood of the setting.


Sometimes the music of Super Meat Boy would be the only reason I'd keep trying over a hard as balls level. The music in that game was just spectacular and really got you in the action.


Now for some more old school musics. Sometimes it's really cool what people could do with the most basic soundchips available to systems in the 8 and 16 bit eras. Mega Man was the king of kickass music in the day:


The Donkey Kong Country games may have had the best soundtracks of all 16 bit-dom. This song is just so incredibly chill and relaxing.


It's Dire Dire Docks... nuff said.


And finally some Jazz Jackrabbit. Screw Gears of War or Unreal, Jazz Jackrabbit was Epic's best franchise.
Edited by A Wizard Did It, Oct 6 2011, 09:00 PM.
I'd kill you, but the fucking bees

Johnny was a chemist's son
But now Johnny is no more
What Johnny thought was H2O
Was H2SO4

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SonofMacPhisto
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Gah! A great thread... and I'm at WORK.

I shall ponder this topic, and construct a post worthy of it.
Edited by SonofMacPhisto, Oct 6 2011, 05:43 PM.
 
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oh nice topic. I think music is great in games. It affects the mood is areas while playing as well as at the main menu.

Here's the opening the music for White Knight Chronicles 2 with the remastered opening for the first game following it. I sometimes catch myself singing or humming these songs :lol:


Here's the first game's opening (not the remastered) which has no singing. The remastered is okay but I like the original better. Perhaps it's because I played the first game before the second came out. Though the girl does have a pretty voice.


I like the bioware games' music too but we all have heard it.

 
The Nihilistic Idealist
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I firmly believe music is a great complementary factor for video games. Whether they're romp roaring to fit the action, ambient to fit the moody atmosphere, or somber to appropiately set the depressing tone in the game's story. The music connect with the players on an emotional level much like stories do, as they serve to enrich the experience.

Here are some of my favorite video game musical scores from the past decade.













Edited by The Nihilistic Idealist, Oct 7 2011, 03:18 PM.
 
C


Chrono Cross had amazing music, especially for it's time.
Love Silent Hill's music too. Wondering how the newest Silent Hill's soundtrack will shape up compared to the previous, considering the change in composer.
 
tigrina
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A Wizard Did It
Oct 6 2011, 04:49 PM
And finally some Jazz Jackrabbit. Screw Gears of War or Unreal, Jazz Jackrabbit was Epic's best franchise.
:wub:

Now that is a long time ago that I played that game.

/will think on the subject
 
Kabraxal
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Music is significantly impactful and is as big a reason why the greatest games are as great as they are as the story... I'd even say moreso than the gameplay for me.




And there are so much from not only FFX but many of the Final Fantasy games it is ridiculous.



Great still get goosebumps at that part of the game.



So need to get this soundtrack...

Then of course there is Mass Effect 1 and 2, Dragon Age, and Uncharted 2 that are just great top to bottom as well.
Edited by Kabraxal, Oct 7 2011, 01:48 AM.
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magelet
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I firmly believe music is a great complementary factor for video games. Whether they're romp roaring to fit the action, ambient to fit the moody atmosphere, or somber to appropiately set the sad tone in the game's story. The music connect with the players on an emotional level much like stories do, as they serve to enrich the experience.

I totally agree with this. Music in games can add so much to the mood and tone of the game. Some games have such beautiful music that it makes me hold the game in higher regard.
Here are some of my favorites:
Wind Scene from Chrono Trigger
Final Fantasy IX - Something to Protect
Donkey Kong Country - Gangplank Galleon
Super Mario RPG - Beware the Forest Mushrooms
Skies of Arcadia Main Theme
Wind Waker - Legend of the Hero
 
magelet
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Oh, Also this is a pretty cool site for video game music. It's like remixes or medleys done by people and some of them are really neat.
http://ocremix.org/
 
The Nihilistic Idealist
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Virtuoso
Does anyone want me to showcase some of the best video game music of the 90s? I have like ten great examples.
 
Posted ImageTommy
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The music during that sad GoW3 scene. Perfect. :flirt:
"And the day came when it hit me like lightning through my veins
A sudden change in my groove, in my walk
I got my lion heart and electric flowing through my brain
Shocking waves make me feel I can float
It's like this city is mine and the dark is my cave
I can't explain this sudden peace in my walk, I sure hope
I'm living my life as if I got powers
And tonight I feel immortal
I said tonight I feel immortal" -Immortal, by Kid Cudi
 
magelet
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Shinobi720
Oct 7 2011, 02:51 AM
Does anyone want me to showcase some of the best video game music of the 90s? I have like ten great examples.
Doooo iiiitttt
Maybe it's just the nostalgia in me talking, but I thought 90s game music was brilliant.
 
A Wizard Did It
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Game music from all eras is acceptable :)
I'd kill you, but the fucking bees

Johnny was a chemist's son
But now Johnny is no more
What Johnny thought was H2O
Was H2SO4

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The Nihilistic Idealist
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Virtuoso
Alright, here it goes.


















 
A Wizard Did It
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Grim Fandango and Total Annihilation had the bossest soundtracks around.
I'd kill you, but the fucking bees

Johnny was a chemist's son
But now Johnny is no more
What Johnny thought was H2O
Was H2SO4

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Onyx Jaguar
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*random note*

the theme to Robo in Chrono Trigger sounds exactly like Ric Astley's never gonna give you up

Also the overworld themes in both of those games were great. Had sort of a sad feel.

I would also like to put out Lost Odyssey for having Pan Flute in its I guess quick travel as I don't recall an overworld, which always makes me think I am playing Vibes

One of the neater understated soundtracks, as in barely there but effective when it comes up is the Half-life series. Probably the best is at the final battle in HL2 episode 2 where for a rare moment music plays the entire time.

Mass Effect 1 and 2 both had great soundtracks. I would say that perhaps to 2's disfavor is that most of it was relegated to the background more while 1 was like full up in your face, so even then that is another thing that makes the games feel slightly different.

Mass Effect Galaxies "remixes" were disapointing, just added to the rather cheap feeling nature of the game. Like some sort of 5 minute promo at the end of a Sci Fi show. Granted it also had the original tracks from 1 in it, which was glorious.

QUAKE.

Quake's soundtrack was pure ambient noise, heavily layered. Glorious. Used high pitched synth noises, whispering, talking, heavily distorted guitars, "noises", classic synth sounds. Unusual for a video game soundtrack in how it sort of completely makes that experience.

Doom and Duke Nukems soundtracks were far catchier than they should have been.

A modern great (or should I say, newer great) is VVVVV's soundtrack, classic retro sounding, yet extremely dense at the same time.

Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga has some neat tracks as well. Heavily guitar based and unlike say the EXTREME POP of the Persona games.

Good god I could ramble forever, should explain more fuck I don't have flash in this browser, shenanigans. This will require an update.

COMMAND AND CONQUER. Well the first maps track was great, after that is a bit hit or miss.

Its kind of weird how a lot of games in the 90s from Western devs had heavy synth based tracks. But they weren't midi based like the Japanese. Gave the games quite a loud and overbearing feel. That was lost in the 2000s, but it is probably why I like the ME games so much, sort of a return to that.
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SonofMacPhisto
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Did anyone else here play Homeworld?

After reading through the excellent manual, learning the history of the people you're playing as, and then having success with the deployment of the Mothership and it's defense against space pirates, the following scene was devastating:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXNQNeLDg5s

Spoilers, obviously. The music in this is one of the reasons I hold video games in such high esteem.
 
SonofMacPhisto
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NotParticularlySeriousPhisto
Here's a little something highlighting Ace Combat. My friend Bry put it together, as kind of a homage to the F-22 and a way to really mesh the visuals with the music. Spoilers, obviously, but check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bb0P2Lp5QkU

Really does a good job of showing off the interplay between gameplay and the music, and shows how I feel when I play the game.

This is from one of the hardest missions in the game, where you're absolutely screwed right before your squadron swoops in to save the day. Crowning moment of awesome, it is, and the music is front and center.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUn4TOMvQIw

Damn I love that mission. Lol.

Here's a few that he recommended, with his comments:

Journey Home from Ace Combat 5, One of the more emotional events in all of AC lore - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFezNb-zfVs

Aces from Ace Combat 5, which is also a very powerful sequence
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsOyXPqYOjY

Zero, from Ace Combat Zero, one of my personal favs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgZ3lHsXruk#t=7m35s

and finally Grand Flight from Ace Combat: Joint Assault.
Because you're flying an unarmed Boeing 747 jumbo jet through a canyon to a full orchestra score.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptor_ScNyjc
Edited by SonofMacPhisto, Oct 7 2011, 04:31 PM.
 
MarkusWhatever
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Onyx Jaguar
Oct 7 2011, 09:44 AM
COMMAND AND CONQUER. Well the first maps track was great, after that is a bit hit or miss.
Like this.
 
A Wizard Did It
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SonofMacPhisto
Oct 7 2011, 03:46 PM
Did anyone else here play Homeworld?

After reading through the excellent manual, learning the history of the people you're playing as, and then having success with the deployment of the Mothership and it's defense against space pirates, the following scene was devastating:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXNQNeLDg5s

Spoilers, obviously. The music in this is one of the reasons I hold video games in such high esteem.
Seriously, I teared up at this when I played it the first time. SOOO powerful.

Also, re:QUAKE. That soundtrack was done by Nine Inch Nails I believe. Probably one of the first game music tracks that was done by a popular artist (though I've heard rumors of Sonic 3 being done by Michael Jackson. Not sure how true that is though). I totally agree that QUAKE's music was essential the the experience of that game.
Edited by A Wizard Did It, Oct 7 2011, 06:37 PM.
I'd kill you, but the fucking bees

Johnny was a chemist's son
But now Johnny is no more
What Johnny thought was H2O
Was H2SO4

Posted Image
 
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