Game Music - Yea or Nay?

[tgb]

So who likes to keep the in-game music on? I find that if I'm playing a CRPG, music just pulls me out of the "reality" of it. I just got Space Rangers 2 today, and the first thing I did was turn all the music off. OTOH, I don't mind it so much during a TBS or Wargame.

So - Music:On or Off?

[yossar]

i'VE NEVER FELT A NEED TO TURN IT OFF.

stupid caps lock.

[Creepy_Smell]

Depends.

Some turn based I keep it on and some RPGs, but on all FPS I have it off. I dont want the music to interfere with me hearing where the enemy are at.

[malichai11]

i'VE NEVER FELT A NEED TO TURN IT OFF.

stupid caps lock.

I think you should just boycott the delete key. He's the one stirring up all the others.

[Kaigen]

i'VE NEVER FELT A NEED TO TURN IT OFF.

stupid caps lock.

I think you should just boycott the delete key. He's the one stirring up all the others.

I think he already did.

I rarely turn off music. I only turn it off if it, well, sucks. I did find myself turning off the music in the demo FEAR because I didn't like the way it was used to elicit "cheap" scares, like the little cue you hear when the shutters in the basement close suddenly.

[Blackhawk]

I leave it on unless:

1. It is an atmospheric game in which the music clashes with the atmosphere. System Shock II was a great example - silence, distant creaking, electrical systems, a Chosen in the distance and... techno? Nah, off.

2. It is the same damned song for three hours of gameplay.

[Lee]

First hour or so of a new game its usually on. After that, off. Rare is the game that I can handle the music on for long.

[Kraken]

If it's good ambient music, and there's a lot of it, I can leave it on for a long time before I get sick of it. Examples are the Tropico games, Railroad Tycoon 2, and Pharaoh. Most of the time, I play with game music off and Winamp streaming internet radio.

[Giles Habibula]

I just voted 'always off'.
Then I realized the one exception: The GTA games. Always on there, primarily because I can listen to whatever I want to, and endless variety.

There's something surreal about listening to old Art Bell shows while driving around killing people.

And anyway, it's just natural to have the radio on while driving, so it actually adds to the ambience.

[razgon]

for me, games music has changed...it used to be some sort of prelude to a game, not something that is an actual score, like many games try today. some do good, some not so good.

I still remember the "Glory days" of the C64, with geniuses like Martin Galway, Rob hubbard and so on - their music is, for me at least, still great today...I dont think i've ever searched the internet for the music from a modern computer game...

[Pyperkub]

I think the quality of game music has gone up in the past few years. I have to say that Art direction for music has gotten better. I'll have to say that Alice was my favorite, and NOLF was exceptional (I love the CD that came with the version I got).

[Lee]

I remember getting a Roland daughter midi card for my Sound Blaster on my 486. I used to leave music on then. MoM sounded great in midi.

[Kyosho]

Some games I leave it on (adventure games). Some games, like Morrowind, I leave it on for a while, but then it gets so repetitive that I can't stand it anymore and turn it off. And then there's FPSes, in which disabling music is almost always the first setting I change (then I set up my controls, graphics settings, etc).

Some turn based I keep it on and some RPGs, but on all FPS I have it off. I dont want the music to interfere with me hearing where the enemy are at.

Yeah, that's my reason for keeping it off in FPS games as well.

[Huw the Poo]

Some games have such good music that I will listen to it while not even playing the game. The I-War 2 soundtrack is one of my saved playlists.

[Lordnine]

I have my speakers off about 80% of the time anyways so for the most part I could care less about music.

[DireAussie]

I only have music on if the music fits into what is happening in the game. I'm playing Vampire Bloodlines which fits into this category. I also like event-type music, such as the tunes in HOMM3 or Civ1.

I hate it when the music being played has no correlation to what's happening in-game or it is a distraction to gameplay.

[Jeff V]

I don't bother turning off the music, because I rarely plug in the speakers in the first place. I either play my own music, or, more typically, multitask by watching TV at the same time.

[Ka Faraq Gatri]

always off. if I can't switch off the in-game music I'll usually "retire" the game pretty quickly. same goes for console games and especially GBA games.

[Giles Habibula]

I don't bother turning off the music, because I rarely plug in the speakers in the first place. I either play my own music, or, more typically, multitask by watching TV at the same time.

Jeff, you play games without sound?!?
I'm assuming this is for only certain types of games?
I'm just having trouble imagining that it would be nearly as enjoyable that way.

I mean, I can play Snood or Bookworm without sound, but that's about it. And having the TV on at the same time (with most games anyway) is just...sacriledge!

[knob]

Only games that get any sort of sound disabled would be MMOs. Occasionally I disable the music (or everything) to listen to my own music.



At the most, I lower the music volume in some games if it makes it hard to hear dialog.

[Jeff V]

I don't bother turning off the music, because I rarely plug in the speakers in the first place. I either play my own music, or, more typically, multitask by watching TV at the same time.

Jeff, you play games without sound?!?
I'm assuming this is for only certain types of games?
I'm just having trouble imagining that it would be nearly as enjoyable that way.

I mean, I can play Snood or Bookworm without sound, but that's about it. And having the TV on at the same time (with most games anyway) is just...sacriledge!

What game to find hard to play without sound? The only ones I have that I would say require it are those with dialog that isn't also printed on the screen.

AFAIC, gaming is a strictly visual experience. Sound is often repetitive and low quality at that. There are some exceptions: Tiller uses period-inspired music by Thomas Hook in his games, and while he mostly recycles the same stuff for all games in a series, the songs are worth a few listens before they too get shut off.

It's been so long since I've had the speakers plugged in, though, I'd probably never know if a current game had music or sound worth listening to. I would, of course, run sound for at least a while when reviewing games just to see if it was something worth mentioning in the review. I've only reviewed 3 products in the last few years, though: two were board games and the third was a wargame with no particularly attractive sound track.

[DuckofDeath]

I usually have music on while I'm gaming unless it's an incredibly atmospheric shooter (which is rare), like BoA or Operation Flashpoint. However, I also often turn off the game music and play my own mp3s in the background eventually. Even if a game has a good score I usually get sick of the music unless it's like WoW where the music changes a lot or it's just a bloody awesome score like the Ultima games, Hitman 2, or HOMM2.

Anyone else getting sick of Jeremy Soule btw? His early scores like Total Annihilation were incredible, but since then his music has gotten mind numbingly repetitive. Guild Wars was terrible, I can't remember a single theme from that game. I hope they get someone to do a better score for Oblivion, I actually liked the Daggerfall score a lot better then MW but at least MW was very easy to change.

[Huw the Poo]

Guild Wars was terrible, I can't remember a single theme from that game.

Yeah, I've seen the GW music raved about in various places, but it really isn't great at all IMO. The only bit I can ever remember is the theme that plays when you log in. And I play GW at least twice a day.

[Sudy]

There's something surreal about listening to old Art Bell shows while driving around killing people.

Maybe remotely... but I just can't put my finger on it....

[O.DOGG]

It's just about always on. In very rare occasions I've turned it off but I can't remember even one example right now.

[D.A.Lewis]

When done right, music may make a game even better.
(Might and Magics, Ascendency, Grim Fandango)

I'm a huge Game Music fan and really appreciate the good efforts. One of my on-going diversions is looking for ways to rip good game music to my computer.

[Baroquen]

These days, I usually leave the game music on, unless I'm playing my own MP3s in the background, or my idiot MMORPG friends are team-speaking or something.

Game music can be great stuff. I'm betting there's a lot more tunes/themes that if I heard them, I'd remember the game right away. Even after way too many years. Perfect example - I've got the M.U.L.E. thing stuck in my head at the moment, because of this thread, and that's been.. what 20-ish yrs?

[Giles Habibula]

I don't bother turning off the music, because I rarely plug in the speakers in the first place. I either play my own music, or, more typically, multitask by watching TV at the same time.

Jeff, you play games without sound?!?
I'm assuming this is for only certain types of games?
I'm just having trouble imagining that it would be nearly as enjoyable that way.

I mean, I can play Snood or Bookworm without sound, but that's about it. And having the TV on at the same time (with most games anyway) is just...sacriledge!

What game to find hard to play without sound? The only ones I have that I would say require it are those with dialog that isn't also printed on the screen.

AFAIC, gaming is a strictly visual experience. Sound is often repetitive and low quality at that. There are some exceptions: Tiller uses period-inspired music by Thomas Hook in his games, and while he mostly recycles the same stuff for all games in a series, the songs are worth a few listens before they too get shut off.

It's been so long since I've had the speakers plugged in, though, I'd probably never know if a current game had music or sound worth listening to. I would, of course, run sound for at least a while when reviewing games just to see if it was something worth mentioning in the review. I've only reviewed 3 products in the last few years, though: two were board games and the third was a wargame with no particularly attractive sound track.

Maybe I didn't take into consideration that you play different kinds of games than I do. 80% of what I play are FPS's, and dang it, it just don't seem right if I can't hear my gun, and NPCs yelling at me (as in FarCry). And I still play the Thief games from time to time, and sound is so critical there, I couldn't play without it. I'm referring to sound effects of course, not music. The music I shut off immediately, so I can hear what's going on around me in the game.

Sure, most FPS's are playable with no sound, but certainly not nearly as enjoyable or immersive. Each to his own, I guess. You find gaming a strictly visual experience. But for me to feel like I'm completely 'in' the game, I want the full effect.

You make a good point in that most of the sound effects are repetitive, which is correct (I just finished replaying "Outlaws", the very definition of repetitive sfx), but even so, I'd rather have that feedback in addition to the visuals than visuals alone.

[Jancelot]

I usually turn it down to 50% volume or less. Other times I'll turn it off and put my iPod on shuffle.

[Fretmute]

I always turn it off and run Winamp in the background.