Im gonna say it again: music is VITAL to games. Music guides players. Music enhances emotional moments. Music is so so so important. Funny enough video games are modern operas in the way music is needed to buoy the emotional stakes.
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Hi guys my name is Marco and I have a video game music YouTube channel :) https://www.youtube.com/@marcomeatball - I’m a former professsional opera singer turned YouTuber. Funny pivot but I love it.
I'm not a hater but it really annoys me when people use terms incorrectly. He is making the soy face in both his profile pic and the pic on the right. Left pic is chad tho, so I can see where the confusion comes from.
Yes!!!!! I was deeply saddened when the musical department for Destiny were fired. Now, going forward, the soundtrack will be AI generated after being fed the beautiful music from the previous 2 games.
If we didn't have music in games, we wouldn't have bangers like Wildfire, To the Edge (frankly the entire Shadowbringers album tbh), and whatever the hell Guilty Gear cooks with every entry.
Literally try playing like any game with the music muted and it will become a boring slog of an experience. The only time I ever have music muted in a game is because I have other music on in another tab.
No joke, as a kid if I tried playing games with all the sound muted, it was like playing the whole thing blindfolded. I missed every jump, couldn't pull off my combos, you name it. Music and sound are the blood that beats through the heart of any game, and I stand by that.
Yeah depends on the game though, some in-game music can be a tad repetitive so I do reach for the mute button then, not every game has a sweeping emotional orchestra behind it.
I will say, depending on the game type, there are times when I don't want music in the way, but those games usually know that and silence the music during those times anyway.
I used to go straight to the settings and mute the background music. I can't remember when/why I started leaving it playing but I got such a pleasant surprise when I replayed a bunch of old games recently, can't believe I skipped the soundtrack first time round.
Music is one of the main things that will keep me playing. The story is number one, but if the music doesn't hold me, then I lose interest pretty quickly
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Celeste has some of the best music ever in a video game. It goes such a long way to inform your experience. And I can’t even imagine RDR2 without its score.
Trevor Morris's Dragon Age Inquisition score will forever be my favourite video game soundtrack of all time, especially his work on the Tresspasser DLC (Dark Solas and Lost Elf themes within game context is enough to make me cry)
Audio in general is so great for games! Dynamic music is magic too me and amazing at invisibly guiding the emotion of current gameplay. Also I know its not the topic at hand but the soundscape of hunt showdown utterly awes me every time.
I make games and I can't agree more. In fact, I agree so much that I write songs just to put on the soundtrack for the games I make. You can play my new game at Fortnite at island code: 7176-9221-5590, but it doesn't have songs. Or, you can play my older game, "Fog", which has many: 4393-0737-2813
I genuinely believe if Sonic Frontiers didn’t have the music that it did during titan fights, the game’s legacy and reception would be way lower than what it is now
The music raised the entire game by way too much to comprehend
I definitely agree with this. If you haven’t yet, listen to the soundtracks for Hyper Light Drifter and Gris. Both are games without dialogue, so the music is the only other thing you’ve got to clue you in to how you should feel about what’s on screen.
Yup yup! I've seen videos where someone changes the music of something creepy with something funny and vice versa and it's totally a different experience! Music has power!
Not to mention if you haven’t played the game in a while, you still reach back for the OST. The Chrono Cross OST has gone certified platinum in my household.
I enjoy multiplayer games, but every time I jump into Discord to play with friends and have to drop the game volume, a little piece of me is always sad about it. There’s so much that I rely on through audio cues - be it the music or effects - to keep me engaged.
I will never understand people who play games on mute. I can't play games without the music because I don't want to miss out on the emotion and atmosphere. Without the music games feel hollow.
I work with music programs all over my state. A lot of schools are talking more about how phenomenal some of these game scores are and how the great composers of our day are basically making video game music. It's nice to see them getting their appreciation.
I love music in video games because you can just be chilling then out of nowhere you hear tense music so you gotta mentally prepare for what’s about to come
Music in art to me makes 50% of the vibe. It helps to open an emotional connection to the content and memories. No wonder why people keep doing covers of game sound tracks.
God of War Ragnarok is a prime example. The weight that was added from the soundtrack, plus adding Hozier 😩 absolutely fuckin mint. One of my favorite soundtracks from any game
Not for everyone. One of the first settings I change is to mute the music. Sounds can do everything you listed. It was vital in Guitar Hero, Rock Band, DDR and the like because it was a part of the core, or vital, to the game.
A game that comes to mind when I think of this is Dead Space(1). The game is scary. But the music made it terrifying.
The music would build for nothing. But once you were freaked out and the game was calm, the music would build fast and something would murder you. It meant you were always on edge.🧑🍳💋
Bear McCreary is from my town. I don't play the games, but my sons do and I'm always impressed with the musical scores. I think a couple of years ago there was a concert in Seattle featuring scores from a leading game.
Music adds so much depth and breadth to the narrative of any game or movies or show that it can literally make or break the whole thing. Think about it, when most people think Tolkien they think of the music from the movies. Technically, people recognize Howard Shore more than they do Tolkien.
So true. My favorite soundtracks are from games. You don't just listen or hear it. You live it, emotionally and physically. It's indistinguishable from the experience.
I didn’t use to care about music in games since I’m hard of hearing, but once I got hearing aids??? It’s life changing. One of my friends listens to music while gaming and I DO NOT get it
It's overtime in Battlefield 1, everyone has respawned, behemoth blaring above, screams and explosions. All topped with a dramatic orchestral score booming as fighting evolves into a frenzy.
I've played a lot of horror shooters but I've never felt more badass whilst playing The Last of Us Part 2 as a skinny 19 year old woman crawling through the long grass picking off trained militia to this
I honestly can't imagine enjoying Metaphor ReFantazio without the game's music. The vocals come in at just the right moment to catch me as I fall into the rhythm of the game.
Yes yes yes! Absolutely, 100% agree! Music is just as capable of helping tell the story without words as using graphics and body language. Especially when the mechanics of Motifs and Leitmotifs are used. So much story telling potential is possible through video game music.
This is so true, like it's given in movies as well that music could give out the emotion you'd want to convey, music is just that one vital component ✨
Like I was arguing to someone about how deepwoken (it was really nice seeing your comments on the ost btw) was a good game and I brought up the music and they wrote it off as "most people play with it muted anyway" and I thought that was dumb because the music breathes so much into the atmosphere
Into the game and it's really disheartening to see a lot of people write off music as "just a background noise" music can set the tone and pace of a situation and create such memorable moments. I am a huge music nerd though so I love hearing it a lot.
Their are also amazing chip tunes worth listening to. With limited memory and unique sound chips like SID, people had to be resourceful to make memorable music for games.
my favorite is the music in horzon forzen dawn and horizon forbidden west. the music was amazing in those games. this year for me, the best entry was stellar blade-amazing soundtrack.
i still often listen to soundtracks of games like final fantasy, chrono trigger/ cross, xenogears etc. not only for the nostalgia but so many old video game soundtracks have been orchestrated & totally hold up.
I will never understand anyone who disagrees with this, because it's also the same for movies. You don't want to only hear the character's movements, speech or emotion, you also want to hear your surroundings. You want to hear something that will let you know they're safe or not.
Completely agree with you on this. Music elicits the perfect emotional responses at just the right time. I think of Outer Wilds, Night in the Woods, Skyrim, TLoU, and plenty others where the soundtrack is a core element of the entire experience.
I listened to the SH2 OST a couple of years ago without ever having played the game and thought it was cool, but it wasn’t until recently that I finally actually played the game and since then ive had the soundtrack on repeat. complements and elevates the game sm
That’s why I want to be apart of video games as a music engineer and movies as well. Our auditory system goes hand in hand with visual. It’s so crucial.
Btw, just a bit of a suggestion but when you get the chance you should take a listen to Arcane Season 2’s soundtrack. Not all of the songs are out yet though but I believe November 26th the full album releases.
An example might be this jazz version of the Mute City course in Mario Kart 8.
The course itself isn't very special, but the music track is awesome, hitting this sweet spot between nostalgia and trying something new. This makes me come back to the course again and again.
One of the best examples of this is Kenshi. Your character is an absolute nobody in a vast, inhospitable, indifferent world,. The music swells when you're fighting for your life, and it really nails the emotional stakes of your character's situation.
Hell yes.
The Mountain Hymm from RDR2 came on in the car when I was driving home from work and I almost broke down crying. It evoked immediate emotion and memories.
Depends on the game, really. Story-based games? The music must stay on. Competitive games? Turn off the music. Ultra-casual games I am playing on a mobile device or in a small window on my desktop? Turn off all sound altogether.
This is true on many levels. Even the earlier games the music would help set the mood. And it's funny because I'm currently going through final fantasy xii and the music has been so outstanding that I now want to experience a full blown symphony. That doesn't have to be about video games.
100%, It’s very associative aswell, especially when tracks have reoccurring leitmotifs that tie in with certain themes and characters. Hearing the music outside of the game evokes the memories relative to gameplay which ties back to the soundtrack.
Don't know if it's been said, but the Academy awards seriously need to start considering video games for best score nominations (or create a category for it).
I haven't played a game with the music on in years. When sound designers comprehend game sound is more important than huge volume boss music, maybe I'll come back. Literally the first thing I do in any new playthrough is mute the music and bump the ambient
More generally sound. While working on a top-down RPG proof of concept, with crappy 2d graphics, it felt dead and horrible, until I added a little cave ambiance sound and footsteps when the character walked around. Suddenly felt alive!
Agreed. One of the indicators of quality in a game is whether or not I find myself listening to something else while I'm playing. The best games have soundtracks you never want to skip.
Not only is it important to the game experience itself, but in my experience game music is the easiest/best way to find genuinely unique and interesting music.
Idk.... I played TLOU 1 and I was more emotional without music. It was more personal without it because I could hear all the sounds that music would drown out. Personally, I think music in games is overrated. It gets in the way of the gameplay.
It’s one of the issues I had with Dragon Age: Veilguard. Each previous game in the series had an EXCELLENT soundtrack, particularly Inquisition. In DAV I barely noticed the music and they even REUSED bard songs from DAI 😭
The only way I’m hearing a symphony or classical opera these days is through games. And then you have games like Transistor that take music in games to the next level. Or Untitled Goose Game that uses the music cues as the invisible hand to guide your goose to chaos. It’s the little things.. 🪿
Absolutely right, every type of game with either like background in game music, like Minecraft or Stardew Valley, or soundtracks for like sports games, they make it memorable and lively.
Is it though? Obviously music can enhance a moment, like it can in movies or theater. But use of silence, ambience or sound design is as important as ever. One example being Breath of the Wild which would be a worse game with more music.
As somebody who usually has game music muted to watch content on my 2nd monitor. I completely agree and have it turned on for my first playthrough of a game
I forgot what game it was but people weren’t allowed to stream the music due to copyright. So when ever you saw it on Twitch the dance scene happened in the story it was awkward silence and feet squeaking. Very funny but also very bad.
The early Spyro games are a huge example, the music just helps full the worlds you are in with so much. Doom as well almost all the games, it gets you in the headspace of what your goal is, either kill demons, or find something to go and kill demons elsewhere while also killing demons.
yes it most certainly can be, but its absence can also create suspense or importance. you know, just depends on when and how its used. incorrect music application can REALLY mess with tone too. but i love music, especially when its immersive and comes on under certain conditions like in biomes.
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Playing NFS (any of them) with great music will make you a better player, more focussed.
More driven.
😆
PC/Console can't play without it.
.
The music raised the entire game by way too much to comprehend
In single player games with a lot of voice acting I of course enjoy good sound/music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWc-qernAI4
I still find final fantasy music is my favorite.
The music would build for nothing. But once you were freaked out and the game was calm, the music would build fast and something would murder you. It meant you were always on edge.🧑🍳💋
Even when the games are bad, you could always look forward to the accompanying soundtracks.
https://youtu.be/EBhFHJMVfiI?si=aY9P7xCGi-mq9OmQ
https://youtu.be/F5azlRcqWwk?si=N5y1C19Kz8BK5rwr
https://youtu.be/cpGkzjLm4tk?si=Lx6OQdSsr1SqwSPy
Btw, just a bit of a suggestion but when you get the chance you should take a listen to Arcane Season 2’s soundtrack. Not all of the songs are out yet though but I believe November 26th the full album releases.
The course itself isn't very special, but the music track is awesome, hitting this sweet spot between nostalgia and trying something new. This makes me come back to the course again and again.
https://youtu.be/EeDvIJ-u7oM?si=YpD8Zzxdry7T96gr
The Mountain Hymm from RDR2 came on in the car when I was driving home from work and I almost broke down crying. It evoked immediate emotion and memories.
Also helps when phase 2, or heaven forbid phase 3, kicks in for that boss😂
Fighting Layer, SF EX 3, Persona, Sayanora Wild Hearts, and Streets of rage are some of my favorite OST’s
We need music.
even if it’s a game you’ve played before, audio cues are so important. you will recognize things faster via audio cue than visual cue.