Music in games, is it necessary?

[JambalayaBob]

Video Games are always moving closer to being an experience as compelling as any experience you could have in real life, and perhaps in some instances be more compelling, given the nature of fiction. Because of this, do you think that one day, music in games will be entirely unnecessary? You can already see this happening in some cases.

Look at any Fallout game for instance, whether it be the originals or the two newest games, they all have zero in-game music outside of an ambient soundtrack and a few radio stations. They don't have any proper score, I'd say that 95% of the soundscape is in-universe (including the radio stations of course), and you don't even notice the other 5% unless you pay attention. I think this works to its benefit, but it could be something unique to the universe that makes it work.

My point is that music can add to the mood and greatly improve the experience of watching a movie or play, but I'm not entirely sure that it will always be true for something as already inherently as visceral as video games. What do you think?

EDIT: Yes, I know that it's pretty much necessary at the moment, but I'm talking about the future, when video games are more like virtual reality than anything else.

 

[Bobic]

I think it's exactly the same as movies and plays. Sometimes it's appropriate, sometimes it isn't.

 

[TheIronRuler]

Music is a MUST in games because if done properly it can IMMENSLEY enhance the experience.
Do you know how enjoyable it was killing Super Mutants when I was listening to crazy ol' Three Dog the Disk Jockey? Amazing.
The same thing goes with other games. Damn, Christopher Tin received an Emmy for a Videogame Score he made. AN EMMY.

 

[DeadlyYellow]

Look at any Fallout game for instance, whether it be the originals or the two newest games, they all have zero in-game music outside of an ambient soundtrack and a few radio stations. They don't have any proper score, I'd say that 95% of the soundscape is in-universe (including the radio stations of course), and you don't even notice the other 5% unless you pay attention. I think this works to its benefit, but it could be something unique to the universe that makes it work.

Me thinks you need to adjust the volume settings. New Vegas has excellent default tracks (aside from the boring Oblivion tracks from kept over from 3.)

Music is a heavy influence in gaming. To prove this, I give you a simple task. Pick a game (Oblivion will work great if you have it.) Replace all situational battle music with Kirby music, and tell me that does not drastically shift the tone of gameplay.

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

Well, I think it all depends on the game really. With Fallout, you need ambient sounds just to set the tone, and if music was added all over the place then it would yank you out of the experience and the game.

It depends on the tone and the setting I think, and music in games should be added when it's appropriate and not because the sound designer and composer really loves a piece they made and threw it in just because. Look at the God of War series, the music made the game that much more epic and made you feel as if you really are fighting this giant creature and makes you feel like a badass.

Then you have a game series like Silent Hill, where you just need ambient noises to set the mood and tone of the game, and not a whole lot of music.

So yeah, I think it just really depends on what you want the player to experience and just know when to use music appropriately.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

Music can and often does add atmosphere, so yeah I'm pretty sure there will always be a place for it in games.

 

[Flailing Escapist]

What?
...
I guess it could be argued that cutscenes, dialogue and 3d graphics are also unnecessary?
...
What?
I don't understand what the inherent difference between movies, plays and video games are (besides the interactivity). They'll all forms of entertainment and music generally helps with that. The only purpose not-music would have was if the game was trying to drown you in some sort of immursion or something.

 

[Tragedy's Rebellion]

Not including music will be a huge step back for games. It helps the atmosphere immensely and helps you get excited. If it was all silence, all the time, not to mention being extremely weird, it would just suck.

 

[jebus4you]

Music is needed sometimes while other times listening to the environment is also fulfilling.

 

[Robert Ewing]

Of course its necessary. It intensifies the game, and increases it's chance of being remembered as a great. Among other things.

Games are in the same boat as movies and theater in this respect, as in they can get by without music, but they are truly brought to life with music. As in it only increases there quality at least two-fold.

 

[Llil]

Not really. I sometimes turn the music off completely. In Oblivion and SWAT 4 for example, I prefer not having any background music at all. It makes the games more enjoyable somehow.

Right type of music can add to the atmosphere, but something like a battle theme that starts whenever enemies appear can be a bit stupid. It takes me out of the game a little.

I'm actually thinking about replaying Amnesia without music, just to see if a horror game would work like that.

 

[anthony87]

Well I enjoy killing things in DMC4 when this is blasting over the combat:


Hell sometimes I let the last enemy live just so I can hear the whole thing. So to answer your question OP...yes. Music is necessary.

Also, just cause it's awesome to listen to:

 

[Kair]

In most FPS clones the music is hardly noticed. Some FPS have pulled off the music though, like Halo.

 

[TehGingaNinja]

It really depends on the type of game, if it is very story oriented, then it really benefits from a good soundtrack. (i.e. Most RPGs)
Shooters on the other hand are a different kettle of fish, they don't need music to be compelling, mainly because music would not feature in a real life situation, adding to the atmosphere. This is much more the case in the growing amount of multiplayer games. In fact, music in multiplayer could easily become repetitive and grating on the player.

I can think of many games that were vastly improved by music, but only in single player. Would games like Katamari really be the same if there was no soundtrack to speak of? Would some of the scenes in Nier have had the same emotional impact without the music? It is my personal opinion that Music definitely plays a major role, but games like fallout are an exception because the amount of hours played in those type of games is akin to that of multiplayer. Hundreds of hours of the same music would quickly get stale.

In short, until the Market consists of multiplayer only games then I don't see a future without videogame music.

 

[attackshark]

it's only necessary if it's aesthetically, thematically and artistically justified.

 

[JambalayaBob]

Look at any Fallout game for instance, whether it be the originals or the two newest games, they all have zero in-game music outside of an ambient soundtrack and a few radio stations. They don't have any proper score, I'd say that 95% of the soundscape is in-universe (including the radio stations of course), and you don't even notice the other 5% unless you pay attention. I think this works to its benefit, but it could be something unique to the universe that makes it work.

Me thinks you need to adjust the volume settings. New Vegas has excellent default tracks (aside from the boring Oblivion tracks from kept over from 3.)

Music is a heavy influence in gaming. To prove this, I give you a simple task. Pick a game (Oblivion will work great if you have it.) Replace all situational battle music with Kirby music, and tell me that does not drastically shift the tone of gameplay.

Yeah, I know that New Vegas has great tracks, but my point was that it's still more ambiance than anything else. You're not supposed to notice it as much as you would in other games.

 

[Richardplex]

My argument here is this: Top Comment: "Every once in a while, there's a rare magic moment in game when soundtrack, game play, and story align in sync and make for a moment of unforgettable immersion. Running through gunfire on Virmire to this track was one of those rare moments for me." Besides, without game music, all I'd listen to is anime OSTs.

 

[Scizophrenic Llama]

It really depends on the game. Stuff like Call of Duty it really doesn't matter, the game is so hectic and has so much going on already that you don't need music to set the tone.

Other games however have some great music that really sets the mood. The Legacy of Kain games did this perfectly.

 

[FreakSheet]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0xq1kMpz-k - Waka's Theme

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2Q2Cn5n0ig - Battle with Yamato no Orochi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ya3yxTbkh5s&feature=related - The Sun Rises

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpuGNH75pUc - Reset

Will it always be needed? Maybe not. But would we want to without gold like these? I sure as heck wouldn't.

 

[Jaydog53]

yes music should be in games its part of what makes the scene and or the game taking amnesia into account