Poll: Do you mute the in-game music and play your own?

[kwagamon]

When I'm playing some on-the-couch multiplayer with friends, we often put on music over what noise the game is making. Also, I used to just mute the TV entirely back in the PS1/N64 days and prior when voiceover was rare in a game. My first playthrough of Final Fantasy VII (of three so far) was mostly done on the very small TV next to the big one that was actually hooked up to the cable with the sound off while I watched shows. You can't exactly do that anymore and expect to not suck. The last game I remember doing this with was Dark Cloud.

 

[GrizzlerBorno]

i do sometimes when i play minecraft.

See this seems obvious at first glance but.... i had this wierd experience in minecraft. i was just walking around in a world in the free version. and it had become dark but i was still trudging aimlessly.

All of a sudden a very quiet, very slow piano/orchestal hymn started coming in, I paused to double check if i had any browsers or music players open (i have similar tracks in my library, see) but nothing was, so i went back to playing and it was...haunting. the tempo never picked up much, and i just wandered around looking out over the scenery in the low light, entranced by the beautiful and soothing melody. Powered by it, I crafted a basic stone sword form my sparse resources and charged straight at a couple mobs, fighting them to the now inspiring tune. I came out victorious and then I watched the stars crawl slowly towards daybreak; but cursed them because, for some reason, i thought the new day would bring an end to the tune.
I wasn't wrong. It wasn't dawn; a little before that, but the music, which had built up to a rather loud and reasonably fast tempo, came to a halt with a crescendo.......and i just waited.

I must've just stood there not knowing what the fuck just happened for 5 whole minutes. Minecraft is lauded for its randomness. But this was something else. Something incredible. By making it happen only once and not all the time, it literally became a hook, always pulling me back to the game, just so i could have that experience again.

Has this happened to anyone else, or am i bat shit insane btw? I hope its not the latter.

 

[ComicsAreWeird]

I prefer to enjoy the game as the creators meant it to be experienced. Althought i guess that sometimes it could work out fine when playing fighting games or racing games. Never on a survival horror title.

 

[Nocturnal Gentleman]

I usually end up muting any video game music with singing in it. Most of the time I find the singer either crappy or mediocre. I prefer game music with instruments only. I will also mute games that loop the same simple tunes waaay too many times. That will give me a worse headache than a pan to the forehead.

Most games I play lack these problems so I don't mind listening to the in game tracks. I also play plenty of horror games and those are kind of difficult to play without the sound.

 

[Aerowaves]

So much effort goes into sound design and music these days and they are, for me, integral parts of the experience. The KOTOR and Guild Wars soundtracks are what spring immediately to mind.

 

[Mr.Petey]

Nowadays it's handy with the custom soundtracks available in some titles. Just think...Ace Combat Assault Horizon with the Top gun Soundtrack mingled.

But I digress. I've only really done it with the Medal of Honor games mixed with some Ray Charles. It was an odd combination but it really worked well together, especially with his more upbeat and faster tempo songs

 

[alandavidson]

It depends for me, after I've played through the game several times I usually go ahead and make my own soundtrack. I prefer to listen to happy hippie music while playing violent games, just to give the whole experience an ironic feel.

 

[velcrokidneyz]

unless the soundtrack is kickin i do in multiplayer or rts types. unless its a demanding game for my comp then i dont but if im playing source or something like that then yes. bc2 no.

 

[philzibit]

Just seems like blasphemy, you wouldn't mute a movie and watch it with your own music.

 

[[.redacted]]

Lets try. Splinter Cell Conviction and what music....


Oh my God, it's perfect!

Have to do this more often!

So wrong... And yet so right...

On Topic: Yes, no game has metal heavy enough for me =(

Although, in some games, I have to play with no music or my playstyle becomes to aggressive =P

 

[bam13302]

na, i like it, normally, i never really dislike the ingame music, and if i do mute ingame music its just so i can hear VOIP

 

[Zero-Vash]

Depends on the game and if I'm playing by myself or not. If I'm soloing or farming mats in WoW, then ya I play music. If I'm playing a game like CoD, then I need to be listening to the sound of the game

 

[Firoth]

Most of the time, especially if I'm on my PC. I usually mute everything except voices and sound effects I only have just loud enough so I can hear that they're happening. And it's usually not music that I have playing, but, a show or movie that I'm watching in the corner of the screen.

 

[Assassin Xaero]

Depends on the game:
Brutal Legend - Keep it on since most that is the music I listen to anyway.
Tony Hawk series - Older I'd keep it, others I used my xbox hard drive music.
Mafia II - I turn the radio off, wish I could use hdd music.
GTA:SA - xbox hdd music.
Minecraft - itunes!

 

[Asdalan08]

Only for AC Brotherhood Multiplayer since the Xbox allows you to play music without the game audio dissapearing.

 

[TehCookie]

If the music is not adding anything to the game and only there to fill up silence I prefer my music than the random music another guy picked.

 

[Gildan Bladeborn]

Very rarely - if it weren't for the statistical outlier of Guild Wars I could confidently say "never", but no matter how much I enjoy Jeremy Soule's compositions, over the course of the 5-odd years that I've played that game I've heard it all and watched all the cutscenes so often that I've stopped playing the game for the "experience". Anymore I'm logging in to chat and get some stuff done, so I keep only the amount of sounds on that I need to receive feedback on what's happening, while I either fire up Pandora or play stuff from my own extensive (and ever expanding, because I compulsively acquire more) music collection; in essence, Guild Wars has mostly become something I do while killing time and listening to music, rather than "a game I'm playing" in my brain, where there's a single task and that's play that game - playing my own music in those situations would take me out of the experience (and possibly drown things I probably need/want to hear out).

 

[-Samurai-]

I always turn off the in-game music. But I don't substitute it with my own music. I prefer the sounds of the game. I like hearing bullets, explosions, swords, whatever.

I don't like the in-game music trying to tell me what I'm supposed to be feeling, or what the character is feeling. Don't try to rush me, and don't try to slow me down. I'll play the thing the way I want, thank you.