Poll: Is music important in games

[Get_A_Grip_]

It's very important in music games.

Apart from that the use of sound is more important in most video games.

 

[Au Naturel.]

for most games, yes, it's great for setting atmosphere, or conveying an emotion or subtext.
you have no idea how many serious scenes can be turned into comedies by playing "Tijuana Taxi" or the Benny Hill theme in the background.

but for games like Crackdown, Dynasty Warriors or Tetris, where all that matters is you concentrate on what you're doing (killing, smashing bricks etc) it's okay to plug in your flash drive and turn up the tunes.



to me, it's always good to have the option. not that i NEEDED to, but i found it EXTREMELY pretentious that in Halo 3 they had a message that comes up when you try to play custom music that said something like "adding your own music will compromise the cinematic experience that is Halo 3". i just wanted to line up the people in charge of Bungie and individually slap each of them in the mouth.

Haha, wow. Did they actually do that?

 

[Zaik]

Depends. Sometimes the music is really good and can help let you know what's coming, build suspense, or add to the intense fights as seen in Left 4 Dead. Sometimes it's just there so the entire game won't be you walking around in silence because that would be boring as seen in Gears of War and pretty much every game ever. Sometimes a nice lack of music can build suspense like in Metal Gear Solid.

But sometimes it doesn't matter. Whenever I play Diablo II, I always have my iPod on listening to my own music.

you are a bad person, i love the music from diablo 2.

 

[Au Naturel.]

And of course music is important in video games.

Music in video games contributes to the whole atmosphere, and the whole world or universe that the game takes place in. Every game is a work of art, made by a team of designers that make the game exactly how they think it should be. They create these worlds with characters, these locales, lore and mythology, sometimes even religion. Music completes these worlds. Whenever you think of a game, or the world that the game takes place in. You should remember the music. The music should remind you of that world. It helps to embed you into the world that the designers have created, to immerse you fully and help you get a better understanding of how the characters feel or what the general feeling of this world is.

The music should be just as important as the gameplay itself. Many games realized this and their songs have became known and loved by everyone, such as Sonic's Green Hill Zone and Mario's stage 1-1 theme. When you hear these, do you not think of the world of this song? I do. Green Hill Zone's theme makes me think of that cheery, colorful world. While, on the other hand, the Doomsday theme for example gives me a feeling of dread and panic. Without this music, what would the Doomsday zone be like? Would it be as memorable?

I could go on for so much longer, but, bottom line is that music in video games should be just as important as the gameplay. So many games that I love know this and make amazing music that adds to the overall artistic feel of the game, immersing me, making me scared, happy, intimidated, overwhelmed and marveled (that may not be a word, but I'm sure you understand). These games earn my eternal love and forever inspire me!!

 

[Sargey]

I certainly think so. Prime example is Mass Effect 2 - that had amazingly good music in my opinion.