Importance of Music in Video Games

JSH

United States4109 Posts

August 24 2013 19:55 GMT

When someone thinks what makes a good game, first few ideas that immediately pop into minds might include gameplay, replayability, controls, graphics, story, mechanics, depth, competitive esports (

) ect.
But what I feel goes under the radar is the importance of music.

* Disclaimer *
I'm not trying to list the best video game music, there are way too many good music and that is not the point I am trying to convey.

For the most part, music in games is just background music. It's not something that is obvious for the gamers that they need to pay attention or focus onto. The main goal of music is to create ambiance; basically add to the game without taking attention away from the players.
Imagine if you are in a middle of a Starcraft campaign, middle of an infiltration mission, then suddenly, a happy, upbeat chiptune song starts to play. How weird would that be? Not to mention how much would it detract from your overall gameplay experience? Music needs to match with the game to create depth without being noticed.

While I will be honest and haven't played too many recent games, I'll choose one very well known game series as an example:

Everyone's favorite pink puffball

Kirby music in general is this bright cheery happy music, which coincides with the colorful world of Popstar and Kirby himself. Kirby music is so unique that it has it's own sub-genre of music known as Kirbypop. Characterized by bubbly uplifting beat and melody, Kirby music is definitely unique and memorable.

Check this tune out:
+ Show Spoiler +

Popstar from Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards

A pretty typical Kirby song. This is the first music from the first stage of the game, and sets the tone and mood for the rest of the adventure very well. It's light-hearted, bright and cheerful, much like Kirby and his world.

Contrast with this song:
+ Show Spoiler +

Grape Garden from Kirby's Adventure

Even the same Kirby world, this song has very different qualities. It is much more mellow and peaceful. However, the music fits the setting so very well. The Grape Garden level takes place on clouds and this song depicts the level very well.

Finally listen to this one:
+ Show Spoiler +

[Zero-Two Boss Theme from Kirby 64: Crystal Shards]

Wow, what a different track. 02 is the true final boss of Crystal Shards, only available after collecting all the shards. While I do admit not many Kirby boss fights does not share this intensity, this one is wonderfully done to convey the danger and threat that the boss poses. While you are fighting the boss you just realize what you are fighting. He is the resurrected Zero from Kirby Dreamland 3. With his menacing bloody eyes and angel halo and wings,+ Show Spoiler +

something just doesn't seem right and the music definitely lets you know this.

Video game music does so much for games but goes unnoticed. Not unnoticed in that the player doesn't realize it's there, but he takes in the music as one with the game. This I believe is the sign of GOOD video game music composition. The goal of the music is to enhance the video game experience and if it does not do that, or detracts from it, it has failed. The goal is to make the game immersive without taking away from the experience; It is part of the experience. If the music fails to work with the game... then welll... it is comparable to giving Kirby a microphone

Zebra's got nothing on him

However, there is one genre of games that I believe music makes the strongest impact; And that is in Visual Novels.

What is a Visual Novel you ask? It is kind of like reading a book with more visual and auditory elements. There is almost no actual gameplay element and most of it is reading dialogue between various characters. I know this is kind of a niche genre, but bear with me here. What makes music so impactful in VN is in the simplicity of the genre itself. There is no difficult gameplay mechanic, mind boggling puzzles, nor hard strategies. All there is are the characters, story, artwork, voice acting, and music. With such few elements in the game, that much more of your mind resource and attention is spent on each part. Simple as these games may be, if the developers screw up one part, then the whole game is in jeopardy.

Here is a short scene from the game Little Busters.
Play this song while reading the scene below
+ Show Spoiler +

You are in the classroom and talking with Masato, your friend and roommate. Out of nowhere Haruka Saigusa pops into the classroom:

+ Show Spoiler +

In this short interaction, we get to know a bit more about Saigusa Haruka. Doesn't the song seem to fit her very well? The music here adds to her characterization and further develops her personality. Most times when she makes her entrance into the story, this song plays and you immediately understand the mood of the scene that will soon follow.

OBJECTION

You may ask that this doesn't seem much different from other video games. Songs just follow the characters and adds to the settings, just like how background music adds ambiance to the game setting.
You are correct. This is exactly what the music is doing.

To expand on my point, let me go a little offtrack with another story. While I was volunteering at COSI (Center Of Science and Industry), a science museum geared towards kids, one experiment I did with the guests is a smell test. There is an interaction between scent and memory. In certain situations have you ever smelled something and had a deja vu moment where you realized some vivid memory relating to that scent? The olfactory bulb, which perceives smell, is located in the limbic system of the brain, where memories and emotions are processed. Certain smells trigger emotions and memories in the individual, and I believe music produces a similar effect.

Music in VN particularly produces a strong effect to this level, because of two factors: emotional nature of the game and repetitive conditioning. You see a sad scene, you hear this sad song; You see more sad scenes, you hear the same sad song. I do not know another VN that does this to a greater effect than Clannad + After Story. If you have seen the anime of played the game, you will immediately recognize this song:
+ Show Spoiler +

For those who doesn't know Clannad, you may just hear a peaceful song.
But for those who have played Clannad, can you feel the emotions building up inside as you listen?
You may not remember the exact scenes where this music played, but you remember how you felt while playing the game. Even years after having played/watched Clannad, I still remember the feelings and emotions, although the memory of the scenes have faded away. No matter how beautiful a composition can be, it won't have that personal emotional response without memory attached to it. This is why Clannad was so successful and praised. The music combined with excellent script was able to enhance the game and provide emotional outlet as the nature of the game allows it to be.

Just because VN does this doesn't mean other genre of games can't. There are many many games with excellent music from platformers to shooters, to RPGs that adds emotions to the game. Just maybe not as apparent like VNs seem. Ever hear a song that pumps you up for the stage or creeps you out at the mysterious scene unfold in front of the screen? Behold the power of music.

And there you have it! No matter what game you play, music is vital to the game. I hope people would appreciate more music in game. I leave you with my favorite Starcraft song~
+ Show Spoiler +

EsportsJohn

United States4883 Posts

August 24 2013 20:39 GMT

Extra likes just for the terran theme. BW music was so good...I seriously still listen to BW music even when I'm not playing Starcraft. And that Veela song

.

EDIT: I just started playing Dear Esther...the music in that game is beautiful and adds so much hauntingly beautiful atmosphere to the game.

hp.Shell

United States2527 Posts

August 24 2013 22:13 GMT

The Kirby music really opened my eyes. I'm familiar with Popstar but the Zero-Two boss theme not at all. I like how the bass line is still keeping the Kirby-tempo and charm while making a fitting contribution to the apprehensive melody.

Here's one from Kiwi Kraze, in fact the entire OST is only about 6 minutes, but very catchy and upbeat. The game is very much like Kirby games, though not as colorful or charismatic. I'm most a fan of the main theme.

And then Donkey Kong 64, which I consider to be Rare's last great effort, with perhaps the exception of Conker's Bad Fur Day, which I have sadly never played. The music is reminiscent of earlier DK games with similar character to the Banjo-Kazooie series. Here is the entire 5 and a half hour soundtrack; god bless youtube. Look at the tracklist in the description. A lot of the stage songs are split among several tracks, so it's better to have it all in one place. Jungle Japes, probably the most characteristic song of the entire game, which is mostly built around this same melody in different themes, starts at 32:02 "Jungle Japes Lobby" and ends with 46:04 "Jungle Japes," a total of about 18 minutes for one level. It makes things really interesting for gameplay because the melody keeps the same type of vibe, but 18 minutes of variation is really awesome.

These days with all the orchestration and live musicians the music in games can really be something special. Here's one from FFXII, with the playlist to go with it. You can get the full link by quoting this whether or not you intend to reply.

hp.Shell

United States2527 Posts

August 24 2013 22:14 GMT

sorry for the double post

Staboteur

Canada1873 Posts

August 24 2013 23:58 GMT

I sooooooo wholeheartedly agree, and have a problem -not- listing Chrono Trigger as a perfect example of this. It's a game with an absolute tonne of settings and scenes, and a score that, for a great many of them, suits them perfectly.

In the apocalyptic ruined future, full of starving people without hope? This.

Saved a "human" robot from a factory full of sentient robots that were out to disassemble him? This.

Nevermind the solemn, empty space that composes the end of time.

...or Guardia's Millenial Fair or The overworld in those peaceful times or prehistoric jungle parties...

I could go on, but I'm sure you get the point. I'm not trying to argue that OP should have used better examples; Theirs were fantastic, I just want to add Chrono Trigger to the list, because it stands as one of the few game experiences where the music stands out to me more than any other aspect of the game.

Nemesis

Canada2568 Posts

August 25 2013 02:30 GMT

Haha, when I read your title I first thought of VN's, and am glad to hear you mention them

Key music is really awesome. Actually majority of good VN's I've read have awesome music. Nitroplus, Akabesoft2, and 07th expansion all have pretty good music.

The music really brings the atmosphere to life.

Since we're in TL, might as well mention that BW music is also excellent.

JSH

United States4109 Posts

August 25 2013 03:04 GMT

@hp.Shell
Yeah what makes the boss fight so great is that it still seems like a Kirby song, although it has a vastly different feel.
The music needs to be centered around the game and I agree Donkey Kong series did that very well (only played the SNES ones but) You immediately get that vine swinging, barrel exploding, banana hoarding action.
I was considering writing about old music vs new music, but I think that debate is silly. If people really think that old music is much much better and the new one's are crap, they need to get off the nostalgia train. While I love the old songs, there are just as many good if not better new songs that brings out the game. Like those FF songs

Absolutely beautiful

@Staboteur
Yup, it goes without saying how much people love Chrono Trigger music so I didn't really mention it haha
Great songs~

@Nemesis
Huhu, I was originally going to write a blog on why Clannad was so emotionally moving, centered around the themes and music, but realized this can apply to on a more broader scale.
Good VN have good music. It has to, because it is such a big part of the game.

LockeTazeline

2390 Posts

August 25 2013 04:13 GMT

Mmhm, Chrono Trigger has my personal favourite OST.

Ah, and dang, that Clannad song. I just finished that a couple weeks ago, so it's especially emotionally loaded.

Also, I feel like Ocremix.org deserves a special shoutout in a thread like this for making all that nostalgic video game music come back to life with amazing quality.

Djzapz

Canada10681 Posts

August 25 2013 05:40 GMT

I love the OST of Chrono Trigger :D

Also from a marketing standpoint, and I know this is barely relevant to the topic but still it's close enough. The music they used to market battlefield 3, whoever composed it should get huge royalties. It hypes the game more than it deserves

micronesia

United States24676 Posts

August 25 2013 06:06 GMT

#10

I agree that quality music in games tends to be under-appreciated.

In broodwar I found the terran mission briefing music (as well as the others) to be extremely immersive. The music for when you are playing also helps you tune out the world around you and focus entirely on this virtual one. Even though I played the sc1 campaigns quite a few years after they came out, when they were horribly outdated graphically, the music kept it as a fresh experience for me.

I too could go through many games and how amazing I thought the music was, but it's probably preaching to the choir for people reading through this thread. A large percentage of the music I keep on my mp3 players is from videogames.

wingpawn

Poland1342 Posts

August 25 2013 06:28 GMT

#11

OP forgot about the case when music is actually so good, it kind of ruins the gaming experience, because you focus on it and not on actual playing. For example, I was recently struggling to beat Doom 2 on all available wads including those unofficial ones and I must say, sometimes it completely destroyed my focus, which is like a death sentence on many maps, because there are so many monsters and so little room, you have to constantly run, strafe and shoot. I mean, above average game music is cool, but getting constantly raped by dozen of rockets because you focused on it ain't cool at all.

+ Show Spoiler +

+ Show Spoiler +

Old Amiga games had plenty of such tracks. Fortunately, many of them were saved for intros / main screens:

+ Show Spoiler +

+ Show Spoiler +

Deleted User 135096

3624 Posts

August 25 2013 09:39 GMT

#12

VGM is so important, the way movie music is important. It helps shape ones understanding and interpretation of the world the developer/creators are trying to impart on you. Try to imagine either Bioshock or Bioshock Infinite without music, or Final Fantasy, or Brood War, or Deus Ex, or Thief, or Braid. They become entirely different experiences when you remove this very important information stream. Oh and ocr is amazing.

Please or register to reply.

Importance of Music in Video Games

Completed

Ongoing

Upcoming