277: Enjoy the Silence
- Thread starter Joe Myers
- Start date
In older games sometimes the musical soundtrack was in fact, natural sounds. If you get the original Fallout, it has a few tracks of music, and then quite a bit of almost nothing but nature, like wind blowing in the irradiated desert. Sometimes minimal music is better than no music.
I'll have to give New Vegas a shot without music, at least once I hear it all. I find the musical selections of that era used in the games pretty interesting.
Music in older games was filler, because the lack of noise would seem just wrong, so they tried to go for basic themes. Imagine Super Mario Brothers without any music at all. Imagine the Legend of Zelda without any music at all. The music was put there to make a good game great. Some developers forgot that music isn't a requirement for a game. If done correctly, it is a tool used to help players out. If done incorrectly, it can detract from a game. Silence is in fact its own style of music, and can both enhance and detract from a game.
When I think of how music both enhances and detracts from a game at the same time though, I can only think of Left 4 Dead. The music composing software is great, but it does get a bit repetitive, and it never shuts off. Sometimes I think some points in the game would be better without music. Picture the music shutting off when you're sneaking by a witch, the only things you can hear are your footsteps, and her breathing. I think it would freak you out more than any music they could add.
I'll have to give New Vegas a shot without music, at least once I hear it all. I find the musical selections of that era used in the games pretty interesting.
Music in older games was filler, because the lack of noise would seem just wrong, so they tried to go for basic themes. Imagine Super Mario Brothers without any music at all. Imagine the Legend of Zelda without any music at all. The music was put there to make a good game great. Some developers forgot that music isn't a requirement for a game. If done correctly, it is a tool used to help players out. If done incorrectly, it can detract from a game. Silence is in fact its own style of music, and can both enhance and detract from a game.
When I think of how music both enhances and detracts from a game at the same time though, I can only think of Left 4 Dead. The music composing software is great, but it does get a bit repetitive, and it never shuts off. Sometimes I think some points in the game would be better without music. Picture the music shutting off when you're sneaking by a witch, the only things you can hear are your footsteps, and her breathing. I think it would freak you out more than any music they could add.
Fatal Frame 2: The music and sound was rather subtle for most of the game, eery and only got more dramatic when you were attacked. For the most part you find yourself on the edge of your seat ears cocked to the slightest sound.
Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory: I remember sneaking around stealthily trying to avoid being detected and the fucking soundtrack just gets louder and louder, one big Alex Van Halen drum solo, and I'm thinking how the hell am I suppose to sneak around stealthily with all these blaring jungle drums. Sorry Amon Tobin, just don't need all that noise in a stealth game.
I noticed some games fade in and out music to indicate a battle situation or when you are near enemies. Sometimes I appreciate that as I know when I can or cannot concentrate on other things than battle. At any rate music shouldn't ever overpower the scene, at the game's climax you can get away with really intense music but otherwise it can interfere with what your watching/doing.
Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory: I remember sneaking around stealthily trying to avoid being detected and the fucking soundtrack just gets louder and louder, one big Alex Van Halen drum solo, and I'm thinking how the hell am I suppose to sneak around stealthily with all these blaring jungle drums. Sorry Amon Tobin, just don't need all that noise in a stealth game.
I noticed some games fade in and out music to indicate a battle situation or when you are near enemies. Sometimes I appreciate that as I know when I can or cannot concentrate on other things than battle. At any rate music shouldn't ever overpower the scene, at the game's climax you can get away with really intense music but otherwise it can interfere with what your watching/doing.
I'm in complete agreement with this critique. The addition of dynamic music in most games these days has really become overbearing and quite obnoxious and for me it often does disrupt immersion. Music if present, should compliment the gameplay, not be telling you how to feel. If them game is good enough, you will hopefully already be feeling those things, sans music. I had this same issue with a certain TV show's final season not long ago.
If a certain tune kicks up every time an enemy is around, it completely dislodges any tension and atmosphere after a while.
More often than not, I find myself turning off the music in games where I really want to soak in the game world.
Dead Space for example didn't have a running soundtrack, and it really made for a great atmosphere, however it did feature dynamic music that kicked in whenever an enemy appeared, which undercut the horror after a while (the game also just became predictable very quickly)
If a certain tune kicks up every time an enemy is around, it completely dislodges any tension and atmosphere after a while.
More often than not, I find myself turning off the music in games where I really want to soak in the game world.
Dead Space for example didn't have a running soundtrack, and it really made for a great atmosphere, however it did feature dynamic music that kicked in whenever an enemy appeared, which undercut the horror after a while (the game also just became predictable very quickly)
Genre definitely is a huge factor. If a game is simplistic enough and not meant to be complex and atmospheric at all, then constant music isn't much of an issue. It's the "serious" games where atmospheric tension and real emotion are at steak where it's more of an issue. Either way, it's always a delicate balance.Joe Myers said:I'm glad you all liked my article.I didn't mention this in it, but it also (in my opinion) depends pretty heavily on what genre of game it is too. Maybe it's a given? What are your thoughts?
I agree, silence would work brilliantly in a physcological horror game, just a chilling atmosphere, no noise, causing the player to desperately shit themselves in fear of what will appear behind the door.
My xbox 360 was loud as hell, if the game stopped playing music i would hear noise, not athmospheric silence.
Thats why most 360 games don't shut up and shouldn't.
Thats why most 360 games don't shut up and shouldn't.
I think some games should have silence. Others not, namely Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky.
That... Is the fifth time I've mentioned that game today... Yep, I'm a fanboy...
That... Is the fifth time I've mentioned that game today... Yep, I'm a fanboy...
I actually agree with this.
That was the thought I had as I ran around Gran Pulse in Final Fantasy XIII.
The transition would have had so much more impact if it wasn't for that incessant tune that plays constanty.
Its also part of the reason I love Shadow of the Colossus. Yes the colossi fights are noisy and intense. But the exploration moments are quiet with mostly environmental sounds to set as atmosphere.
Half Life 2 was good for this also. Only really kicking into music when something exciting was going down.
That was the thought I had as I ran around Gran Pulse in Final Fantasy XIII.
The transition would have had so much more impact if it wasn't for that incessant tune that plays constanty.
Its also part of the reason I love Shadow of the Colossus. Yes the colossi fights are noisy and intense. But the exploration moments are quiet with mostly environmental sounds to set as atmosphere.
Half Life 2 was good for this also. Only really kicking into music when something exciting was going down.
Music was constantly playing in Fallout 1 and 2. Random encounters in wilderness had the wind noise playing, but everywhere else there was music. But the music was effective in that it set the tone for the environment you were in.vxicepickxv said:
Also, silence versus music is player preference; you can turn the music down really low or off if you want. This is the case in almost every game.
The contrast between music and silence is one Shadow of the Colossus's strongest points. Outside of battles and cutscenes, the only sounds you hear are the sounds of nature - birds chirping, wind blowing, leaves rustling, and the sound of Agro's hooves on the earth. The lack of music enhances the feeling of solitude in the game's world.
GeneticallyModifiedDucks said:
This. There is ambient music in Fallout 3. There's even combat music and dramatic moment music (though the former is often timed strangely, at least when I play, sometimes not starting until after I've slain an enemy.) There was a powerful march played all through the citadel (one of my favorite pieces of music in the game). But nothing beats that haunting, eerie music that plays in the open wasteland. If anyone hasn't heard it, they need to turn up the ambient music in audio options. I liked it much better than any of the radio stations.
Just saying..
The most awesome scene to me in the animated movie Akira was when all sounds faded away, and the camera panned toward the sky. A lone satellite charged up and fired down a laser beam, piercing the cloud. We see the beam shrieked down through the sky as the volume amped up to a great explosion.
I'm guessing the silence was there not only for dramatic purpose, but because you can't hear anything in space.
Yes, nobody can hear you scream in space. Yes, I went there. And damn, I can't believe this article didn't bring up a single scifi example when the silence of the great dark beyond had been such a lure to generations.
The most awesome scene to me in the animated movie Akira was when all sounds faded away, and the camera panned toward the sky. A lone satellite charged up and fired down a laser beam, piercing the cloud. We see the beam shrieked down through the sky as the volume amped up to a great explosion.
I'm guessing the silence was there not only for dramatic purpose, but because you can't hear anything in space.
Yes, nobody can hear you scream in space. Yes, I went there. And damn, I can't believe this article didn't bring up a single scifi example when the silence of the great dark beyond had been such a lure to generations.