Sound Turned Down?

[ThirdPrize]

I know people spend a lot of time writing the music for games but I tend to turn it off for the tricky bits. Generally the music changes with the pace of the game and whenever you get a boss battle of some sort, it usually goes all frantic. The tempo goes up and there are lots of FX and explosions. The idea is the music works you up into a frenzy as well. I find this to be distracting as most boss battles are better fought slowly and calmly, where you are in control of every move, and are not twitching like a mad thing.

Anyone else?

 

[Thaluikhain]

I don't have a problem with the sound, generally. Easy to ignore, it seems, though maybe if it was really loud and/or drowning out important sound effects you want to hear it might be a problem.

 

[TriggerHappyAngel]

Game Music usually fits perfectly with the type of gameplay that is going on, so I never turn it off/down, it makes the game more awesome.

 

[Batfred]

Surround sound is the way forward. Turn it up, immerse yourself and let the spirit of the game take you.... unless you are playing FFXIII and you are trying to Death an Adamantoise. That can get really annoying as it is rather piercing on the 14th attempt.

 

[_Janny_]

I remember reading about a study about how some types of repetitive sound actually help you focus better. So I suppose that's why Devil May Cry keeps repeating their battle music so much. Anyway, I rarely turn down the sound. After a few hours of playing I just don't even notice that there's music playing.

 

[darth.pixie]

I usually listen to the music since it sets the mood but not always.

In Dragon Age for example, it depressed me something fierce. I couldn't walk down the street without the risk of bawling. I paused it to walk around and my sister was watching a movie with a dog dying of old age.

She thought the music came from the movie not my game.

In other games, I sometimes found it distracting if I like it too much. I have the DMC4 battle music on my cellphone and frequently looked for a fight just to hear it.

 

[Ashcrexl]

i would NEVER turn down a well written piece of music for any reason while playing games because i love music. and are you seriously telling me you cant play slowly when the music is a little uptempo? that is pretty odd

 

[ThirdPrize]

It is probably just me then. I'm just saying that sometimes it can be distracting and can actually get in the way of playing the game. Games, like a good horror movie manipulates you with the music. Sometimes its good to turn that off.

 

[mexicola]

9 times out of 10 the music is enhancing the experience for me, sound complementing the visuals so I don't turn it down, BUT some games have repetitive soundtrack, especially those that aren't dynamic (they keep playing regardless of what happens on the screen, mostly older games). In that case I can turn it off completly if it's driving me insane.

 

[CheesusCrust]

Repetetive sound tracks help me focus, I just have a better feel of the game and the controls when familiar sound is associated. As for boss battle with the frantic sound, this also keeps me on my toes and helps me concentrate.

 

[Jordi]

Some games I can play while half watching/listening to the television if I turn all sound down (for instance in football games, but they don't really have music during the game itself). I think music can really add a lot to the atmosphere of a game, but I usually find it more important to hear the talking (which I have some trouble with), and the sound effects (especially when they help with the gameplay). So often I will put the music slider at 50%, the sound effects at 80% and the speech at 100%.

 

[Daggedawg]

I would never play a game without sound. Just the thought of facing off against the final boss of Terranigma without the insanely epic battle music playing is absurd to me.

 

[PekoponTAS]

The only times I've ever turned off the sound in a game were some of the mini-games in Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales, and puzzle games that require a lot of thinking like The Adventures of Lolo, and Downstream Panic.

 

[omega 616]

I turned it down on DA:O 'cos I like to hear the banter between the people in my team and the music drowned it out.

I also turned down the sound effects 'cos shale's footsteps were pissing me off, each step was a deep boom.

Am I doing it right?

 

[TheDandyHighwayman]

well playing bioware games almost exclusively these days (I barely have any time and when I do I want to be playing good games) I feel guilty not listening to the hard work the writers/voice actors ahve put in but that's just cutscenes, when it's just generic BGM I crank up the JC and sing along

 

[Anarchemitis]

I turn it down in Mass Effect cause its rather boring.
I keep it up in Half Life 2 because its all musical stingers as opposed to ambience.
I turn it off in Sid Meier's Railroads because its background sound effects if anything.

 

[Sixcess]

I always keep the sound on as the music and sound effects are often a big part of a scene - sound in particular is a very important factor in immersion for me.

With one exception. If I'm in the Nether in Minecraft for any length of time I might turn it down because the constant whining of the zombie pigmen is - pun intended - hellish. I will turn it back up if I venture outside my caves though, since the sound cue that warns me of incoming Ghast fireballs is not something I want to miss.