Name: Jason Preston
Bio: Jason is an opinionated, intermittently absent bundle of frequently misplaced enthusiasm.
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How Important is Music in Video Games?
What a weird, question, right? How important is music? It's that background stuff that keeps you company while you frag. What do you care if it's trance, dance, hardcore electronic, rock, or symphonic? Right?
I think there's a lot more to it than that.
I think there's a lot more to it than that.
Half-Life
I played a bootleg copy of the original Half-Life (I've bought the game since, of course), and it had no music, because it didn't require the CD to play.
When I finally played a version with the music - it almost ruined the game for me. It's not to say that the music in Half-Life doesn't work; clearly it works pretty well for most of the gaming population. What it did was dramatically change the experience.
Picking music style for a game is just as important as picking the right music for a movie. The wrong soundtrack will destroy an otherwise fantastic experience.
When I finally played a version with the music - it almost ruined the game for me. It's not to say that the music in Half-Life doesn't work; clearly it works pretty well for most of the gaming population. What it did was dramatically change the experience.
Picking music style for a game is just as important as picking the right music for a movie. The wrong soundtrack will destroy an otherwise fantastic experience.
No Music
And there's the no music choice, too. I had a great, creepy time playing Half-Life with no music. I'm willing to bet that a lot of games could benefit from a healthy soundtrack-gutting.
I don't have a list ready of course, but I think it'd be an interesting experiment for people to try.
I don't have a list ready of course, but I think it'd be an interesting experiment for people to try.
My Favorite Soundtrack
My favorite game soundtrack of all time is definitely the MIDI music that goes along with TIE Fighter (I think it's a big part of why I think TIE Fighter is the greatest game of all time).
If you haven't heard it, you absolutely need to.
If you haven't heard it, you absolutely need to.