[DGN] Music (was: Re: [MUD-Dev] Better Combat (long))

[Zach Collins (Siege)]

On Sat, 7 Aug 2004, Douglas Goodall wrote:

> For instance, Mozart is near the order/chaos boundary, but most
> music is not. The notes/beat of most songs are too
> ordered/repetitive/self-similar while the sound of modern pop
> music is much closer to chaos/noise than Mozart. Some modern music
> is much closer to the K2 boundary (jazz and fusion, for instance),
> but they were never as popular as the repetitive stuff.

> Color me old, but this combination of repetition and noise makes
> modern music simultaneously dull and unpleasant, much like the
> majority of computer games. Perhaps "art" near the K2 boundary
> only seems superior to elitists like myself.

Hardly; or maybe I'm also one of the elite.  As I see it, music
(especially in games, just to keep things related here) has one
purpose: to instill emotion.  Modern music (by which I am assuming
you mean the techno-related genres) has its jazz-like elements, but
cheap pop music still rules the planet.  And cheap pop includes lots
of comforting repetition in its elements.  Combine that with the
aggression/noise of things like hip-hop and the mindlessly
body-pounding beats of most club music, and you have audio which I
go to some lengths to avoid.  The emotion it instills in me is
mostly dissatisfaction.

Let's take the recently-discussed subject of .hack//SIGN, and poke
at its music.  A lot of people are going to say that many of these
pieces just retreading old paths, but each piece is designed to
offer a specific emotion or story.  "Key of the Twilight", since it
has lyrics, actually tells a story of wanting to go places and do
things that aren't possible in the everyday world.  Yet "Valley of
Mist" also tells a story: this one not written in words, but in
emotional overtones describing what might be a journey or an
experiment.

The music of Diablo 1 and 2 works well as background audio for
several hours, but it eventually becomes boring and repetitive.
One's mind becomes dulled to the theme of medeviality, depression,
and distortion. Turning off the music reveals how simple the game's
audio really is, and why the music is there - a musicless Diablo (D2
especially) feels far too barren and friendless a place for me.

I'd say that good music, as related to a game, has to fulfill these
criteria:

  - helps expand the setting

  - integrates with the theme already present in visuals and
  gameplay

  - helps set a mood

  - matches well with the player's current activities in-game

  - does not overwhelm the other artistic elements

  - contains enough variety to stave off boredom for another few
  hours

But that's just me.

--
Zach Collins
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