The Art of Noise

[Thea Nightwind]

Anyone have a bead on what the musical soundtrack for HJ may sound like?

 

[fips]

i saw this in a recent article. i'll try to dig it up for ya's.

 

[Cobalt Katze]

Not a clue, but as a composer myself I'm especially interested in how it will be handled h34r:

 

[frostydf2]

The music will be compsoed in-house, and by off-site GM's. I have actually refered an individual to work for Simutronics in the sound department, and from what I hear he has been brought onto the staff, and is working hard.

 

[fips]

ok, so not much that it was a recent article, but that i had recently read it.

Originally posted by article

MMORPG.com:

Music often plays a substantial role in creating the atmosphere in a fantasy game, and often MMORPG developers hire world renowned composers to create music for their games. Frequently, the music is dynamic, allowing it to change from a traveling score, to a combat score, to an idle score depending on what you are doing in the game. Who is composing the music for Hero’s Journey, and how will music be handled in game?

Melissa Meyer:

Music is being composed in house along with help from our GameMasters. The music in Hero's Journey follows the cultural lines of the races and groups within the game. Each race, Human, Ilvari, Stoneborn, Suwari and others have particular styles and instrumental preferences. Where Human music is jovial, pointed and strong often using concertinas, guitars and tamborines, Ilvari music is beautiful, delicate and soul reaching played on wood flutes, harps and double stringed lutes. Songs composed in these styles will be heard in taverns and inns, played by bards and minstrels. Many of the songs will be available to be purchased or learned from travelling bards, and playable by your character if they have an instrument to play.

In addition to the cultural music, dynamic background music will be done, changing with situtation of your character and influenced by the nature of the danger as well as the strength of the threat.

[ linkage ]

 

[crisisfox]

Now for the obvious question:

When I reach level cap, can I have a theme song so people know how badass I am?

 

[deathmetal]

I heard a rumor that the music is going to be composed by Cannibal Corpse..

 

[fips]

i saw cannibal corpse open for pantera about ten years ago. down in sacramento. along with anthrax. least i think it was cannibal corpse.

 

[JonDDA]

I hope that the music will blow me away. I liked the music in the cinematic trailer for WoW. I liked the stormwind music, I HATED the Orgrimmar music.

*THUD THUD THUD, THUD THUD THUD, THUD THUD THUD THUD THUD THUD THUD THUD THUD* over and over and over and over.

 

[MikeDold]

in most games i get tired of the music they have and usually end up turning on the itunes. i really hope the HJ music is decent.

maybe some metal and industrial? i would wet myself.

 

[Cobalt Katze]

Originally posted by MikeDold@Jun 26 2006, 03:46 AM
in most games i get tired of the music they have and usually end up turning on the itunes. i really hope the HJ music is decent.

maybe some metal and industrial? i would wet myself.

In a fantasy RPG? I would certainly hope not.

 

[Jaraeth]

Originally posted by MikeDold@Jun 25 2006, 08:46 PM
in most games i get tired of the music they have and usually end up turning on the itunes. i really hope the HJ music is decent.

maybe some metal and industrial? i would wet myself.

egh... nuh uh... some instrumental and perhaps some Trance, goa trance is good ... electronica in general is good... of course, my favorite subsect of electronica would have to be Techno/Trance.

Pink Floyd, Enigma, Tangerine Dream... they all have some good electronica or electronica-like music B) Pink Floyd's album Meddle had some good trance-like tunes on it.

~ Jaraeth

 

[fips]

i turn on some sort of ambient stuff. somafm's groove salad or spy one... can't think of its name just yet. based off 007 movies. anyways, both great chill stations.

 

[Duraenos]

Background music is important to me and it helps create an atmosphere when in combat or happening to find something or someplace in-game. Too many games dont have any BG at all. The only two games I have ever played that have awesome BG music are Horizons and Guild Wars. Unfortunatly most of their music only cues when entering a settlement of some kind or during combat. There needs to be BG even when randomly hiking in the wild. I love the sounds of nature in those games, but it gets TOO quiet alot of the times. BG helps to break up the monotony of going from point A to point B and back to point A to get quest update to go back to point B etc...

 

[Karetyr]

Now I have to spend a lot of time in Ilvari territory.....wood flutes.

 

[Cobalt Katze]

Originally posted by Duraenos@Jun 26 2006, 01:54 PM
Background music is important to me and it helps create an atmosphere when in combat or happening to find something or someplace in-game. Too many games dont have any BG at all. The only two games I have ever played that have awesome BG music are Horizons and Guild Wars. Unfortunatly most of their music only cues when entering a settlement of some kind or during combat. There needs to be BG even when randomly hiking in the wild. I love the sounds of nature in those games, but it gets TOO quiet alot of the times. BG helps to break up the monotony of going from point A to point B and back to point A to get quest update to go back to point B etc...

Music's a tricky thing in MMOs. There's really a fine line to walk between either a) Giving them too much and hence the player gets bored of it and turns it off for his/her own tunes... Or B) Not giving them enough, hence making them not want just little snippets of music and therefore turning it off entirely.

I personally was raised on japanese RPGs where music is omnipresent and looping, which may skew my opinion slightly, but I believe it to be a solid one. As long as you keep it simple and catchy, there can always be music.

Basically what this means is:

+ Small groupings of instruments work very well, especially for areas of civilization
+ Ambiance, whether through sustained instruments or synth pads, can help to sustain mood while keeping music in the aural environment
+ More developed tags can be added to introduce areas and brought back periodically
+ Catchy melodies and often interesting harmonies will keep the player interested,
- Whereas stale harmony and bad melodies will drive them away
- Too large of an ensemble or too epic of a sound will be out of proportion for normal MMO gameplay. Every battle is not an epic one, but if it drags on long enough there can be room for development in battle music if the engine allows for it.
+ Fights against named or boss creatures ought to recieve an aural clue from the music as well, which so far has never been done in an MMO.
- Blaring unimmersive elements such as electric guitars or blatently electronica synths in a fantasy world where neither would exist take the player out of the fact that the music and game are one in the same.
+ On the other hand, rock-like or electronica-like music can be created with instruments that convey the setting. Style is not limited to instrumentation.

Just my personal two, or more, cents on the matter

 

[Foxeye]

Originally posted by Cobalt Katze@Jun 26 2006, 04:43 PM

+ On the other hand, rock-like or electronica-like music can be created with instruments that convey the setting. Style is not limited to instrumentation.

That is something I'd love to hear in an MMO!

I'm listening to something right now, "Vandraren" by Nordman, that is just that. I'm listening pretty hard and all I can hear is pipes, stringed instruments, one of those hand shaky things (I forget the word), and a beat generated by...err...I think it's actually a harsh sort of clapping. It helps, of course, that the singer has a smoky, gnarly voice. But anyhow, very rock like, but nothing obviously electrical or synthetsized.

 

[Dyngo]

Originally posted by Foxeye@Jun 26 2006, 10:03 PM
I'm listening to something right now, "Vandraren" by Nordman, that is just that.

Holy moly, Foxeye!!??

If you are from US, im totaly supriced youre listeing to that.

Now, why would I be so supriced over someones taste of music, you ask? Well basicly because I didnt know that guy released record outside skandinavia...*shrugs* And the odds of meeting an American that has stumble over that record?? Well it would be the day I would post a lotteryticket

Eller så är Foxeye svensk, och har, liksom jag, hittat en trevlig sida om det mest intresanta onlinespelet hittills.

...woops, pardon my french

and sorry for posting way out of topic, but I couldnt ressist.

 

[Foxeye]

Yeah, I'm from the US, but I cheated...I'm married to a Finn. Unfortunately for the US, I don't believe the albums have made it over here. What I have I bought from finland.

 

[Eve_CinVin]

I listened, it's catchy, kinda folksy. Different.

I'm referring to Nordman.