Okay over the last few months I've played some very amazing mods, and they are not just amazing because they are fun, they are amazing because they are a treat to just about every sense we hold dear as gamers. The one thing I want to talk about more then the others is the soundtracks that these mods have. These are unbelievable scores that in my personal opinion rank up quite high with professional scores from big budget movies and games, and the problem is I only notice them once the music is out of the game. And that sucks, why? Because the music compliments the gameplay and the art directions so much that together as a whole package it only improves the game itself.
Am I just not paying attention to the music? I notice it but it never seems to stand out, I realised this after playing The Nameless Mod for Deus Ex which involves quite a bit of walking around, needless to say the down time is when the music really stands out because I'm currently not preoccupied with other things. Another example is when I play Project Reality for Battlefield 2 the music only plays during the times when your accessing the menu and loading a map. During the time when I'm in the menu I don't notice the music but during the loading screen its a different story.
I like to think of myself as an average gamer who is in a position to let people know about my thoughts on things (ie the Podcast work I do), and I hope I'm not the only one who feels that the music in mods are being almost waisted, sure a good score helps the overall package but its not needed, you can make a mod without music yet it will remain the same. There must be a better way to show off the music within a mod, make the music apart of the game not just a side dish.
I agree, to an extent. It's true that music is often not notices on a conscious level (although after working on a mod or game with music you'll certainly pay a lot more attention to it) but it still greatly enhances the ambiance of a map. Music can totally change what the player is feeling as they walk through an area, blow something up, or sneak past some baddies.
It does seem that music is sometimes overlooked, though, and it certainly commands a huge amount of respect when done correctly. I've been toying with an idea for a game which would focus solely on music as a storytelling element. I've love to construct a narrative that is told completely without dialogue, using only music and the actions of the characters on screen. It's something I'd love to prototype and see how it plays, anyway.
Yeah I will agree with that but after talking with Brian (Tatsur0) from ZPS, I have come up with a few examples of games that use music for gameplay elements. There is Gears of War; when you destroy a horde of locust and music is used to signify the end of the fighting stage, Killing Floor has the same thing here. And then there is Left 4 Dead which gives each boss or each attack its own piece of music, turn that music off and you have a very different game.
So games are doing it in a very small way, I would like to see what people can come up with tho.
Deus Ex (and TNM) has different music for combat, conversations, death, etc. So even back in the day it was done. It definitely tends to blend into the whole experience, though.
I disagree Dave, the music makes the loading time in PR so much more bearable. The fact that they fill it with something that gets you riled for the upcoming battle is a plus. It's as much a part of the design as an in-game menu or HUD display. If it WASN'T there you would instantly feel something would be off. Just because something is subtle doesn't mean it isn't being maximized - it's all the little touches that bring a game/mod together :D
I think you contradict yourself a bit. You say that music is only noticed when it's not there (which is also true for me), but then you say music is wasted because it's not necessary. The problem is that a game without any music will often seem quite empty - music sort of adds atmosphere and mood to the world, imbues the game with emotion and meaning that would otherwise be missing.
When I played Deus Ex back in the day, I never really noticed the music (except in the Hong Kong market where it's a lot less ambient than other levels and a lot more melodic, so it stands out), but when I listened to the music by itself a couple of years later, all the memories of my first playthrough came flooding back, and I realized what a huge impression the soundtrack subconsciously left on me.
Never underestimate the importance of the subconscious :)
You make a good point, though I cannot shake that feeling that mods don't have that same effect...