Have you ever felt that a change of music(or anything) might alter your future gameplay experience?

[Bellator Pius Gratus]

Hello!

I've not posted a poll for some time. I've not posted anything near like I used to do back in the day. But now I have the time...so.

Bear with me, this is a strange one.

Today, we see games long before they are released. This is deliberate of course(unless they are leaked), and might give the developers some heads up or feedback.
Obviously, the devs should be allowed to make their game however they want.
But I am curious, and something is bothering me.

I am an immersion player of games and I really really like atmosphere in games.
So naturally, when an upcoming RPG is bound my way, one that I've longed for anyway, I tend to start building my character in my mind.
Possible names, background, skills, possibilities, what have you.
A year ago when I saw gameplay of Cyberpunk 2077, I started my build.
Now I've been daydreaming prior being shown gameplay, but the gameplay video gave those dreams a lot of substance.

I have faith in the devs, and always will have faith in them. Yet when dev changes change my immersion, well, I'll have to adapt I guess.
But I'm not liking it. Let me explain.
Even before Keanu walked out on that stage, I was a rockerboy at heart. I've read the pen and paper manual over and over.
So seeing that you could pick a childhood hero in Cyberpunk 2077 there was no question whom I would pick.
That is until I heard the new version of Chippin' In. I can't...I just can't really say I like the changes. At all.
Well it's not true, about 2:42 into the song it actually gets somewhat good, though that lasts for about twenty seconds.
I've forced myself to listen to the song time and time again...and no...just no.

Now this isn't a major problem, and it's not my call, but with the old version gone why would my character have Johnny Silverhand as a childhood hero?
Sure, there will be other songs, but this really threw me off.
Hell, I even considered Saburo Arasaka as childhood hero for a second(yeah, as if, guess I'll go with Morgan Blackhand) but these thoughts got me curious.

No matter, and childhood hero aside as it might not be relevant, my question is this: Have you ever felt anything like this regarding an upcoming RPG?
Have you ever felt that a slight change such as music, a change of character, or anything really that alter your experience negatively, might alter your future gameplay experience?
Prior playing the game, damn it!

If you have, please share!

Now, even if I hope for better Samurai music, this is not a discussion regarding old versus new version of Chippin' In.
I am just curious if I am alone in this.

EDIT: I just noticed the weekly poll after posting mine. Coincidence I assure you!

 

[CyberBobber]

I dont get this old vs new chipping in topic. More important is that devs know to pick right song for right place and time in the game, imho.

I find that for Racing Games Music can be very important. Good music can lift decent racing game to good etc.

 

[Sild]

Yea, the "childhood hero" thingy isn't in anymore. Very early concept in development.

Things change, this was one, a minor one, but a change nonetheless.

Now we have backgrounds. Corpo/Street Kid/Nomad.

There will be different genre's of music in the game. That's just Samurai style, as far as we know.

 

[CyberBobber]

I listened Refused a bit and gotta say it should work just fine, especially in a game where you have alot more to think than just listen to music. Too groovy music and such, player ends up listening music instead of playing the game.

 

[MrBaconbread]

Music is a way to set my mood, that's it. Aggressive music = aggressive playing style, calm music = playing calmly.
I wouldn't like it if Skyrim had Metal or jazz music, it would not really fit. So in that case of change in music I do understand you, but I don't really have that feeling in this game. In this case it's still in the same music genre, just not what you expected, and like you say, it's just one song. We need to wait and see how everything will fit in the end.

For the most part, games usually use the right music. Maybe not always the music I expected or listen to personally, but I still see how it fits the game and why they put it in. So I play the game and my mood changes if the music change, but I have never had a really bad experience just from the "wrong" music.

 

[CyberBobber]

Less gameplay, more important music is, if asked from me. I wouldnt want to put the music in the way of gameplay either.

 

[Draconifors]

No, I haven't. It's extremely rare that I even truly look forward to a game release, and when I do I adjust my expectations based on new developments in, well, development.

This is because if I'm truly looking forward to a game that means I'm convinced it'll be good no matter what changes may be made between public showings. Music can be changed, major gameplay changes can occur, but at the end of the day it's still going to be the game I'm truly looking forward to.

If I'm not truly looking forward to something then I don't really care about what changes are made to it during development.

 

[PCDania]

Not music but "or anything". Some games have a problem in that your cross hairs is exactly on the point you like to hit but the weapon is placed in such a way you instead hit what ever you are hiding behind.

 

[Bellator Pius Gratus]

Thank you for your answers!
Just something I had to ask.

 

[Ambergeddon]

As long as the music fits the mood I'm fine with it, for a game like this I want it heavy and hard to get my blood pumping.

 

[EngryEngineer]

I've played a number of games where the music/sound really make you feel like you are in a different place or establish a mood/tone perfectly and the game would have been worse without that.

I haven't had a situation where I anticipated something from marketing/promotional/pre-release material that changed before publication and that changed my experience. It is one thing to muse about what kinds of characters you want to play, and another to have concrete plans for it before seeing the final implementation, that way only produces disappointment.

 

[atomowyturysta]

"Or anything" is as vague as it is broad. If "anything" means "A single, crappy song that is no longer in the game" the answer is NO. If "anything" means "the core aspect of the game that makes it what it was supposed to be", then the answer is YES.

 

[Secretz]

Music choice in a game is very important to me, a bad choice of music can even be the deciding factor if I have to make a decision between a couple of games. Take a game like Red Dead Redemption 2, for example...imagine if instead of the atmospheric music that plays now and then, we were treated to the soundtrack to Cats, or if the only music available for Forza Horizon 4 was Disney show tunes. While this might be amazing for some, it could make me skip the game entirely in favor of other games I'm interested in with actually good music (no offense to fans of the aforementioned examples, but personal opinions and such).

That's why I wish more developers, especially those making open-world games with radio stations, would follow Rockstar's example of Self Radio and let us supply our own music. An even better example of how to handle a game soundtrack would be how Double Damage Games did it with Rebel Galaxy, where music was divided into various folders for different musical situations, such as combat, exploration, etc. Letting the player control the music would be ideal and even save developers money as they don't have to pay music licensing fees...unfortunately, the consoles prevent this ideal situation from happening.

 

[CyberBobber]

As long as the music fits the mood I'm fine with it, for a game like this I want it heavy and hard to get my blood pumping.

Are you talking about mood of the player? It isnt really possible unless there was somekind of "tracking mechanics" so the game could learn stuff about you. I think it would be quite awesome if the game learnt stuff about you, so it could give you more specific rewards and such, if you are into guns, you use multiple different kind of guns and like to switch the, the game could give you some "gun/weapon/violence" lore, for example.

Post automatically merged: Jul 30, 2019

That's why I wish more developers, especially those making open-world games with radio stations, would follow Rockstar's example of Self Radio and let us supply our own music. An even better example of how to handle a game soundtrack would be how Double Damage Games did it with Rebel Galaxy, where music was divided into various folders for different musical situations, such as combat, exploration, etc. Letting the player control the music would be ideal and even save developers money as they don't have to pay music licensing fees...unfortunately, the consoles prevent this ideal situation from happening.

Im not sure if self-radio fits for the world, at least I imagine NC people to be self-centered and narcissistic, usually those kind of people doesnt like to do nothing for themselves, instead they expect people do it for them. So, some kind of tracking mechanics could make sense if asked from me. Im not sure though if its technically possible. So yeah, self-radio for Cyberpunk isnt so called "perfect match".

 

[Metropolice]

Music and sound scape are among the most vital aspects in delivering an experience.

Music. Makes. Mood.

Don't need to be a movie director to know this. But frankly, having some amateur level video creation and editing experience with marketing and a target audience in mind helps. Even then, as consumer, you surely notice the differences the "right" (subjective, though) composition can make.

Test it yourself. Picture a game or movie scene. Start it bare. Black and white and mute. Now add color. Add sound (no musi, only dialogue or sound scape like noises). And lastly add a fitting music track or piece to the scene in your mind. A difference of worlds.

I won't forget a scene from the movie series where the protagonist lives in some isolated city where people live in castes. "Divergent" is the name. Like the movies or not but in the first one there's a somewhat powerful scene where the protagonist talks to their sister or someone in another area and it was more of a critical or ominous, important talk. The protagonist then walks away, camera on the front, dystopian/futuristic music starts and in addition to what just happened content wise and what the character wears, you get this sudden "wave" of future / dystopia. The perfect or sufficient composition to generate or provoke an emotion in the viewer or consumer.

It's just an example of where music makes mood. While a lot is subjective you usually have (in my view) certain things that work and don't work. Such as action music usually working better in dynamic races or shootouts than you being in a shopping mall or walking down a perhaps busy (pedestrian wise) but otherwise calm city street.

It might seem OT a bit first but it all plays into account here. While a lot is subjective the right composition delivers the best impact. A soundtrack can be part of this.

If you first hear a good one (V in apartment with old chipping in as example) and "tune in to it" and then see a change in the same scene (new song) it can alter your experience. Take my example from the Divergent movie above. Same or very comparable scene, track changed to one you dislike more than the original. Bam, changed experience.

Music makes mood. So you could literally have the same scenes and changing the music can make it feel like a different world, for better or worse.

 

[Secretz]

Im not sure if self-radio fits for the world, at least I imagine NC people to be self-centered and narcissistic, usually those kind of people doesnt like to do nothing for themselves, instead they expect people do it for them. So, some kind of tracking mechanics could make sense if asked from me. Im not sure though if its technically possible. So yeah, self-radio for Cyberpunk isnt so called "perfect match".

I respectfully disagree. All Self Radio is is just the game supplying the usual DJ banter, advertisements and occasional news reports reacting to the players actions (if this game's radios even have that), and the player supplying the music, not really that difficult to do as Rockstar managed to do it first way back in the day with San Andreas. Also, if there are already multiple radio stations with various music formats, I don't see how one more that the player can program themselves doesn't fit this game world.

 

[CyberBobber]

I respectfully disagree. All Self Radio is is just the game supplying the usual DJ banter, advertisements and occasional news reports reacting to the players actions (if this game's radios even have that), and the player supplying the music, not really that difficult to do as Rockstar managed to do it first way back in the day with San Andreas. Also, if there are already multiple radio stations with various music formats, I don't see how one more that the player can program themselves doesn't fit this game world.

Maybe you are right, and its probably too late. Music is very likely to be done already.

It would be nice to listen Radio while playing the game, and then there was some kind of stuff "This song is for V " etc. At least somekind of twist in radio feature.

 

[Secretz]

Maybe you are right, and its probably too late. Music is very likely to be done already.

Probably, but its never too late to add something post-launch...

 

[Ambergeddon]

Are you talking about mood of the player?

I mean the mood of the game, like for a racing game I want fast and loud music to get my blood pumping but say with a stealth or horror game I want it more subtle and atmospheric.

 

[CyberBobber]

I mean the mood of the game, like for a racing game I want fast and loud music to get my blood pumping but say with a stealth or horror game I want it more subtle and atmospheric.

I also hope this, but I also hope the music is more "present" instead some background music.

We know Samurai is Hardcore Punk band. Thats probably the "general" mood, kinda "the way its meant to be played".