The General Videogame Thread

[Gilrond-i-Virdan]

@Blothulfur: Deus Ex is a gem. It's one of my most favorite action RPGs together with VtM Bloodlines. And it works in Wine perfectly. There were some plans to make a native Linux port of it in the past (by the well known Loki games) and even some initial effort, but it never materialized and was eventually shelved. A pity game engine was never open sourced. They should really open it up (Unreal Engine 1).

 

[Blothulfur]

Now that is one game I truly regret not discovering earlier, it is a masterpiece and remains unmatched in so, so many ways.

What do you mean by nobody using 'it'? Do you mean playing tracks players are familiar with to get an emotional reaction?

Ish, more making it a feature of the game, like horror games and the old Thief series did. Seems like sound and music are an underused thing considering the power they weild, mind you implementing that into a game would be I imagine a right bugger.

 

[Gilrond-i-Virdan]

Deus Ex title theme is my favorite there: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1oxIrAX39M&list=PL1C572B526934FD97

 

[ReptilePZ]

Ish, more making it a feature of the game, like horror games and the old Thief series did. Seems like sound and music are an underused thing considering the power they weild, mind you implementing that into a game would be I imagine a right bugger.

Not quite sure what you mean. One of the few things games have been doing better recently is music; blending it more and more with what's happening, getting better composers etc. Even in titles that aren't considered all that great. ME3, for example, may have been the worst game in the trilogy, but it had the best OST. The CoD games may be rehashed garbage but their music is top notch. As for games that are actually good, recently Metal Gear Rising did a fantastic job of mixing tracks in such a way that the music flows really well with the action, each boss theme having several stages and certain parts being played at key moments.

 

[Dona.794]

Ish, more making it a feature of the game, like horror games and the old Thief series did. Seems like sound and music are an underused thing considering the power they weild, mind you implementing that into a game would be I imagine a right bugger.

I see - and I actually agree with @ReptilePZ, videogame music has been really amazing lately. It depends on what you like, of course, Deus Ex 1 had very specific/memorable tracks, the kind you memorise and are able to recognise pretty quickly. I'm into more ambiental/quiet tracks like the Deus Ex 3 and Grey Matter OSTs, and I actually had this strange experience with the DX3 mobile spin-off (The Fall) where the re-used music made me feel very confused because I automatically connect them to places from Human Revolution.

Oh, and I have to agree with the Mass Effect sountracks. Those games have never even gotten close to my computer, but every time I hear a track from the series it definitely catches my attention because of how beautiful it is.

 

[ReptilePZ]

I actually had this strange experience with the DX3 mobile spin-off (The Fall) .

Oof, you actually played that one? Can't imagine it went well.

 

[volsung]

I think what Bloth means is not just having music accompany the action, but determine or set the game's context and mood, and even suggest underlying themes. For instance, an overused trope in horror movies and games is having tense music (usually strings) with unresolved harmonies or a certain level of dissonance to reflect stress or anticipate scary situations.

Maybe what games could incorporate, now that high quality soundtracks are an option, is the leitmotif concept largely used by composers like Richard Wagner. Some games that do use it are the original Prince of Persia (1989) and Loom, both games from the old MIDI era. Essentially this entails composing short themes for different elements and concepts (sword theme, falling theme, love theme, enemy theme) as mundane or abstract as you wish, and then using them to enhance or highlight situations, objects or characters, suggest their motivations and even create entire musical pieces by mixing and arranging these conceptual pieces. For instance, mixing the spear theme with the fate theme with the sorrow theme to illustrate Odin smiting Sigmund, followed by a mix of the sadness theme and the valkyrie theme (disclaimer: doesn't represent the actual composition, just an example). Or using the mystery or psychotrip theme structure around a character to suggest he might not even exist.

Anyway, so many possibilities. Music is powerful and can participate in-game, not just accompany it.

 

[ReptilePZ]

I think the mood the music here is trying to set is quite obvious, so I'm still unsure what you mean exactly.

 

[volsung]

I think the mood the music here is trying to set is quite obvious, so I'm still unsure what you mean exactly.

"What the leitmotifs do is give the listener a clue as to what the character is doing, and thinking, and feeling (...) You know these things before the characters on stage do."

Music as a narrative element vs. music as (just) embellishment.

 

[KnightofPhoenix]

I don't know, to me the latter is not only a more moving piece of music, but far more reflective of the game's themes, ambiance, and mood.

Which is not to say that I dislike the former. But the latter conveys the gravitas of the story and the genre of cyberpunk a lot better imo.

As for leitmotif conveying a character's feelings:

 

[ReptilePZ]

I think what Bloth means is not just having music accompany the action, but determine or set the game's context and mood, and even suggest underlying themes. For instance, an overused trope in horror movies and games is having tense music (usually strings) with unresolved harmonies or a certain level of dissonance to reflect stress or anticipate scary situations.

This is what I was referring to, not your leitmotif idea.

But I think the video I linked actually addresses that as well. There, the music starts playing quite early, so the player is aware something's about to happen before the character. So, not only does it set the mood, but it also prepares the player for what's about to happen.

@knightofphoenix Yep, there are a lot of examples of the usage of music in games evolving. As for Deus Ex, as much as I love and respect Alexander Brandon's work, I was never a fan of the Deus Ex soundtrack. I loved his tunes in Jazz Jackrabbit 2 where it felt like progress in Platformer soundtracks, but when I got that platformer, old console feel in a PC RPG (I mean, it might as well have been the OST to a Castlevania game), I wasn't really impressed. It just felt like that OST belonged in another era of video games.

Michael McCann hit the nail on the head with HR's OST though. Loved his music in the new XCOM as well.

 

[Dona.794]

Oof, you actually played that one? Can't imagine it went well.

It was alright, but nothing to write home about. They nailed the atmosphere, the story is decent (the writing, not so much...) and it's fine as long as you accept it as a simplified, one-shot experience. I liked Ben (the protagonist) and they touched upon the topic of Neuropozine addiction and showed some really ugly slums, along with hobo-looking hobos/addicts (for a change). It had a twinge of DX1, I dare say.

 

[Blothulfur]

Sorry had stuff to do. The original idea that came to me is still half formed in me noggin, it's not to have music representing themes but for the music to be the theme. Something like a tone poem and i'm not even sure if this represents it correctly, but more of an evolving audio experience than can change and adapt as it encounters more notes and melodies. Point of fact I don't even know if this would be a game.

Something like Debussy's LaMer with a chance to interact with and guide the orchestration? As I say the idea was half formed while listening to the Deus Ex theme, and i'm not a musical person or even very creative so i'm not sure I can put across what I thought of, it was very eh ephemeral?

Probably my head just being weird again.

Edit: Not criticising modern game music as I generally like it and I agree that HR's theme was generally a better one than the first game, though I don't think the game was as good as the first one, but it was an adequate successor.

 

[Gilrond-i-Virdan]

Which is not to say that I dislike the former. But the latter conveys the gravitas of the story and the genre of cyberpunk a lot better imo.

My favorite cyberpunk music theme is The Blue Valley (it's featured in Uplink).

http://modarchive.org/index.php?request=view_by_moduleid&query=37685

This theme is supposed to represent the hacking atmosphere and it does it just great (and fits in the game brilliantly).

 

[Cs__sz__r]

http://m.incgamers.com/2014/03/banished-fixes-being-worked-on-and-mod-tools-still-in-the-works

Bummer.

 

[Alan989]

So, is anyone here playing Warframe? I'm considering downloading it and I'd love to hear any opinions on the game before I do.
:hmm:

 

[ReptilePZ]

So, is anyone here playing Warframe? I'm considering downloading it and I'd love to hear any opinions on the game before I do.

You might find this thread useful: http://forums.cdprojektred.com/threads/29035-Warframe-(f2p)

 

[M4xw0lf]

Still playing Sacred 2 (already spent a little over 50 hours on it... I didn't even know I had so much time to spare :huh - and I just remembered the female armor bingo...

... when I looked at the Seraphim armor sets. Examples:

Yes, instant Bingo in almost all cases ;D

Only exception:

Now actually this is the set I'm using, coincidentally ^^
Not because of the non-sexist looks of it, it just goes best with my character build, which focuses on the BFG buff.

 

[Gilrond-i-Virdan]

High heels for armor boots? That's even worse than bikini chainmail. Reminds me this:

 

[Gilrond-i-Virdan]

Just got Risen on GOG. It plays decently in Wine (but there are a few issues like mouse turning bug). It's an RPG. So far it looks interesting and the story isn't boring.