Music in Games

Y'all,

I noticed that many discussion on these boards involve music to one degree or another, so I thought: Why not make a thread dedicated to the topic?
Feel free to discuss anything about gaming music in here. I think it's a woefully underrated discipline in game development, always over-shadowed by the newest graphical gimmicks. And yet, it is -in my mind- just as important as all those other tools in crafting an engaging gaming experience. Maybe more than many of us realize.


One thing is: Graphics get older, they wane. But a good soundtrack is there to stay. I know that fifteen years after my first encounter with Quake, I still get goosebumps when I hear the Quake Theme. Sure, there is nostalgia involved, but how do we actually 'experience' that nostalgia? One of the easiest ways is to listen to those pieces of music. Anyway, I'll take this opportunity of 'first post' to share some of my favourite soundtracks in games.

For example, I still have almost every piece of soundtrack of Quake II in my ear.

Similarly, while I still am fond of Unreal, that has less to to with its graphics or game, but with its awesome music.
Speaking of Unreal, UT'99 had some memorable pieces as well.
Really, the sound of the Unreal engine's music system (.umx format, iirc?) was quite distinct. Deus Ex is another prime example for awesome in umx.

Of course, a perennial favourite has to be the Doom music (can you tell I used to be heavily into fps yet? This is the music for E1M1, the Hangar), and since there's a really good remix...

Speaking of Doom, the other grand daddy of fps for me is the Duke. And again, there are a lot of remixes out there. I think the most famous one is the one by Megadeth.

Yeah, yeah, I will forgo linking the awesome that is the soundtrack of the original Diablo. I think everyone here knows it, and if they do not: do a youtube search. And try to get your hands on that game.


Anyhow - I noticed that much of the gaming music I still recognize and like is from older games (Morrowind* as another example, or Planescape: Torment).

Another great soundtrack I remember is that of StarCraft.

Of course, there are many other pieces I would classify as 'this is what good gaming music is supposed to sound like'.

And as I pondered what my favourite gaming musics are, I realized something: Most of it comes from ten years or so ago. Why is this so? Is it nostalgia from my formative years? Is it that gaming music nowadays is much more 'pop' (i.e. it has to be easy on everyone's ears)? Are the composers less willing to experiment? Or do I just play the wrong games?
Is it both? Something completely different?

I don't know. I just know that music in games sounds to me much more generic nowadays, and has for years. The music of Doom? Many iconic pieces. The music of Doom3? I just remember the intro song, which was... nice. Did that game even HAVE music? I just finished RAGE... and while I did note the vaguely 'Texan' style of the music on the in-game radios, I can't for the life of me remember if the game even had a soundtrack.

Bastion, on the other hand... well, I haven't played it for more than an hour (just got it yesterday), but already this piece has earned a place in my ear. And every time I hear the Mass Effect Theme, I get the urge for another play-through.

Maybe that's part of it: Much of music in games nowadays is generic ambient sound, not a soundtrack that can stand on its own.



*There are a LOT of brilliant interpretations of the Morrowind/Skyrim themes and music out there.

Spot on, OP!

I don't really play new games these days, so I can't make a comprehensive verdict on that subject. But I can say that PoE has some memorable music that really contributes to the overall atmosphere. Unfortunately I can't say the same thing about Diablo 3. While I quite liked the game (yes a heretic here), I specifically turned down all other audio apart from the music on a few of the first playthroughs. And I could not hear anything even remotely catchy...

While I think that most of the popular music in the 1990's was shite, it is remarkable that music in games was so great. I promise it is not just nostalgia, there are really great tunes to be found. Great music does not age...

I would like to share some tracks that I like, maybe there are people here who know them.

From The Original (and best) Command & Conquer: Act on Instinct and In the Line of Fire.

From Doom 2 Downtown.

Basically all of the LucasArts games in the 90's had great music, like Tie Fighter, Rebel Assaults, Indiana Jones series and so on. A great tune is also the theme from The Secret of Monkey Island.

Since OP refused to link Diablo music ;) here something for you: The sanctity of this place has been fouled and It's hot down here.

Ah, now I know what I missed... C&C: Red Alert, and of course the game that started it all. God, yeah, Act on Instinct, Frank Klepacki rocks! And also, Mechanical Man.

And thanks for linking... I just had so many links in that post I thought I'd forgo the most obvious one :-D.

Speaking of Lucas Arts, another great soundtrack: Outlaws. Imo some of the best 'Spaghetti Western' music out there with Morricone's work. Why is the West so underused for games anyhow? I mean, we got Outlaws and then some years later, Red Dead Redemption [not for PC -.-], and that's about it.

You guys are awesome! You all touched upon all my favorite soundtracks from my childhood! :'D

For example deus ex had some of the best tracks ever!

Unreal Tournament had some of the most solid songs, period!

And I could listen to old Command and Conquer songs forever... :)

Diablo 2 Had a fair share of very memorable music as well, and my absolute favorite part about Starcraft was just how soulful the Terran themes were, even in Starcraft II.

Hat's off to UMX, Frank Klepacki, Matt Uellman, Derek Duke, Glenn Stafford and Jeremy Soule!

EDIT: But Japanese games do have some amazing tracks, too! They spawn some amazing covers...

I've never played this game, but I stumbled upon one of its soundtrack and man...

I'm really loving the Hotline Miami soundtrack. Fits the game so well, too:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0ILqWcd214


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYLxlIF7Wn0


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKq9StBZ7tg


Here's a Total Biscuit "WTF is..." video on the game. Highly recommend it for fans of challenging but fair (you make a mistake you get punished, but it's still fun) games:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqS51B4sdGc

@Saivren: The first piece is a bit repetitive for my tastes, but the second really takes my back to the eighties :-D. And hey, aren't those the best games? Where you get punished for a mistake, but NOT when you don't make it?




Aaand I remembered another very good soundtrack: The Secret World. It is mostly subtle, but I don't know... It really grew on me. Now I get the shivers when I hear those first few piano notes. Coincidentally, TSW features one of the best soundbites I ever heard in the history of ever. For those interested: The voice belongs to Alyssa Munaretto, I am told.


And two tracks that led me to explore those artists further:

LAB's "Beat the Boys" - Do not listen to this while driving! I found this in FlatOut.

Chiasm - Isolated. It's a track that plays in the first disco (the one of the Voerman Sisters) you set foot in in Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines. Captured me from the start.

And just to complete the round-up for now: Genitorturers: Lecher Bitch. Yeah, it's also from the VTMB soundtrack. But beats me where exactly it plays.




edit: To give this whole thing a bit of a spin, here's the intro to Dungeon Keeper. I like how the music gains a certain rock-y feeling with its driving beat. I like the soundtrack of PoE well enough (very much so), but I would be totally awestruck if something like this got in. Something fast and driving - not for every zone, but for certain areas perhaps. The Brutus Track is such a piece... let's give it some company!

Excellent, keep 'em coming.

Talking of Blizzard games, I would like to add WarCraft: Orcs & Humans Original Soundtrack and also some WarCraft II goodies.

The music in both WarCraft games is very apparent. But in Fallout 2 for example, it is in my opinion rather understated. Here's the music for The Den. While the music does not shout itself, it creates a great ambiance. Particularly The Den track is just intense, especially if you remember what a hostile place The Den was..

Civilization II is also one of the games I used to play a lot. Here are some tracks from it, one and another. These really stuck in your head in a turn-based strategy game ;)

Great thread, some excellent contributions so far. Brings back memories!

I'd like to second the Warcraft II music. This one is probably one of my favourites:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NB0f6FyCwic

Of course this thread can't go without mentioning the awesome Total Annihilation soundtrack from the venerable Jeremy Soule:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxAyGICmHqM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vls4SdYGrjU&fmt=18