We'd like every game reviewed to let us play our own iPod music, but it is still important that each game has it's own music - it creates atmosphere, expectation and emotion, as long as the choice is right. Where it isn't, we have our own tunes to listen to - but if you've picked correctly, it may even give us the encouragement to go out and buy the music.
There are also times where we've purchased video-game music just on the strength of the experience within the game.
It's a great surprise when a game is offered for a small download price with great music - indeed, Zen Bound's 19 minute Ghost Monkey soundtrack is lush electronica, with sampled real world instruments - it complements the relaxing vibe perfectly. Upon purchasing the game, you are given a download code for obtaining the music for free - something that more people should consider doing. Another example of this is Edge, which has music that would be worth the sticker price for the game alone - it's available for free.
However, there are also times where we've purchased video-game music just on the strength of the experience within the game. A recent example is that of Rolando 2. Mr. Scruff has quite the back catalogue, and ngmoco have definitely been through the full works looking for only the most choice tunes - they give the game a fun, upbeat atmosphere that gels well with the characters on screen. Rolando 2 also offers a 'music shack' which allows you to preview and buy the exact tunes that are included in the game. Similarly, Car Jack Streets introduced us to many fantastic upcoming artists, a few of which we'd go out of our way to listen to outside the game. The game offers many different radio stations (genres) which is a clever way of giving the player the choice of music to listen to.
With clever design, you can make both music and game inseparable. Will Tuttle was an artist we'd never heard of until Up There was released. A composition that starts off slowly and then gets faster and more energetic completes the (eventually) fast paced gameplay - this careful selection of music fares a whole lot better than a cheesy loop.
With clever design, you can make both music and game inseparable.
Be careful with loops. The best music choice is one that provides variety - if you use loops that are catchy and not too short, but use a lot of them, then you can avoid the player hearing the same 30 seconds over and over. If you're designing a game to be playable for 5 minutes or less this is not so important, but remember even a very short simple game could be played for hours on end! If your game is addictive enough, of course. The best example we could find of tight looping is Sky Burger. The music is really good, but it starts to grate after even 5 minutes with the game, simply because it's on such a short loop. The best way is to provide two or three additional tracks, like Space Ninja does - they're all long, but a track change happens every few levels, keeping the musical accompaniment fresh.
Even if you're not using licensed music, choosing a likeable musical score may just be picking a handful of tracks that have energy and power (as in Blackbeard's Assault, a fun pirate themed puzzler), or that create a relaxing mood (such as Mecho Wars where the atmospheric music complements the strategical decision making you'll be doing most of the game). Certainly, don't ship without music - whilst some games can get away with it, those are usually the ones that have great sound effects or are brilliant in other ways. Set the stage. What mood do you want to create for your game?
Circuit_Strike.One excels in all of these areas. Not only is the music synced to the action, nuances in it's sonic soundscapes evoke a technological setting, one of danger, tension and warning. There is no other soundtrack that we could match to CS.One, and yes whilst we could wish for more of the same songs, the one it does have fits so well that whenever you hear it you think "Yes, that's CS.One."
When was the last time you felt like that about a game?
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