I'm not a gamer!

[Les Harper]

I used to play Battlefield a few years back, but other than that, not much into games.  What game would you recommend, based solely on the music?

[DavidQuaas]

I personally loved the Outcast and Baldur's Gate-Scores! They are both pretty old though, I guess around 10 years now...

[James Semple]

The Witcher is one of my favourites although make sure you get the 1.5 version if possible as it comes with extra music.

[Kristin Burdal]

Red Dead Redemption, Resident Evil, Bayonetta, Castlevania... Oh, Age of Conan is a great MMO with totally kick ass music. And... Almost everything made for Snes back in the days has awesome music. There are so many games with great music. :P
I'm no gamer myself, but fortunately I have gamer friends, and therefore get to hear alot of great game music.

[DavidQuaas]

James & Kristin: What kind of games are The Witcher, Castlevania, Red Dead Redemption, Bayonetta and Age of Conan? And do you know if they're worth playing them?

[Kristin Burdal]

DavidQuaas said:

James & Kristin: What kind of games are The Witcher, Castlevania, Red Dead Redemption, Bayonetta and Age of Conan? And do you know if they're worth playing them?

Castlevania, Red Dead and Bayonetta are all adventure games, Age of Conan is kind of an adventure game too, only it's a MMO (online game).
I'm surpised you haven't heard about Castlevania before, since there are quite a few games in the series. But okay, it's like... You run around in castles and stuff, fighting enemies, and solving puzzles. The latest game in the serier just came out, in October I thin. There you're going around fighting the evil forces in the world... And so forth.

Red Dead is set in the wild west. I don't remember the storyline, but something like that you have to do missions for some bad guy, so that you eventually can go home to your family. This game is made by the same people that made Grand Theft Auto, so the game is kind of just the same, except you ride around on horses instead of driving cars.

In Bayonetta you play this hot ass witch. I don't really now the storyline for this game either, but from what I've seen of it, I'd say it's somewhat like Castlevania, but you're evil, fighting Gods and good stuff. This game is set to modern time, but the gameplay is kind of like "on the other side", where humans can't see you. ...I think.

Age of Conan... Well, have you heard of Conan, the barbarian? It was like a TV-series, and there's movies and comic books about it. The game is like based on that... I know vry little about it. :P It's an online game and the music rules, and it's from Norway (yeaah).

Now, you should read about the games, it will probably be of more help to you. :P
Please excuse my bad English...

[DavidQuaas]

Hey Kristin,

very nice, thanks a lot! I know now why I haven't heard of those games.. They all seem to be for X-Box oder PS, right? Except Age of Conan, which is for Windows. Damn it, I just have my little macbook and that's all.. ;)

That's why I keep playing Counterstrike.

David

[Kristin Burdal]

DavidQuaas said:

Hey Kristin,

very nice, thanks a lot! I know now why I haven't heard of those games.. They all seem to be for X-Box oder PS, right? Except Age of Conan, which is for Windows. Damn it, I just have my little macbook and that's all.. ;)

That's why I keep playing Counterstrike.

David

Yes, quite right. That explains alot. :P Oh, and I advise you to get a PS3.

[Jimmy Hinson]

Castlevania Symphony of the Night has all kinds of amazing music from waltzes to gothic to synth rock to new age. It's truly a masterpiece, and the game isn't all that hard. Side-scroller type game, originally for the PlayStation 1, so it's pretty old, but the music is outstanding. Terrible voice acting though ;)

Left 4 Dead series is an amazing example of how the music can really really effectively enhance the gameplay. It actually directly integrates with the gameplay, as the music will often clue you in on certain events that are about to happen. It's not the kind of thing you'd want to just listen to for fun (or maybe you would, who knows!) but it's a great example of how music can and should properly set the tone in a horror-esque setting.

Mass Effect 1 & 2. I hear that series has decent music, hee hee ;)

Super Mario Brothers Galaxy 1 & 2. I haven't played these, but the music is great. It's Nintendo/Mario, so the games should be easy enough to play through. But the new orchestral takes on some classic Mario themes are pretty neat.

Unreal Tournament series (1999 or UT3 are most recommended IMO). The former is done by Alex Brandon and others, really awesome tracker-based electronic music. The latter is based a lot on the 1999 themes, but much more modernized with high end samples and synths. First-person shooter deathmatch type games.

Halo 1,2, & 3 - hugely popular first-person shooter series. Marty O'Donnell did a fantastic job with the music.

Portal - actually, I recommend this game to anyone and everyone regardless of the music. It's easy enough that pretty much anyone can beat it, though it will require you to figure out some EXTREMELY clever puzzles. It's a first-person shooter(ish) game, but very easy to play, even for non gamers. The credit music is one of the finest pieces of music EVER WRITTEN.

Bioshock 1 - Pretty interesting story, might be difficult playing curve for a beginner, but has a pretty compelling 1940's-ish type score.

Terranigma - a lesser known/popular game for the Super Nintendo, you can pretty easily download an emulator like ZSNES and just find a ROM for it *ahem*. It's a pretty amazing story and outrageously moving music, in spite of the limitations of the SNES soundcard.

Borderlands - another first person shooter that has some pretty interesting electro/guitar/western/tribal type music.

Mirror's Edge - first person shooter/platformer (jump around and try not to fall/die) type game. Uses a lot of very modern sounding ambient and glitchy music that I personally find stunningly beautiful.

Crysis - not a particularly easy game for a beginner, but one of the best shooter games I've ever played. Great setting, great plot, great voice acting, and while it's nothing groundbreaking, the music fits great too.

Half life 1 & 2 - Can't say I'm recommending these for the music, they're just some of my all-time favorite games. Pretty much anything made by Valve software is going to be good.

Resident Evil 4 - Third-person shooter type game. Not exactly easy, but when you get the hang of it it's fun. Pretty darn scary too (well, it was for me the first time I played it) but the music does a great job of keeping things spooky (in case the dark/evil setting and creepy monsters aren't doing a good enough job).

A lot of RPG (role playing games) usually have pretty extensive scores, but I personally don't play a lot of RPGs because they can just get so in-depth and require so much time to play that it can be a bit overwhelming, especially to a beginner or a casual gamer. If you're just interested in the music, you can usually find the soundtracks to most any game available to listen to on youtube if you'd like to just hear the OST without playing the game. Hope this info helps!

*edit* Whoops, I just now saw where you said you used to play Battlefield. Groovy, if you're no stranger to FPS's then, you'll probably do well with a few of my recommendations then :)

[Les Harper]

WOW! Thanks for all the info, Jimmy. This is great. I'll definitely snag a couple of your recommendations. I'm actually a pretty good player -- just don't spend much time doing it any more. Thanks again.


Jimmy Hinson said:

Castlevania Symphony of the Night has all kinds of amazing music from waltzes to gothic to synth rock to new age. It's truly a masterpiece, and the game isn't all that hard. Side-scroller type game, originally for the PlayStation 1, so it's pretty old, but the music is outstanding. Terrible voice acting though ;)

Left 4 Dead series is an amazing example of how the music can really really effectively enhance the gameplay. It actually directly integrates with the gameplay, as the music will often clue you in on certain events that are about to happen. It's not the kind of thing you'd want to just listen to for fun (or maybe you would, who knows!) but it's a great example of how music can and should properly set the tone in a horror-esque setting.

Mass Effect 1 & 2. I hear that series has decent music, hee hee ;)

Super Mario Brothers Galaxy 1 & 2. I haven't played these, but the music is great. It's Nintendo/Mario, so the games should be easy enough to play through. But the new orchestral takes on some classic Mario themes are pretty neat.

Unreal Tournament series (1999 or UT3 are most recommended IMO). The former is done by Alex Brandon and others, really awesome tracker-based electronic music. The latter is based a lot on the 1999 themes, but much more modernized with high end samples and synths. First-person shooter deathmatch type games.

Halo 1,2, & 3 - hugely popular first-person shooter series. Marty O'Donnell did a fantastic job with the music.

Portal - actually, I recommend this game to anyone and everyone regardless of the music. It's easy enough that pretty much anyone can beat it, though it will require you to figure out some EXTREMELY clever puzzles. It's a first-person shooter(ish) game, but very easy to play, even for non gamers. The credit music is one of the finest pieces of music EVER WRITTEN.

Bioshock 1 - Pretty interesting story, might be difficult playing curve for a beginner, but has a pretty compelling 1940's-ish type score.

Terranigma - a lesser known/popular game for the Super Nintendo, you can pretty easily download an emulator like ZSNES and just find a ROM for it *ahem*. It's a pretty amazing story and outrageously moving music, in spite of the limitations of the SNES soundcard.

Borderlands - another first person shooter that has some pretty interesting electro/guitar/western/tribal type music.

Mirror's Edge - first person shooter/platformer (jump around and try not to fall/die) type game. Uses a lot of very modern sounding ambient and glitchy music that I personally find stunningly beautiful.

Crysis - not a particularly easy game for a beginner, but one of the best shooter games I've ever played. Great setting, great plot, great voice acting, and while it's nothing groundbreaking, the music fits great too.

Half life 1 & 2 - Can't say I'm recommending these for the music, they're just some of my all-time favorite games. Pretty much anything made by Valve software is going to be good.

Resident Evil 4 - Third-person shooter type game. Not exactly easy, but when you get the hang of it it's fun. Pretty darn scary too (well, it was for me the first time I played it) but the music does a great job of keeping things spooky (in case the dark/evil setting and creepy monsters aren't doing a good enough job).

A lot of RPG (role playing games) usually have pretty extensive scores, but I personally don't play a lot of RPGs because they can just get so in-depth and require so much time to play that it can be a bit overwhelming, especially to a beginner or a casual gamer. If you're just interested in the music, you can usually find the soundtracks to most any game available to listen to on youtube if you'd like to just hear the OST without playing the game. Hope this info helps!

*edit* Whoops, I just now saw where you said you used to play Battlefield. Groovy, if you're no stranger to FPS's then, you'll probably do well with a few of my recommendations then :)

[Jimmy Hinson]

Anytime. :) If you're a PC gamer, I recommend downloading Steam (it's free) www.steampowered.com (just click "Install Steam" at the top) and checking their deals. They always have CRAZY deals throughout the year, and I expect this coming Black Friday Week will be no different. You'll probably be able to pick up the Half Life series AND Portal for under $10 (The entire series, not just one game). I snagged Crysis on there for like $10 (normally $30). I mean, they honestly have insane deals. Sometimes they'll do something like "Buy every game made by ______ for $50" which literally gives you like 20+ games for the price of one new one.


Les Harper said:

WOW! Thanks for all the info, Jimmy. This is great. I'll definitely snag a couple of your recommendations. I'm actually a pretty good player -- just don't spend much time doing it any more. Thanks again.

[Les Harper]

Thanks. I would definitely be a PC gamer, so heading to Steam right now.

While I've got you here, let me ask another question. How does the form usually shape up for game music? Is it a continuous loop that plays when you're in a particular room, or pieces that play between actual game play, during dialogue or story-lines or when the pause button is pushed?



Jimmy Hinson said:

Anytime. :) If you're a PC gamer, I recommend downloading Steam (it's free) www.steampowered.com (just click "Install Steam" at the top) and checking their deals. They always have CRAZY deals throughout the year, and I expect this coming Black Friday Week will be no different. You'll probably be able to pick up the Half Life series AND Portal for under $10 (The entire series, not just one game). I snagged Crysis on there for like $10 (normally $30). I mean, they honestly have insane deals. Sometimes they'll do something like "Buy every game made by ______ for $50" which literally gives you like 20+ games for the price of one new one.


Les Harper said:

WOW! Thanks for all the info, Jimmy. This is great. I'll definitely snag a couple of your recommendations. I'm actually a pretty good player -- just don't spend much time doing it any more. Thanks again.

[Jimmy Hinson]

Well, it really depends on the game. Older games usually just have music that plays depending on what area/level you're in and keeps playing until you go to a different one. Newer games, especially action-type console games are moving towards adaptive audio, which is really cool. Basically, the music changes depending on where you are AND what's going on. Sometimes there's silence until something happens. In Mass Effect 2 for example, for each level we would have to write several themes that typically followed this set: Introduction cinematic, 2-3 conversation pieces (conversations are interactive), an Exploration theme (and sometimes a variation), 2-3 Combat themes plus 3 variations of each (full, low, and tension which would change out depending on how many enemies were in a particular proximity to you), and a Boss battle theme (with the same variations).

Left 4 Dead as I mentioned also does a phenomenal job of adaptive audio. If the players are taking too long to get through a level, they might hear a musical cue to indicate that they're about to be attacked by a horde of zombies. If there is a witch (very bad zombie) nearby, there will be some really eerie music that plays and gets louder as you get closer to her. If you startle her and she starts chasing you, the music changes to something very panic-inducing. If a tank zombie (huge zombie boss) is approaching, he'll be prefaced by a big brass musical cue. It all works out really well, and it keeps people from turning the music off because it "gets old" or something, because the music is a huge help to assist you in being aware of what's happening or about to happen.

Puzzle games, side-scrollers, children's games etc on the other hand usually don't bother with adaptive audio.


Les Harper said:

Thanks. I would definitely be a PC gamer, so heading to Steam right now.

While I've got you here, let me ask another question. How does the form usually shape up for game music? Is it a continuous loop that plays when you're in a particular room, or pieces that play between actual game play, during dialogue or story-lines or when the pause button is pushed?