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EVE Evolved: Music to watch the stars by
EVE Online received some big graphical overhauls with the recent Crucible expansion, and every ship will have its graphics iterated on in future patches as part of with the ongoing V3 project. A great deal of time and money is poured into keeping EVE's graphics at the bleeding edge of the industry, and yet the game's music has barely changed since launch in 2003. Warped ambient compositions like Red Glowing Dust gave a feeling of depth and scale to early EVE's empty universe, and the electronic beats of tracks like Below the Asteroids and Merchants, Looters and Ghosts have become iconic sounds of EVE. The music still manages to impress new players, but with so much of EVE being overhauled, I think it's time to give the music another look. Very few game studios pay as much attention to music as to graphics, the user interface, or gameplay, but the right music has the power to completely transform a player's experience. Just like in a movie, music can evoke an emotional response and so alter a person's perception of events. Fighting monsters in a fantasy MMO or shooting down pirates in EVE might not be a terribly epic activity, but throw in some epic music and suddenly it feels a lot more real. I wrote about the psychological effect of music in MMOs several years ago, and the topic is as relevant today as it was then. In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at three different types of music that could improve EVE and suggest how CCP could take advantage of each type to give EVE the soundtrack it deserves.
Breakfast Topic: What do you listen to while playing?
I was raiding with my guild last Tuesday evening, and while we repeatedly wiped and had ever more tense discussions about why that was happening, I noticed that one of the guys talking on Vent sounded like he might be playing WoW in the back room of a nightclub where a particularly energetic rave was taking place. I also know a few people who have the TV on in the background while murdering bosses with their guild, whether to provide a distraction or because their other half wants some entertainment while they're completely entrenched in a virtual world, I'm not sure. I don't listen to music while raiding, and especially not while PvPing. I need the audio cues to establish whether my spells are coming off, whether I'm critting (restoration shaman make a funny little noise when that happens), whether certain effects are landing, whether that warrior is Bladestorming, and so on. Of course there are visual clues as well, and for many people they will be sufficient, but I often find that, particularly in the Arena, I need all the help I can get! Also, while I do my best to keep track of every player at all times, in a 5v5 match, it's quite feasible that I can't keep my camera pointing at all 10 people, so the audio helps a great deal. I also find that music or TV can be distracting. This is, of course, not leveled as a criticism to those who do play with music in the background, as ever with gaming is a case of diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks. I can completely understand the use of music as a motivational tool or to amp yourself up for something challenging or to calm yourself down when things aren't going as you'd hoped.
World of WarCrafts: The WoW Soundtrack Project
World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music and fan fiction. Show us how you express yourself; contact our tips line (attention: World of WarCrafts) with your not-for-profit, WoW-inspired creations. You don't listen to the game music while you're playing WoW? Really? Maybe it's stopped giving you shivers. Or maybe it's just not atmospheric enough. This week, we have a solution: the WoW Soundtrack Project. WoW-playing composer Jejin (US The Venture Co.-H) is quietly building an entire library of alternative vanilla instance zone soundtracks. This sprawling soundtrack project, which is still winding its way through the early zones such as Ragefire Chasm and Razorfen Downs, is not meant to be listened to on its own; it's meant to be incorporated into your in-game experience, as background music to set the mood of the instance zone. We talked to the talented 17-year-old composer about breathing new life into old zones with these atmospheric pieces.
The Daily Grind: Is in-game music necessary?
I hate to say this, and I sincerely hope that any sound engineers who might be reading this will forgive me, but when I get into a new game, the first thing I do is turn off the background music. This is not to say I don't think the music is good; in fact, many times it's great. I bought the Warcraft III soundtrack, f'r cryin' out loud. But when I drop in-world, ready to kick some ass and take some names with at least one apostrophe in them, I'd rather just immerse myself fully, and that means only hearing the environmental and ambient soundtrack.Or I'll listen to my own music, preferring the juxtaposition of modern instrumentation with medieval visuals. Or I'll even just listen to the Penny Arcade podcast, if I get lonely for the sound of human dialogue. Am I alone in this? Am I missing out on a wonderful experience by omitting a piece of the whole that was engineered to enhance the gameplay experience? How do you feel about background music?
What's your favorite music to play to?
Don't get me wrong, I think some of the background music in many of the MMOs I've played is downright fantastic, full of sweeping moments, uplifting passages, and sections of near-earworm quality. However, everyone's taste is different; the same piece of music cannot appeal to every player equally well. And there are, regrettably, moments when what the game has for you to listen to just doesn't do justice to what you're feeling at the time.So, what do you put on instead? Do you prefer to have some Alice In Chains for those dungeon crawls? Indulge in Beethoven for battleground free-for-alls? A little Kraftwerk for ... for craftwork? Or do you just let whatever's in the queue play on? I'm curious; lemme hear it!
