Real Music, Real Bad?

[Roman Candle]

I can't imagaine anything worse than having to listen to lyriced songs in a game. With heavy metal soundtracks as a close second. Both totally ruin the mood of whatever scene they're in.

 

[Yum]

I can't imagaine anything worse than having to listen to lyriced songs in a game.

It can be done. Extremely well actually. Even with hip-hop.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZM5sF6cDa8Y

 

[Sol_Fury]

Lyriced songs can work pretty well if used correctly. The Wild Arms games Alter Code F and Four(th Detonator) both do this for their last battles, and ACF also did it for a particularly important boss fight late on. The lyrics were muted in English, though. There's something cool about having the theme playing during a huge, final battle.
Master of the Wind does it well, too. The secret seems to be to make sure you pick something that fits the mood. "Never give up, never give in" certainly fits the mood for a boos fight.

 

[Roman Candle]

The problem is that lyrics and vocal melody make music in general very specialised. It's very hard to write a song that maintains the kind of neutrality that game music needs to. And think about the accents as well.

 

[Diedrupo]

yeah its bad but if you don't plan on profiting off your game and only make it for fun, for yourself, your friends, and this community, i don't see what the harm is.

 

[Yum]

With heavy metal soundtracks as a close second. Both totally ruin the mood of whatever scene they're in.

ok that i just dont get, that makes no sense. heavy metal tracks work well for modern games with gunfights among a lot of other things.

 

[Lene]

I could probably think of a dozen instances where having music with lyrics in it would be appropriate and would enhance the scene. But you have just be careful with how you choose such songs. Personally if I hear Fergalicious in someone's demo, I'm defiantly going to be "WTF?!"

Original songs with lyrics work even better, and will probably suit your game a lot more.

 

[Granas3 REMIXED]

Real music is fine, assuming it fits with the game. That's why people use them. Oh, and when you consider that bands like the Black Mages and the Spoony bards do "real" music versions of RPG music, there isn't much of a difference.

 

[Roman Candle]

ok that i just dont get, that makes no sense. heavy metal tracks work well for modern games with gunfights among a lot of other things.

Or, for people like me who don't like heavy metal, it's annoying noise. That's my point - soundtrack music needs a certain degree of neutrality and, essentially, inoffenciveness.

 

[Oblivion3794]

1.I depends on what music it is and if it goes with the game...
2What if the copyright date is expiered then what?Can you use it legaly?
3.Im still waiting for reply from people by im going to use real music in my game...legend of the dragoon,final fantasy,ect...Im still doing reasearch on the copyright stuff but if anyone has any input let me know...

 

[Chisel]

Perhaps in some cases, but I cannot imagine "Milkshake" ever fitting into a game.

 

[CorporateGreed]

Or, for people like me who don't like heavy metal, it's annoying noise. That's my point - soundtrack music needs a certain degree of neutrality and, essentially, inoffenciveness.

However I understand where you're coming from, I have a need
to disagree. Although I know Metal is not for the faint hearted,
it is unwise to say it has no place on a soundtrack because it
doesn't have a degree of Neutrality. If you want to effectively
ruin a soundtrack, make it neutral.

The type of soundtrack used for a game depends wholy on the
respective game. (Not in definite case, heavy) Metal can work
extremely well in (futuristic) shooters, and I vastly remember
'Otherworld' from final fantasy X, which was one of the first
songs that actually stood out for me in the game.

As far as inoffeciveness goes... For some people, techno is
offensive too. As can any kind of music be. Some people dub
dissonant tones in a classical piece offensive and 'not neutral'.

I think every soundtrack that respects itself needs a varied
amount of styles going on. But neutrality can essentially kill
a game. If every soundtrack was neutral, we'd end up with the
same moods and styles all over.

EDIT:

On a sidenote, I'm totally in favour of real music, but ONLY
in case of originality. Stolen music should never be used in
your game. If you want real music in your game, find a
composer/arranger or band that wants to share it's music.