Atmospheric Music in Video Games

[SynthesizedStampede]

Hey all, I'm doing a project in one of my classes regarding sound and music in video games. We decided to split the topic down into three subtopics and one of the ones we chose were "music in video games that help set the atmosphere".

So, considering this is a website dedicated to video game music, I'd figure it would be a good place to turn to for examples of great music that set the atmosphere. What I'm asking of all of you are just music in video games that you feel really set the mood and tone of the area/environment/cutscene to you.

We already have some ideas such as Metroid Prime's Phendrana Drifts being a good "cold area mixed with technology" song, but want a larger variety of music, and well, we've only played so many games.

What are examples of music in games that really set the atmosphere of the surroundings?

Thanks in advance everybody.

[XZero]

I would recommend the "Sinking Old Sanctuary" as used in the Art Gallery in Castlevania 64: Legacy of Darkness. Stylistically, it's a dark, classical piece, using [synthesized] strings for the main melody. It conveys a sense of darkness while retaining a strangely foreboding elegance. Alternatively, "Stairway to the Clouds," found in both versions of CV64 is a nice dark choral theme.

[Zephyr]

Shadow of the Colossus PERIOD. Also a lot of Zelda stuff such as the field theme (TP), makes you feel like an adventurer even if it's not "atmospheric".

[Effef]

Metroid Prime. It's music is absolutely the best thing about it, and it totally makes the atmosphere and feel of the game.

[OverCoat]

Hey - a Seattle guy. Finally! Let's make out!

I appreciate when music fits - a point I recently emphasized with THIS:

http://www.moddb.com/members/overcoat/addons/overcoats-fallout-3-music-replacement-pack

I really like game music when it sounds like it comes from the world itself - for example, Arcanum was a victorian-era steampunk game, so it would naturally have a string quartet plus light percussion and a sprinkling of electronic pads.

Age of Mythology is heavily traditional cultural stuff, so naturally the sound designers composed music with a lot of real-world folk instruments, which helps you to kind of "get into the groove" of the game, so to speak.

Turrican just wouldn't be the same without the epic, uplifting hero music the series is famous for. Without it I think it'd just be yet more random difficult shooters from the 80s and 90s

On the flip side, the lack of music can be appropriate sometimes - See S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl. The game completely lacks any kind of background music, save for when a NPC whips out a guitar at a campfire and plays a tune while you pass by, or you hear a faint radio in the distance, and a woman [who surprisingly sounds like Pixietricks] is singing on it. Outside of these areas, when you're all alone, the atmosphere is so thick with the sound of nature that you really feel like you're there, and I think music would spoil those moments. STALKER is a bit of a different breed though, one that aims for ultra-realism [despite the fact that there's magic black holes and mutants walking around] and immersion, instead of these other games i mentioned where it's more a "cinematic" experience i.e. you're a total badass and you've got the hero music to back you up.

[friendlyHunter]

I'm sure you've already thought of Super Metroid.

And since I feel the need to mention this game in just about every thread about videogames: System Shock 2. There were places in that game that freaked me out just because of the music. The style was bang-on for a sci-fi/survival/spaceship/horror/whatever, and the sound design overall was phenominal. The music was remarkably in-tune with the feeling of the current area or situation, whether it was "I need to get out of this place", "holy shit this shit is awesome", or "this has to be the 100th time I've run through these corridors (panting and sweating!)... this song is practically an anthem now". I can imagine that game would have been a lot different without the music.

I have no idea if this was intentional, but:

Part way through the game, there is this one area with incredibly calming (yet still eerie) music. I have no idea if this was intentional, but it really forced me to think "I've been killing

and

for so long that it's become disturbingly... normal, for me." That's not really setting the atmosphere of the current setting per se, but more the atmosphere of the entire story/experience.

Also, I absolutely loved how, in many areas, waiting or hiding would make the song gradually end. Then you could hear evey little noise (and there were a LOT), until the game felt there was enough energy to start some upbeat music again.

Now that I think about this though, I'm probably not helping very much; unless you've played the game, it's going to be hard to take what I just said and successfully convey it to another audience =p

[Nyuura]

Jeremy Soule's stuff always blows me away. Guild Wars, Neverwinter Nights, and Morrowind/Oblivion come to mind.

[Hobocop]

The Donkey Kong Country series. Sure, a lot of games tried to complement the thematic nature of their stages with reciprically topical soundtracks, but this series was among the best (if not the best) in doing so. Every time I hear the music, my mind drowns my attention in the visual aspects of the stage. But since I figured I was biased (having played the games, and their having a big influence on me) in my judgments, I played the music to some friends who had never played the game. I asked what kind of environment the music conjured up, and I was actually pretty surprised how accurate a lot of the responses and descriptions were (you know you're a nerd when...)

That being said, I think most game music succeeds (to an extent) in recreating the visual aura of the location in which they are played. To me, it's actually one of the prerequisites and even expectations of game music. I think that's one of the unique aspects that game music brings that other styles or contexts don't subscribe to (at least, not nearly as much). Even classical songs can be adapted to a game to recreate the atmosphere in one way or another (Parodius being one of my favourite examples). Also Super Mario Galaxy.

Edit: I just realized that I didn't talk too much about specific tracks! Sorry (almost any in those games would be good, though... I don't think you have to look very far for what you're searching)

[Kureejii Lea]

Definitely the Metroid series.

Legend of Mana's City of Flickering Destruction is a good one. Sad, lonely, beautiful, kinda gives a feeling of both regret and hope... very fitting for a city that's only an echo of itself. There's a lovely version on Drammatica: The Best of Yoko Shimomura.

FFVI's Terra also has a bit of that hope/regret with a sense of epic travel. Come to think of it, so does Searching for Friends.

Baten Kaitos Origins: The Ruins track is haunting with just a subtle hint of creepy. Brings to mind dark, overgrown forests. Deep Red Pastures on the other hand invites you to stroll into a small village, pick an apple off a tree, and sit in the grass talking with the locals (there was a version in BK: Eternal Wings but I prefer this one).

Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles... Eternal Oath is eerie as hell, and In the Gloomy Darkness has a lonely, curious quality to it.

[Necrotic]

Save music from Resident Evil games. Such a majority of the game is intense and scary with lots of dark ambience. Then you get to a save room and suddenly a feeling of calmness and relaxation exudes from just being in that partciular room, so that your heart rate returns to a normal pace, and you can finally get a grip on everything that just happened over the past 30 minutes of your life spent unfolding this immense mystery and battling some of the most terrifying creatures ever imagined. Then the minute you step away from the room you get that small dose of tranquility ripped away helplessly by the sheer crushing ambience of what comes ahead, to great effect. It's brilliant. It may not technically be robust music, but the sheer ambience the music that is in the game provides makes or breaks the experience entirely.

I thought about it because me and one of my house mates are going through each individual RE game.

[Olarin]

Forest temple in Ocarina of Time.

Also, for music that is slightly less 'atmospheric' but still sets the appropriate atmosphere, Ultima 7. Not only the music itself, but the way it's used; the game doesn't barrage you with music all the time, but subtle tunes play in certain areas of the game or for certain reasons, and may or may not loop depending on why they were invoked. None of the tunes are instrusive, yet most of them are still memorable, and there's a consistent texture to the entire soundtrack as a whole that seems to fit appropriately with the aesthetic of the graphics and the rest of the game.

[Stargem]

TIE Fighter comes to mind, in the sense that game changes the music to match the action - things like how well the mission is unfolding, whether or not there is fighting going on, ect. The introduction music is also good, especially in how it changes the traditional Star Wars theme to one that matches the Empire. Below is a link to that introduction, both as an video and a stand-alone MP3.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaFaBJWWPZU&feature=related

There is also La-Mulana, which has a very nice soundtrack. One of the interesting things about it is how all of the boss soundtracks are remixes of a single theme. Mix this in with the chip-tune stylization of the music and how each piece matches the game's graphical style...well, it just comes together. The game is set among ancient ruins, with a whip-cracking protagonist to boot, so having music that sets the tone of adventure and mystery is important. Here is one of those songs.

[Xenon Odyssey]

The Myst series

[glasfen]

The original Fire Temple music from Ocarina of Time really set the tone for that level:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_nCxM9ofhI&eurl=http://video.aol.com/video-detail/zelda-ocarina-of-time-music-fire-temple-chanting-vers/3731807441/?icid=VIDURVMUS10

By the way, are you differentiating sharply between atmospheric sound and atmospheric music?

Eternal Darkness (mostly sound)

Eternal Darkness

Super Paper Mario, Underwhere theme

[BardicKnowledge]

Seconding Jeremy Soule's work, especially Morrowind.

Most of Ragnarok Online's soundtrack does this sort of thing very well also -- especially Prontera's theme.

[Triad Orion]

Going with a third on Soule's work, based on Oblivion alone.

Someone brought up TIE Fighter, and I'd also like to second that. X-Wing Alliance attempted to do a similar thing but it's questionable if it came off quite as well.

Those are definitely worth looking into, I agree.

[Matney X]

I'll add a fourth to Soule's work, but it's all from Icewind Dale. Pretty much anything from Black Isle was good, though.

[Tex]

Flashback: The Quest for Identity

Sound effects are pretty interesting as are the songs in the cut scenes.

The music is not played during gameplay all the time, but when it does, it brings a mood of curiosity and danger which fitted quite well for this kind of game.

[DJMetal]

I'm surprised nobody's mentioned this (that I saw). The Silent Hill games (especially 2) have amazing music and sounds that set the atmosphere of the game. Hell, the games are pretty much all about atmosphere and how god damned scary a little fog can be.

This video isn't a great example, but I think it does the trick =D

[Shadow Wolf]

Xenon mentioned it above, but the Myst series has tons of excellent examples of music used to set atmosphere. Myst and Riven especially, because Robyn Miller I think knew the material he was composing for better than Jack Wall or Peter Gabriel ever could. I think it's specifically worth looking at in those games because they depend ENTIRELY on sound and images as the backbone of the game. No real interface or Hud, no moving parts... just you and the music and the pictures, and an occasional Quicktime video.

[Red Shadow]

how bout beyond good & evil

[Olarin]

Oh yes, I have to reinforce the Myst series reccomendation, the first game in particular. Not sure why I didn't think of that one immediately (I still listen to it all the time).

[Antipode]

I will second:

Beyond Good and Evil

Certain Myst songs

Whole Metroid series

All Temple themes from Zelda games

[Toadofsky]

how bout beyond good & evil

I second that statement.

As well as Ecco: Defender Of The Future. Great music in that one!

[SynthesizedStampede]

Wow everybody, thanks for all the replies? We really appreciate all the recommendations.

And with the recommendations of Myst, can't believe we totally overlooked that one. We were even talking about it in class and how the music definitely helped immerse the player within the game.

Will definitely take a look into all the games mentioned so far.

I'm actually playing through Beyond Good & Evil right now, and agree that the music is a pretty noteworthy part of the game.