Is music important in a game?

[Hijiri]

If your game is designed with silence in mind then I won't mind, but you best have a decent sound design because if it's dead silent then I get the feeling that the creator just wanted to cut corners. I'm someone who is a bit of an audiophile, and enjoy the music most games have. It helps that some tracks can help set the mood better than any description ever could.

[trooper6]

I can only recall one or two VNs I have played in which the music wasn't that good, so I just hit mute.

I recall one VN where the music was terrible. I didn't mute the music, I stopped playing the game. The OP doesn't care about music at all. This makes me afraid that if they feel pressured to put music in, they will put in terrible music.

I'd rather have a game with no music than terrible music.

[Green Glasses Girl]

I'd rather have a game with no music than terrible music.

To be fair, music is very subjective, but if the game is specifically designed not to have music (and just has sound effects), then I think not having music is fine. I can't really make a judgement because I don't know what kind of VN is being discussed (for example, horror games can work with or without music, depending on the situation). If it was a high school otome, I would definitely expect some kind of music for romance scenes. Again, it varies.

[Arkentut]

I think it is; music sets the atmosphere and sometimes affect how we read the stories and experience the game. Although, on the other side, I personally think music is optional when it comes to setting the atmosphere when the game itself already had fitting sound effect.

[SmellyMouse]

Sometimes music is good for a game. Sets the scene.
But if it's just tossed in there because the creator thought it HAD to have sound and music, then
the players often notice.
Make the game you want to play and have fun.
If you do have fun and if you don't, it shows. <3

[namastaii]

Honestly, it's your game. People will either like it or not like it either way. But for personal opinion, if you aren't going to put music, you could maybe think about putting a few fx sounds here and there at least when clicking certain things and such. Just a thought. You could potentially choose a really really simple repetitive background melody looping in the back at a low volume so it's barely noticeable but it still adds somewhat of an atmosphere to your game if you're really that worried.

[CarrotyCat]

Is music an important or vital element of a visual novel, for you?

I ask because I actually hate music in games and mute virtually everything I play because I'd rather be listening to my own music, but I don't want to hamstring my game's chances of other people liking it because I left out something I could have put in, if it really is that important to other people.

Is a game being silent a deal-breaker for you? (Even if it's a free amateur VN?)

I think that its all about empowering the player. They should be given the choice if he/she wishes to have music or not, via a BGM mute or volume function.

[Keryee]

Music's an important part of setting the scene-- it can really help with the emotional impact of a scene. While you're in no way OBLIGED to provide music, it would probably improve the overall quality of the game.

[h-honey]

I agree with what everyone's been saying about music setting the tone, buuuuuuuut I don't think I've ever played a VN with the music on. I'm really weird about timing, and you can't time things like that when the player decides when to proceed. So it just loops until they get to the point where the next song starts and then it changes suddenly in the middle. I usually just play my own music, and change the song based off of what kind of mood I think it is -- although I have missed important sound effects because of this.

It's definitely interesting to see how many people need music in their visual novels, especially when I wasn't planning on putting any in mine, OTL.

[Quelcezot]

Using music can be extremely powerful.

Depending on the music playing, or the lack of music, a scene with the same text and images will be interpreted completely differently.

One serious note of advice - you refer to your own preference as being to play your own music instead of the visual novel's own. Regardless of your own choice, if you choose to make a silent visual novel - the experience of the people who read it will likely be of silence.

Silence is also powerful. If you don't want to use music that's fine, and using music just to fill the silence is much worse.

But assuming that the people who play your visual novel will supply their own soundtrack would be a potential worry for me. If you imagine that there will be some form of music playing for the person reading, and then supply no music yourself - this may cause some unintentional disconnect between your intentions and what the reader interprets.

It may even be worth stating before the visual novel starts that there is no music because you would like to invite the reader to use their own. If you word it nicely, that could be quite pleasant.

I agree with what everyone's been saying about music setting the tone, buuuuuuuut I don't think I've ever played a VN with the music on. I'm really weird about timing, and you can't time things like that when the player decides when to proceed. So it just loops until they get to the point where the next song starts and then it changes suddenly in the middle. I usually just play my own music, and change the song based off of what kind of mood I think it is -- although I have missed important sound effects because of this.

It's definitely interesting to see how many people need music in their visual novels, especially when I wasn't planning on putting any in mine, OTL.

Using music in visual novels isn't like using music in films, you're right. But it can still fit and be just as effective in its own way. You don't just have to go through a sequence of looping ambiance tracks either. You can use slow build ups or short bursts of music to introduce new events or characters, before settling into a calmer loop. Or you can even play a piece and let it finish - leaving the reader in silence. You can let one piece of music linger after a scene ends, and use that to keep hold of a certain feeling. You can intentionally cut a piece off without fading out.

Pretty vague and abstract sorry, but I don't think the use of music in visual novels is mechanically inferior to that of films - just different.

[KiloTango]

I don't think I've ever played a VN with my own music playing, even if the music in the game isn't great. Music can do so much for the atmosphere of the story (see everything in Quelcezot's post above) so if I'm listening to my own music it'd be like taking headphones into a subtitled film. You're not going to be getting the whole experience the creator actually designed and you're going to miss the atmosphere cues the soundtrack brings.

Then again I think that's also because if I wanted to read something with my own music I'd read a book or a comic. The whole multimedia element of VNs is part of what makes them interesting for me, and your milage may vary there

I wouldn't avoid a VN because it was silent if it was really well done but I'd probably feel there were some missed opportunities if it didn't at least use atmospheric effects instead.

[MimirollCookie]

I played a visual novel without a music. It's Sacred Sands!
Even though the game doesn't have music, it's great overall.

So my answer is maybe. Maybe yes, maybe no. Because a visual novel can be great without music too, if the story is top-notch.

(My opinion )

[Aviala]

I prefer games that have music, or if not music then an ambient soundsscape track on the background (like wind blowing, birds calling, car noises...). I never listen to my own music when I play games, and I really appreciate a good game soundtrack. Complete silence can be very intense; it can be used effectively in certain scenes in a game that otherwise has music, but having no music or at least ambient background sounds sounds risky to me. As others have said, it could definitely work, but usually players expect some sort of sounds.

[Chancellorchile]

Yeah, music is def important to me as a player. It isn't a deal breaker. I would just expect it to be meant to be played in silence. And if that wasnt the case I would think something's up

[killdream]

In a VN? Sound is very important for me, it helps set the mood, it complements both the art and the writing. But you do need to design your experience with that in mind for it to work, of course. So if you want to use only some particular features of the medium (VNs let you combine text, visuals, and sound), by all means, go for it. If you design something to not have sound, then it couldn't possibly be a "deal-breaker" as I'm still getting the full experience you envisioned