Lemma Soft Forums

Hello everyone.

Might just gonna ask if music is important in the main game? Or maybe it is just for fun?
Some musics are just for playing, or even suiting it in the events of the game like actions, love scene, or even argument.

I know that music is part of the game, but is it nessecary?

Thanks.

Music isn't necessary, clearly. You can have a game without music. (Heck, you can have a game without pictures. I remember playing a lot of text based games back in the 80s, some of which were pretty good!)

But music does add ambiance, can set the tone, and otherwise elevates the game. (Just like, say, beautiful art or good writing.) So I think it's worth including. (With the caveat that you're better off not having music than having music that doesn't work with the game.)

I see that, thanks for your answer!

I also heard that some visual novels had no music as i last asked since i was new in LSF.

Thanks!

This article may be of interest.
https://www.asoundeffect.com/why-is-sound-important/

Many more can be found by searching for 'importance of music' etcetera.

Music can definitely set a scene or ruin it. It all depends on exactly what kinds of feelings you're trying to convey in the game as well as the mood. Throughout my game, I use music in certain parts for sadness or battles or happy moments. And, other times I just shut off the music and keep it silent because it just isn't needed. Watch a movie or play a game or listen to an audiobook for awesome examples of when to use music. I would definitely suggest a game like Dragon Age Inquisition. It's so theatrical it's like you're playing a movie.

I agree with Ibitz--music can have a big impact on a scene, as well as set the mood. You'd be surprised how a piece of music fading in can immediately shift the emotion in a scene, or signal an important moment. It's not essential, but it can make a huge difference.

Music only adds to the value of your game. Well done sound effects can push a scene to next levels of immersion. Good BGM will do wonders to the scene ambiance.

That said, it's not necessary to make a game. Some purely text based games can pull it off and still engage players. You will need to adjust your writing if you do so choose to add music, especially if you are setting the pace of the scene.

Music is not, on a technicality, not necessary. We know this because there exists music-less games--usually these games were without music because these games were old and there were technical limitations back then for producing sound (Pong). Or the game is an idle game: A game genre where the point is to play the game in the background as you do something else, like writing a report, or listening to your own music (A Dark Room). Here is an infamous example of what can go horribly wrong if you don't design your music (and audio in general) with a lot of thought:



And here is an example of music can not only help a game, but an example of when the music itself is the very essence of the game:



Another video to check out on music theory is this video essay on the use of leitmotifs in the musical Hamilton: