Music in VNs-Does Anyone Find It Too Distracting?

[Obscura]

I'm just wondering if anybody else turns off the music in all visual novels when they play.

It doesn't matter how good the music is, I often find I can't focus if on the game if there's background music. Incidentally, I do this for ALL video games I play, not just VNs.

I don't know if it's just a weird quirk of mine, or what. Do the majority of you like having music in the background?

[Sharm]

I do that too. I need a lot of focus when I read and while the music can be okay sometimes, everyone in the house wondering what I'm up to isn't.

[LVUER]

It is said that people with perfect pitch will have difficulties to listen to music and read at the same time, but not for those without it.

I don't find music too distracting when I play VN, in fact, sometimes it sets the mood and I like it.

[Nuxill]

I like a little bit of music when I read VNs. If used properly it can really add to the mood and sound effects add to the immersion, at least for me. I say add music in and if a person doesn't want to listen to it then they have the option of turning it off. Having an option is better than nothing at all.

[fleet]

I didn't inlcude music in the first few VNs I released and received complaints that there wasn't any.
Before that I hadn't noticed that the VNs I had played contained music (when I replayed them I took special effort to notice the music). Now I do pay attention to the music.
I suspect most people prefer music in VNs.

[Auro-Cyanide]

I only have problems reading and listening if the music has lyrics. If it's just music it tends to be just atmospheric. In games with gameplay I often use the music as cues as to what is going on and when I had to watch out for enemies. In VNs it helps to really set the mood. The good thing is that there is an option to turn it off so people who can't concentrate with it can do so

[Nuxill]

I only have problems reading and listening if the music has lyrics. If it's just music it tends to be just atmospheric. In games with gameplay I often use the music as cues as to what is going on and when I had to watch out for enemies. In VNs it helps to really set the mood. The good thing is that there is an option to turn it off so people who can't concentrate with it can do so

Yeah music with lyrics belong at the beginning and end of a game imo, unless you're going to pull something like 4kids and have "The Time Has Come" while Ash is running away from Pikachu. That scene broke my ten year old heart and I'm pretty sure the cheesy music helped.

Also having a unique song for a main theme or for a specific character or scene can make that song popular with the players. How many times have you heard a track from a video game and the memories came flooding back to you?

[Endorphin]

I only have problems reading and listening if the music has lyrics.

^ What Auro said - can't concentrate when there are lyrics.

But other then that I just hate my games mute.
Annoys me.
I need my background music and if it isn't in the game I start humming and this is distracting. v_v
<= When I notice this I usually start playing music from outsite the game (which normally doesn't fit the mood.)
Also, I think that music and sounds are as important as the art - it's supportive for the display of the story. It's expressive. Really, there's so much potential going to waste.

Never knew there were people who disliked it, but maybe LVUER is right and it has something to do with being more musical than I am. :'D
I just feel uncomfortable by removing the music as it's like removing the art - it still works and can be really enjoyable, but I'm removing a part of the game the creator considert essential. v_v
<= That, and just disliking sitting in a silent room (if the game had BGS at least it would be fine)
After all, you got to play the game like you want to.
It would be even more depressing when you just skip through dialouge boxed without getting the message~

- R.

PS. I remembered turning down music once~
It was an RPG and the music was not only choosen badly but the quality was also horrible - removing the sound was the only way to protect my sanity. x_X
(And I always want to turn down the sound in horror games - they're scary. But it's no fun without.)

[Zylinder]

I'm fine with ambient music, but I turn it off when it's loud and rock-ish, to the point where I can't read properly without being distracted. Loud/rock music is more suitable for RPGs, at least for me, because I don't have to read too much when I'm fighting monsters, etc. VNs are mostly reading though, so invasive, action music tends to disturb my concentration.

[nyaatrap]

Only time when I turn off bgm is when a story is too boring and sleepy and can't keep my concentration without metal music. Then turn it off and listen metal while playing the game instead. It may be because I'm Japanese who is "watching" text more than "reading".

[Ziassan]

The strange thing is that you can turn off music but not sprites/art. I play with both "on", but if you think about it, having art moving while you're trying to concentrate on the text should be as disturbing as music. Probably even more because it's the same senses (view) that is used (unlike for music).

Personaly I think a VN is both text, sound/music and art, I wouldn't play a VN without sound/music (unless it's an experimental thing). But indeed music sometimes requires a little time of accommodation/ some perseverance, and it pays after.

Hmm... for instance Umineko without the music wouldn't be Umineko. But in some like Ever17 it's really not necessary (it could have, but... well).

[HumbertTheHorse]

I turn the bgm way down. 9 out of 10 times it is just to repetitive and the melody is, well, not always there. And this is from someone listens to orchestral soundtracks quite often. Bad music hurts the brain you see. Now AAA console games often have lovely background music. Often the best part of the game. In short, I don't think it is a matter of bias but quality.

[Auro-Cyanide]

The strange thing is that you can turn off music but not sprites/art. I play with both "on", but if you think about it, having art moving while you're trying to concentrate on the text should be as disturbing as music. Probably even more because it's the same senses (view) that is used (unlike for music).

But because it's the same sense you can only concentrate on one thing at a time. You are either reading or you are looking at the art. When you play a VN you switch between these depending on what you consider to be most important at the time. Music however is using a completely different snese and so you can get two different streams of information being filtered to your brain. I for instance can't concentrate on reading with music that has lyrics because my brain is trying to figure out what both mean and I end up getting neither. I would say people who get distracted by music are simply attuned to trying to understand it as information instead of having it be ambient. I find it very disconcerting to play in silence, so I like my background music, but it should be background music and not try to override my visual senses unless it's at important moments when I'm meant to pay more attention to it, like a door slamming. Good sound design is like all good design, it's invisible (or silent as it where)

[redeyesblackpanda]

I used to play all my games muted, because people in public places had a tendency to glare, and I didn't have ear buds. This has carried through. That being said, I prefer to play with the music playing, if it's possible, but don't find myself doing it that often, much to my dismay. My computer... it's always muted...

[Sapphi]

Only time when I turn off bgm is when a story is too boring and sleepy and can't keep my concentration without metal music. Then turn it off and listen metal while playing the game instead. It may be because I'm Japanese who is "watching" text more than "reading".

That's interesting. Metal usually ends up putting me to sleep because it's like white noise. But music that is essentially white noise is good for reading to, I think, because it sets the mood without drawing too much attention to itself.

Weirdly enough, I think it's easier to listen to repetitive, "predictable" music while reading than other kinds. It has to hit a certain sweet spot or it will be annoyingly repetitive, but when it does, I think since my mind knows how it will go, it stops concentrating on the music and focuses on other things. True Remembrance had only a handful of BGM tracks that were around a minute long apiece, IIRC. They were non-looping music box midis. I thought at first that they would get annoying, but to my surprise it was nice to read with them playing quietly in the background. I think there was one time I got annoyed and turned off the music, but in general they greatly enhanced the story for me.

So... you know that feeling you get when you hear the beginning of a melody, and you can kind of tell how it will end even if you haven't heard it before? I don't know what the correct term for that is, but I think that's a quality of Songs I Can Read To. (The opposite of that is what sounds like a cat on a keyboard - an irregular beat and no tune to speak of with tones coming from all over the place. The less predictable the music, the more distracting it is. So, weirdly enough, maybe the "generic" music is best.)