Must a VN have music?

[lemuel]

As a Mician, I take very seriously his injunction that "If the gentlemen really desire to procure benefits for the world and destroy its calamities they cannot but prohibit such a thing as music."

Therefore, If I make A VN, it will have no music. But is this unacceptable to VN readers?

[Ziassan]

Hmm, it's possible to have a VN without music, but I'd say most of the time something would be "lacking" during the read. Music carries the feel, the mood, the story, it's a plus and not a minus (unless it is really bad or not suited).

Would you play a VN without art for instance ? It's similar. If the VN is really specific it can happen without being a problem. Some exist, like Digital:A Love story for instance which has no "sprites" because it would not fit with the whole idea, or like the old Colossal Cave which is only console-text because it was made back in the '70s, but most of the time it'd feel like something lacks.

So it's not unacceptable, it can really be lacking and can possibly damage your creation, but sometimes it can be ok, it's really depending on what your VN is.
For instance if you plan to make a sound ambience (like rain, or other things), it's an interesting idea.

[lemuel]

Well, I am not averse to sound FX, and thanks for the suggestions. I am glad to learn that music is not necessary. I never play games/VNs with sound on.

[Ziassan]

Yeah, but you have a lot of chance to loose a part of your readers if music feels like lacking (for them, not for you, I guess you make this VN so people other than you can read it). So be careful with your choice.
(If it's only because you don't want to bother about finding a composer, free-to-use musics exist all around the internet)

[lemuel]

Oh believe me, I really doubt that many would be interested in in my VN, so lack of music leading to loss of popularity is no bane for me.

I am not including music because I am morally opposed to it. For the same reason, alcohol will be shown as a hideous bane and Buddhism will be shown positively.

[PyTom]

As a note, Moonlight Walks had a soundtrack, but didn't have very much music in it. The soundtrack consisted entirely of environmental sounds. So that's a potential solution for you.

[fleet]

It's not a rule. Some people turn off their speakers when they play a VN. Some folks will dislike the absence of music, some won't care.

[redeyesblackpanda]

Therefore, If I make A VN, it will have no music. But is this unacceptable to VN readers?

Oh believe me, I really doubt that many would be interested in in my VN, so lack of music leading to loss of popularity is no bane for me.

Sticking to your morals is admirable, but if you're not concerned about how certain VN readers react to your VN, then there was no need to ask, since additional information would not have changed the outcome of your decision.

Do what you believe in though, and good luck!

[Blane Doyle]

I think that not having a soundtrack could be somewhat offputting to a few players, but I don't think it is the main REQUIREMENT for a visual novel. So long as it has visuals and words in a novelesque fashion, as a reader I think that is more than passable.

It is much like a lack of sound effects of voice acting to me. They are not necessary and the game can be perfectly good and playable without them. Having them certainly helps the game, if well done and well used, but not having them is not the worst detriment to the game as a whole.

[Sapphi]

Music is one of my favorite qualities of visual novels, but as I love reading traditional novels, I don't think it is necessary. I do think music is an easy shortcut to set a mood in visual novels and for that reason, when writing a piece to be read without music, I think you should make sure your words are setting the mood.

[Auro-Cyanide]

I get bothered when there is no noise. It makes me feel... on edge? Like I'm missing something or something is broken. If I'm trying to get into a story, lack of music tends to stop me from relaxing into it, I guess because it does so much to set the mood and tone of voice in something where there are often no voices. Though I consider it fine if it's at specific moments in the game or it's making a point, like the main character is deaf.

[kkffoo]

There have been some music tracks that I have turned off (it is nice to have that option) and other times the music has really helped.
In terms of drama sound effects & ambient sound seem to have quite positive impact on me.

[silverstez]

I personally like the music so it would be a shame to play something without it. Still, it is totally up to you.

[KittyKatStar]

I actually don't listen to music in VNs. ^^; Once I open a VN I turn off the music, or just mute it all (including sound effects).

At most, if the voice acting is good, I'll leave that on.

So no, I never feel like anything is lacking since I prefer to listen to my own music while reading.

[planktheory]

Music can quickly establish the mood of a scene even before the audience starts reading.

That is if the audience really wants to get into it. But you can feel when the creator of a VN didn't want to put much effort into the music, or the selection was poor, and that's what makes me usually turn off the music. So if you don't want to do music, don't... it's a lot more detrimental to put something in half-assed than not at all. Don't feel like you're forced to do anything, it's your VN afterall.