Lemma Soft Forums

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?)

Yes. You can utilize freesound.org and jamendo.com if you can't make or commission your own. Having no sound will make me think your game is broken, and, if I don't like it/it's too loud then I'll mute it.

Music and sound effects are important to me, but that doesn't mean you have to put them in your game if you don't like them.

You should make the game you want to make.

Music sets a mood in a visual novel and when paired with sound effects, it heightens the experience. A lot of music in video games has become iconic because of how well it's utilized and thus people associate that music with the game. The Final Fantasy series, for instance, uses familiar tracks across their franchise which adds to their brand. Other games that have iconic music (in my personal opinion) are Kingdom Hearts, Okami, and Devil May Cry 3.

If it's a free amateur VN, I don't think it'd be a problem if it had no music. Commercial, I definitely expect to get what I paid for and that's decent visuals, story, and music.

I never ever listen to games' music while playing on the computer ^^; Since I have access to my own music.

So no, a silent VN is not a deal breaker - I'd likely not even notice. (I've played though full VNs never realizing it had voice acting in it.. oops.)

But if you feel music/sounds will help your VN, I say go for it. It'll enhance the enjoyment for players who like music/sound effects, and for players like us, we can still mute it.

I would play a game with no music but only if it was designed that way because of the sound design (such as Dark Souls for example). A game with no music or SFX whatsoever, I wouldn't play unless it was some kind of beta version. I wouldn't listen to my own music playing a game unless you could load it into the game itself (e.g. GTA's custom radio stations).

To be blunt, although I prefer music and sound, I'd rather have no music/sound than have really bad music and sound because the person making the game doesn't like music and sound and only adds it begrudgingly.

From my look the music is as important as the story , I sometimes stop reading the text in order to listen to the music , that can take from 3 to 20 min ( the music repeats ) but well , that is me , and I don't think most of players do that ! so I think a good music can boost you game alot while a bad music can make the player drop it ... even if someone doesn't want to listen to the music they can simply mute the background music ! but if there is none , people looking forward to the music would get disappointed ~

Music and sound effects are a nice add-on if they fit the story. I play other folks VNs if I like the art and story. I certainly would NOT stop playing if there were no music and sound effects.
Make the story that you want to make, with or without sound. There are many VN players. Some will play your VN, some won't.

I can't say I've ever played a VN without music. I am conditioned by precedent to prefer music over the silence. I also do not listen to my own music when playing games so that is probably a big factor. To me, it really would be silence I'd have to deal with.

If you don't like having music on your VN, design it with silence in mind, and make it the way you like it.

With that said, music is a big must for me, and I'd never play a VN with the music turned off (if I REALLY don't like it to the point of wanting it out, I'd probably stop reading the VN altogether, same with every other aspect of it). But that's always a purely personal opinion.

If the game was designed to look and play like a text adventure or a book, I would probably not notice if there was less music or no music.

The expectation I have with a fully illustrated visual novel, however, is that there is a soundtrack. While I often turn the sound down or off because I live with other people and play games late at night, when I do get the chance, I appreciate a game that makes good use of sound in order to craft its atmosphere.

Also, isn't this an opportunity to commission or pick a soundtrack that you'd like to listen to?

Music is definitely important to me in a game, sound effects too. (although I wouldn't say the sound effects need to be particularly complicated) Everything that goes towards setting the atmosphere and tone gets a big thumbs up from me.

I like to think I'm the kind of person who'll enjoy endless streams of text and little else....but that's probably not so much the case. I think stuff like engaging music goes a long way towards improving my perception of the overall package. It sort of brings me that little bit more into the moment I guess.

I think I might be the opposite to you, I'd hate to listen to music not related to the game while I'm playing a game. It's actually something I've never understood the appeal of.

All that said I probably would still enjoy a visual novel that had no or little music if the writing was really strong. It's just a case of it going that extra mile.

I enjoy having music in VNs. It can really add to a scene's atmosphere. That and I'm always a sucker for throwing out money if the VN has a great soundtrack.

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

Yes.