Game world music

[Rubbermancer]

How many of you use soundscapes around the gaming table, or listen to ambience or mood music when designing? I design music for the gaming table, so if any of you are interested, I'd be happy to cook up some soundscapes for you.

-Joe

[Onix]

I've tried to use them I made one song in Garage Band that was intended for a dreamlike game, It worked reasonably well but I couldn't get it to loop seamlessly. I don't know if it had a big effect on the game or not. I tried again later and wasn't real successful with my choices of music. Either they were too short of songs, too loud to hear the players talking or too quiet to be effective at conveying the right mood.

So how do you handle length, volume an the need for different moods?

[Rubbermancer]

Good questions. Length is easy, I just make long pieces.

Volume should be kept low, generally, and I tend to make atmospheric soundscapes relatively uniform in volume so that they don't disappear and reappear too much when the volume is low, nor do they spike violently and disturb playing. Generally, it's better to have the sound too low rather than too high. However, volume isn't the only issue when it comes to table music: It's more a matter of frequency. Lower bass frequencies and thinner "silver" frequencies will disturb conversation less than midrange or distorted frequencies.

Mood is usually determined by location. When it comes to pure soundscapes, I like to make mood sounds for specific maps or world areas, for example a crowded bazaar, a dank subterranean hall, a ship at sea, a sunny glade, etc. "Mood" becomes a slightly more ephemeral and subjective concept as soon as you start designing actual melodies for a game session. That's where the challenge comes in. Sometimes, I'll make two tracks for the same location, one with pure area sounds, and one with some simple, unobtrusive music. People can play them both at the same time and decide for themselves which should take volume precedence. Also, I'll make them of different lengths, so looping them will create new juxtapositions of sound each time. This exponentially increases the replay value.

[kylesgames]

I'm cheap and horrible; I just put on music from my Spotify playlist. I have a whole cyberpunk playlist that I choose from during Shadowrun and other similar games, and I've been known to find specific songs for certain events (for instance, I choose rock/metal music for boss fights, or epic orchestral scores, depending on what sort of boss it is).

[Onix]

It would be pretty cool to have a custom soundtrack for The Artifact. SPF could be done as a theme song. My musical tastes are on the odd side but when it comes down to it trumpets and trombones bagpipes accordians and fiddles are my favorite instruments. Probably in that order too.

What would you need for a sound track?

[Evil Scientist]

I'd love to see a dungeon master playing on a mandolin during the game.

[Chainsaw Aardvark]

I vote theramin.

Well, actually - I vote noting. I've had a GM use music very well during a game (Goodbye Mr. Blue Skies and Dol-Dagga-Buzz-Buzz have a special meaning for me now) However, every time I've tried, it hasn't worked so well, and having technology like a computer play list or MP3 speakers at the table has been distracting.

There are a few things that I'd still like to try. Some day I want to run a battle scene epic enough to use either Frank Kepacki (known for the music of command and Conquer, like "" and "Grinder") or (Heavy Metal usually focused on World War Two.)

Another thing I've never been able to do is run a game like a TV show. Use different music for the opening and closing credits, maybe change it up to give indications about upcoming events, and giving players experience points for writing commercials or delivering a Saturday morning PSA in character/as the characters' actors.

Returning to the beginning of the thread, those soundscapes are an interesting idea, and thanks for the link. May anyone who uses them in a game have better luck than I've had.

[Rubbermancer]

@kylesgames: Nothing wrong with that! There's a wealth of good music for every mood out there, if you can be bothered to dig. Soundscapes that are specific to one location or circumstance of your own creation, on the other hand, aren't so easy to find. So that's mainly what I offer. And you can be as cheap as you like! I'm looking forward to getting a lot of creative and practical input, advice, and general help from you guys, and this is one of those things that I can offer in return. Money rarely enters into the equation for me.

@Onix: I'd be happy to take a crack at that for you! What I'd need is a clearer idea of what you want, and how you're going to use it. Give me some inspiration from your world, and let me know if you want actual music, or thematic sounds, or something in between. We can talk in more detail via email joachimheise@gmail.com or skype Rubbermancer.

@Evil Scientist: Hells yeah!

@Chainsaw Aardvark: Theremin is badass for sure! And I know what you mean about music being distracting. As a producer, I can't help but engage myself on a cerebral level with music, whether it be a concert or background music, so I often find music at the gaming table distracting. I produce soundscapes with that in mind; as I mentioned earlier, I often like to produce the music separately from the area sounds, so people can find the volume mix they like best on their own. And man, blast from the past! Hell March was one of my favourite tunes back in the day!

[Rob Lang]

I've thought long and hard about music in game sessions. We tend not to but I do not have a good reason why. I tried it once years ago (and I mean 18 years ago or more) and I think my choice of music was probably poor because it didn't work out. Also, we were young and loud and that last thing we needed in the room was more noise. Also, I don't think I had a stereo in the room we played in!

Now, though, we're older and wiser. Our games are still frenetic because I like to do a lot in the 3 hour period we have in an evening but I think there might be a place in the game for music.

I listen to music all the time when designing. It's nearly always sci-fi stuff and recently (when I've been writing Icar) it's been almost entirely the soundtrack to Tron Legacy by Daft Punk.

In my current campaign (deep behind enemy lines in Commando 1940) there is probably a place for playing the theme music from war films from the 50s and 60s, such as A Cruel Sea, Bridge over the River Quai, Battle of Britain and so on. There's probably also a place for um-pa, um-pa music when they're in a busy quasi-Bavarian tavern. However, I wouldn't put time into this campaign because it is moving toward a close.

My next campaign is Icar - for which a soundscape might work. Icar is quite involved and then players do need to concentrate, the system is not simple but I move at the same rate as with simple rule sets. I am not sure I have to time to queue up relevant music. Even worse, my player group are reknowned for changing direction, joining forces with the end-of-level-boss, shooting contacts in the face, blowing good guys out of airlocks and causing all manner of unpredictable trouble.

I think it might be worth a try but I should try it with some generic classical music before commiting anyone else to doing any work! Thank you for your kind and generous offer nonethless, Rubbermancer!

[Evil Scientist]

We used to play the soundtrack from American McGee's Alice while playing Changeling. And my girlfriend uses the soundtrack from Sims: Making Magic for her urban fantasy style campaigns.

But usually I find the presence of audio equipment distracting. Usually that means a computer, and all that track changing and babbling is not something I like during sessions.