Music in your games

sniffles said:

Unfortunately there's an annoying tendency for the cd to be on the lightest track during combat, while the heavy combat music shows up during PC upkeep.

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Remote controls for your cd player (or better yet, mp3 player with folders) are your best friend.

James Heard said:

Remote controls for your cd player (or better yet, mp3 player with folders) are your best friend.

Click to expand...

Unfortunately the GM with all the soundtracks has his stereo in another room. And I don't think he could be bothered anyway, even if it was in the room we play in.

I keep threatening to make a cd of just "battle" music that we can put on during combat.

Could be worse, though - since one GM got married, his wife now has the radio on and we listen to pop music during games!

I've got a CD full of mp3's: one folder for battle, one for dungeons, and one for town/travel

We game in in the same room as my PC, or online over mIRC. Game's about 45 sessions deep so far, and we've got a TON of music. I've about 18 or 19 battle themes, different themes for each city, theme music for my NPCs, themes for the villains, some scenes that have happened have had their own themes, and then I also have mood themes, if party conversation starts heading a certain way. The count so far is 110 themes, including about 20 I have saved for later events.

Sample artists and soundtracks include: Baz Luhrman's Romeo & Juliet, Cowboy Bebop, Nine Inch Nails, Linkin Park, the Gladiator soundtrack, Chrono Trigger, .hack//sign, Rent, stuff from Metal Gear Solid 2, a Nike commercial, the Lion King, Michael W. Smith, the Matrix, Riverdance, and World Wrestling Entertainment.

So I use music pretty intensely.

We went from playing in a room with my computer (and music) to someone's basement (and no music), and I have missed it greatly. There's nothing quite as cool as having background music for your campaign...

.....of course, we've picked up an artist, so I guess I can't complain too much.

Generally it isn't music designed for gaming, it's collections of things. Videogame music is especially superb for this because in many instances it is designed to be on an infinite loop (and Uematsu is a frickin' musical genius. He did Final Fantasy music. He's like the John Williams of bleeps and bloops). Movie music is good, because it's designed to be talked over and be ambient.

I try to shy away from recognized songs, but I'll sometimes inject them if they're humorous or appropriate. A party barbarian once had "Hit Me Baby One More Time" as her theme song....*shudder*.