Music

[Cheezmo Miner]

I hope this is all right to post, but I've been meticulously planning my pending ZEITGEIST game and thinking about mood-setting music.

I was leaning strongly to using the soundtrack for the last Sherlock Holmes movie which has a great combination of ethnic strings and old piano that I think fits the setting well. But like a lot of movie scores, its use in-game is difficult due to the sudden--often drastic--tempo switches.

Which is why video game music is always better. You want your background music, well, in the background, doing its job of invoking mood without distraction. Video game music is designed to be endlessly looped for as long as you are in an area or level, which is perfect for the tabletop because you never really know how long you need a track to repeat itself.

So you can imagine my elation when I discovered ARCANUM: Of Steamworks and Magic Obscura available as a free download.

These tracks were exactly what I was looking for, as that game echos ZEITGEIST's theme of magic verses industry. I like that it relies on somber and minimalistic strings rather than full orchestration--quite unlike standard game or action film fare.

So I guess the purpose of this post is to pass along my find to those who like to use music in their games. But I'm also open to suggestions: what music are you using in your ZEITGEIST games?

 

[Falkus]

I had not considered Arcanum, but it's a brilliantly inspired choice for atmospheric music for Zeitgeist. I always loved the music from the game; and now that you've pointed it out, I'm going to use it as well; starting in my session tomorrow.

 

[RangerWickett]

I have one GM who always has a 'theme song' to open his campaign sessions with. Conan had the first track off the Basil Poledouris Conan soundtrack. Rogue Trader has this epic piece:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2w4SNOW-6w]Hitman: Blood Money Original Soundtrack - Track 1 - YouTube[/ame]

I haven't yet thought of a good one for ZEITGEIST. Sherlock Holmes is tempting. Dammit, we need more steampunk, or at least 19th century action, video games and movies.

I wonder if Wild Wild West would work. . . . Ha.

E.S. Posthumus has some good tunes for epic fantasy, but I don't think they'd work at heroic tier. My own inspiration soundtrack when writing the campaign primer included Koyaanisquatsi, Bioshock, and Metalocalypse.

 

[Morrus]

There's also the actual ZEITGEIST theme. I quite like it.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHQGvJ7F4ew]ZEITGEIST: The Gears Of Revolution - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Falkus]

Me too I'm going to use it as for session intro music; and the trailer itself helped me recruit some of the players for my group

 

[Cheezmo Miner]

Rogue Trader has this epic piece:

Hitman: Blood Money Original Soundtrack - Track 1 - YouTube

That's really good! Epic themes seem to pop up in the weirdest places. You mentioned Basil Poledouris; don't overlook his score for Robocop or Starship Troopers. They are both filled with grandeur without being too modern-sounding for fantasy, but they might be too recognizable. In my last short-lived campaign, Eberron, I had the theme from the film Serenity as intro music. It got the players all worked up for their roles as good-hearted outlaws.

There's also the actual ZEITGEIST theme. I quite like it.

I've been wondering where that was from, or if it was composed for the trailer and by whom.

 

[Morrus]

I've been wondering where that was from, or if it was composed for the trailer and by whom.

That latter; my brother.

 

[Cheezmo Miner]

Sherlock Holmes is tempting. Dammit, we need more steampunk, or at least 19th century action, video games and movies.

I'm listening to the Expanded score for Sherlock Holmes right now, and its MUCH more usable than the commercial score. Most of the tracks are shorter with less drastic switches, meaning they can be looped and forgotten about until the scene changes.

Hammer Films just announced its working on Cherie Priest's "Boneshaker."

 

[Falkus]

I used the Arcanum soundtrack at my session today for background music. Vendigroth Wastes for RHC HQ, Caladon/Tarant for the city of Flint, Caladon Catacombs for combat, and Kerghan's Castle for

Spoiler

Cauldron Hill

. It went over quite well, I feel.

 

[Cheezmo Miner]

I used the Arcanum soundtrack at my session today for background music. Vendigroth Wastes for RHC HQ, Caladon/Tarant for the city of Flint, Caladon Catacombs for combat, and Kerghan's Castle for

Spoiler

Cauldron Hill

. It went over quite well, I feel.

Those are all superbly well-matched. It might be a few months before we get to Skyseer, but I'll probably use similar cues. I agree that the Catacombs track is way better for general combat than the one they actually have for combat!