Music - The Not-So-Silent Catalyst

Since about the days video games gained visual graphics, they have all had music as well. At first, there was only a few sound effects, but quickly games began to have a full music score. Today, all games have background music in them. And, just like the story and graphics, good music can make the difference between a good game and a great game.

What role does music play in a game? It must be an important one. Companies have long been hiring full time composers and orchestras to produce their sound tracks. You can often buy the soundtrack on CD, and many consider it worth it. The hint here is that this music can be quite good; good enough to stick on your iPod and listen to. So again, what role does it serve in a game to deserve all this time and effort? As the title suggests: The background music of a game is a powerful catalyst to affect the player's mindset with. The best part about it? It's (when done well) subtle, and very effective.

Take the first Super Mario games. Each level was timed, and the timer counted down in the top right corner of the screen. The player however was usually focused on other parts of the screen, so the timer goes largely unwatched. But suddenly, the speed of the music doubles. There are only 30 seconds left. The change in the music alerts the player, and because it is now going faster, reinforces the notion that the player needs to also speed up. A rather clean little psychological trick, it has since become a standard for those types of games.

Since music is almost always present in a game, changing it is an easy way to send messages to the player. The player is crawling through a series of dark caves infested with cannibals. The music is dark and forboding. The player sees a light ahead, and upon approaching carefully hears the music change to a church organ. The player immediatly puts away their cannibal beating stick and walks right up to the friendly people standing there. They happily heal him and buy his spare loot. How did the player know this? The change in the music. Take care though, this is a pretty well established idea. Misleading the player with music changes will quickly annoy them.

So, the music sets the tone of the scene, and changes in that music change the way the player views the scene. Let's listen to a few examples.

Here is the World Map music from Lost Odyssey (great soundtrack by the way).


The player is just looking at a map of the world and selecting where they want to go. No pressure. The situation is laid back, so the music is too.

Now, from the same game, the music that plays while you search a field that was just overrrun by (now cooled) lava, decimating two entire armies.


The scenario is a sad one, so the music is too.

I think you probably get the point by now. What about the music that plays during the introduction cutscene? That should get the player on the edge of thier seat, excited to play!

One of my favorite intros I've come across recently, Kingdom Hearts RE: Chain of Memories. Does this do it for you? (Stop at about 2:35)


But what about my favorite type of music in games? The battle music! This is what plays when you are in combat with something. The purpose of this music would be then to "get the player up". Get their heart rate up, blood pumping, and draw them into the fight. There have been games that I have run around for hours fighting things just because I love listening to the music. Let's look at some of these.

The standard battle music from Lost Odyssey (again, I know, but good for comparison)


Lost Odyssey Battle Music from the Arena, very lighthearted and fun for battle music, had to include it for novelty purposes.


Enough of that game. I present my favorite battle music from Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. Each world has different battle music, and the music from Neverland takes the prize.


Final Fantasy IX


And to wrap up, Final Fantasy XIII (Stick it out till the bit that starts at 00:58, my favorite part)


Did any of those get your pulse pounding? You may have liked some of them, but I suspect the answer is probably no. If I'm wrong, then good for you and kudos to the composer of that song. But the problem is, the music here and now lacks the context it has in game. You don't have your characters running up against the big nasty you've been chasing for the last hour. There's no visuals or action on your part. The problem here is that music is only part of the experience that gets the player into that heightened sense of awareness. A critical part, but only a part none the less. Let's try adding the visuals (since we can't really add the interactivity) and see if the music then has a greater effect.

Just the music (for comparison) Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, The 13th Reflection


Now a fight with that music, Marluxia Data


Did the action add more "get up and go" value to the experience? It should have, the actual fight and the music should compliment each other.

Now, time to reveal my masterfully executed link. The 13th Reflection is different from the rest of the battle music we've looked at so far. It is the first boss music we've listented to. Bosses, the biggest and nastiest of the big nasties, usually get their own type of battle music. They are (supposed) to be more intense than the generic battle music and let the player know that some serious stuff's going down. These themes have something the regular ones do not, an intro. Listen to the music only version of The 13th Reflection again. Note that the first ten seconds or so are not part of the repeating song. Now, watch the first ten seconds or so of the battle again. What is happening during the non-repeating part of the song? The boss is taking time to gloat, laughing at the player he intends to turn into mulch with his giant rose-spewing scythe. Bosses usually get some sort of "introduction" before they fight the player, and the music reflects this (no pun intended).

Lost Odyssey, like most games, has a few boss themes, but this is my favorite, Dark Saint


The fight that uses that music


Let's keep the rest to music only.

Final Fantasy Mystic Quest Final Boss Music, Dark King


The favorite of many, possibly the best known battle theme ever, from Final Fantasy VII: One-Winged Angel

(Note: If you go to YouTube one of the highest rated comments is a rather amusing translation of the words sung. I'm not copying it over as there are a couple naughty words and suggestive themes, nothing terrible, but I'm leaving that as optional.)

Now, personally, I don't like One-Winged Angel as much as the Dark King. "But, they're from different games," you say? Well, it's not even my favorite from FFVII. My favorite is from the fight right before that one, Jenova Complete.

(Note: This song is often referred to as Jenova Absolute. I believe that is actually the name of the boss, and Jenova Complete is the correct name of the song. Either one will get you to the song and fight.)

Did any of those stand out as particularily epic? Boss themes are supposed to be the best of the best after all.

In summation, music is quite important for helping set the player's mindset. I can't stand playing games with the music down or off. Most players use the music (consciously or not) to cue their behavior. But use the music responsibly, be careful not to mislead the player. Also, don't override sound effects with music. The soundtrack might be great, but if I can't hear the mole rat running up behind me then I got problems!

Fortunatly for video games, Yoko Shimomura doesn't dress like this.