Background music

Discussion in 'Public Game Developers Forum' started by BillM, Dec 30, 2013.

  1. BillM

    BillM Member

    Dec 30, 2013
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    iOS games developer
    Just over the hill
    Opinions from players and developers equally welcomed here...

    Background music.

    As a player I personally hate it, my first port of call is always 'settings', to turn it off. But that's just my prejudiced opinion, I'm sure others will love background music.

    As a developer, things get more complex... will my Apps automatically flop just because of lack of music? And if I decide to worry, will a cheap licence from a jingle website pay me back, or should I invest big bucks for a professional job?

    This is my first post (apart from 'Hi'), please be gentle :)
     
  2. Destined

    Destined Well-Known Member

    Aug 11, 2013
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    I am unsure on this. Sometimes the sound track adds a ton to the game (league of evil and geometry I love the music), but mostly I play games with the sound off.

    I wonder too about backing tracks, especially since you can play any song from your music library if you want.

    I think music can add a lot, but you need to carefully craft it.
     
  3. BillM

    BillM Member

    Dec 30, 2013
    8
    0
    0
    iOS games developer
    Just over the hill
    Thank you, Destined. :)

    I'm inclined to maybe take the view then that whereas good music is a distinct bonus in some games, most people probably won't be too disappointed by its absence? And no music at all is probably preferable to bad music.

    On that basis then, in the interests of focusing my efforts on the things that matter most (like cute graphics), I probably won't be losing any sleep over a music soundtrack for the App I am working on now. Like most things, it can always be added in a later version if there's sufficient interest to justify it!
     
  4. Destined

    Destined Well-Known Member

    Aug 11, 2013
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    It probably also really depends on your type of game.
     
  5. BillM

    BillM Member

    Dec 30, 2013
    8
    0
    0
    iOS games developer
    Just over the hill
    Yes I see what you mean, dramatic moments on TV and films for example depend heavily on music scores, and I'm sure the same must apply to some types of game.

    But in my case it's brainteaser puzzles with no particular target age group. I suppose I could go for something relaxing and inobtrusive, but that probably comes down to tastes (and ages). And what one person finds relaxing another might find annoying.

    I'm still thinking that silence, with just the odd click/pop/ping sound-effect, as feedback for interaction, is probably a safe bet. May not please everybody, but shouldn't strongly displease anybody!
     
  6. Destined

    Destined Well-Known Member

    Aug 11, 2013
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    I just recently (once apple approves) released a puzzle game and I put menu music and not level music.

    There are some games and music changes with a level and they are cool.
     
  7. markofjohnson

    markofjohnson Active Member

    Apr 2, 2010
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    Game Developer
    San Francisco, CA, USA
    Some simple music, an off switch, and 'iPod is already playing' detection is easy & cheap. We release MVPs as feature light and unfinished, there's definitely not as much sensory stimulation as we'd like, so adding music has a big bang for the buck to make early versions of the game suck less.
     

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