There's this thing called a Leitmotif. At its simplest, it is an audio cue.
So here's an idea - represent different classes or roles with different instruments, and have various actions or activity levels give rise to longish chords of music. This is more than just a 3 note audio cue which is played every time the priest casts Smite - instead, there would be a multi-bar track of music which is associated with a priest casting lots of offensive spells, with a different multi-bar track for healing spells.
For the tank, as the danger level increases the dramatic tones of his leitmotif could increase. The more adds he's tanking could be represented by a more frantic pace. If the tank's health starts to dip, the music could take on an ominous score. And if the tank dies?
All this is a mile ahead of simple background music on a loop and sound effects tied directly to specific abilities ... so I wouldn't expect to see it in any game anytime soon. Which is a pity.
And no, the wolf is represented by French Horns. It is the grandfather who is represented by the Bassoon.
Monday, August 16, 2010
The wolf is represented by the bassoon?
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1 comment:
I want this. I want this so much.
In most games nowadays, I'm fairly dependent on sound-effects to tell what's going on; footsteps naturally tell me that something's walking about nearby, but a particular attack noise tells me that someone I can't see has been hit by a critical attack and desperately needs healing, or that Rathalos is breathing fireballs at me as I run away.
I'm not so dependent on music; Monster Hunter is a bit of an oddity, having different tracks for which enemies have seen you (...or not), blending multiple tracks if multiple significant enemies have me in their sights. Most games just have it as background noise, and in MMOs it does get pretty repetitive after a while, no matter how much I like it.
I'd love music that varies depending on how well you do (reminds me of NiGHTS), but I guess it'd take more work to get it all working together properly.
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