Nick H. Supervisor Posted June 10, 2010 Supervisor Share Posted June 10, 2010 I'm in agony. Well I'm not, but I'm waiting for my copy of Red Dead Redemption to arrive, and time is certainly passing slowly. So what do I do instead? I prepare myself. For the past week I've been submersed in Westerns. I've been getting back in to the sights and sounds that make a Western what it is (see: "badass"). The dry deserts, sprawling grassy plains, guitars and harmonicas, and of course revolvers. I've also been listening to music with a "wild west" type sound to them. Why am I doing this? So that I can prepare my playlist. Yes, the games these days can have stunning soundtracks (only a few weeks ago I was praising Assassin's Creed 2 for it's incredible music) that work a lot better with the game, mostly because the right bit of music kicks in at the right time for the gameplay that is occurring. But still, after a while the same music kicks in at the same points and I find myself phasing it out or wishing for something different. I know many people that do the same thing. If they're playing something "mindless" (and I put that in quotation marks because they're not playing something mindless, they're just playing something that they've played so often they don't need to think about the basics) I notice they tend to just play whatever music they're currently listening to. Others (such as myself) tend to choose music that would be fitting to the mood and pace of the game. So here are my questions to you: Do you play your own music when you play games? Maybe you don't, preferring instead to stick with the soundtrack that comes with the game. Maybe you're like me, and you only start playing your own music after playing the game for a period of time. Or maybe you don't care about the music that comes in games, instead preferring to play your own music from the start (far from my preference due to the above reason). Do you think about the music that you put in to a playlist? Do you try and make the music fit the game as best as possible, or do you just play whatever you're listening to at the time? Are there any playlists you've been particularly impressed with? If you put thought in to your playlists, it can be rewarding when it works well. If you've had such an experience, let us know what your playlist was, and which game you were playing. Have you had any gaming moments where your custom playlist has worked perfectly with a given situation? This is possibly the question I least expect an answer for. Since the custom playlist doesn't know when to "kick in" it's more luck than anything to have this happen. But if it has happened to you, let us know about it. I'll throw my answers in first, since I'm already here :laugh: : I sometimes play my own music when I play games, although only after the game's soundtrack starts to feel samey. If, like in Red Dead Redemptions case, the game fits a theme, I try and make my music fit to that theme. If it's something like Gran Turismo, I tend to just stick on whatever I'm listening to at the time. I can't think of any playlists right now that I've been particularly impressed with, but the playlist I'm working on for RDR looks something like this: Kasabian - Secret Alphabet Kasabian - West Ryder Silver Bullet Jace Everett - undecided as to which songs to add and which ones to leave. "Possesion" and "Bad Things" are going to be a must though Johnny Cash - Do I need to explain why he made it? :) Music from Firefly (which in itself is a futuristic western) Music from various Westerns (The Proposition, 3-10 to Yuma, Once Upon a Time in the West, etc.) As you can see, it's not a refined playlist just yet. I must admit, I've yet to have any perfect moments where the playlist has worked. Obviously there have been rampages in the GTA games where some action has worked perfectly with a build up in the music playing, but there is nothing particularly memorable. Anywhose, I'd be interested on hearing other people's answers and experiences. I should probably stop typing now anyway, this is one long post. Does it show I'm bored at work again? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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