Do you listen to the game's music?

[Doorknob22]

I'm currently selecting some cool tracks for my upcoming game but I'm wondering how much I should invest into the effort.

Do people even bother to listen to the game's music or do they shut it down before starting the game?

 

[Lussuria]

I usually listen to a games music. I think when done right it can really improve the mood and help create the setting for the game. I'm struggling with how much I want to use music in my own game right now. Whether to use it just in special circumstances or to try and always have a track playing. I don't want exhaust the player with the same songs all the time or else I run the risk of them turning the music off once they get tired of the tracks.

 

[riktor]

i generally disable music in all games. an exception would be games where music only plays when the setting is right, at a club, listening to the radio, etc. that aside I find it distracting and immersion breaking to have background music most of the time.

 

[DawnCry]

In most porn games the music is kind of the standard one, for example in RPG maker it's the same songs over and over, overall unless the developer does care about the music I tend to disable it and if I want music I just put one of my favourite songs or just find something that feels a bit related to the game.

 

[Dars]

No, game music go's wright of, always listen to my own music...

 

[K.T.L.]

First thing I do is turn off all the sounds. Really annoys me when devs use videos with sound in renpy, that completely bypasses renpy's sound controls.

 

[Laikhent]

This topic reminds me of an eroge I played a long time ago called Swan Song. IIRC, the "music" was a background sound of something related to the environment (I think it was the wind or something like that, I don't remember well). But I do remember that I thought that the game was more pleasant to play because of that background sound (I found that interesting, that's why I remember after so much time).

The disadvantage of listening to our own music is that we can't auto sync it with what is happening on the game.

I think music is a very useful tool to make the game better (if you know how to use it). I actually bought the right to use some sound tracks for the game I'm making.

But maybe it's something that you can skip if you dislike working on it.

 

[shizukami]

Personally I like music in the games I play. It also depends on what type of game though. If a visual novel style game has no sounds at all it's too quiet for my comfort so I actually go out of the way to turn on some fitting visual novel style music myself from youtube.

If its more sandboxy I much prefer environmental sounds that can disappear like white noise like rain/wind when outdoors. This combined with just random sound effects when your indoors, for example heel sounds/foot steps when moving from room to room and perhaps some music when visiting a restaurant,store or bar tend to complete the experience pretty well for me. Basically a more realistic approach when it comes to sounds in a sandbox.

My general recommendation is to just not overdo it and make the music fit the scenes and if music is not suited for a scene either go without it or use some sound effects instead.

In the end its a matter of deciding if its worth all the extra effort or not depending on how deep you want to go into the music rabbithole. If it is something you can do in a reasonable amount of time then why not? People who dislike it will just turn it off like they usually do and people who do like it will appreciate it. You could try messing around with music a bit and ask for feedback after people gave it a go. No reason to go all in right away and add music to everything, just test the waters.

 

[Adabelitoo]

Unless it's extremely unfitting for the game, I NEED some music in my porn games. It doesn't have to be good or original, just something to make the text seems a little less lonely.

Sometimes when I play a game without music, I open Dreams of Desire, choose a song and let it playing in the background while I play the game without audio.

 

[Droid Productions]

Music's key for establishing tone and setting, at least if you do it well. Done badly it's a buzz-killer, but that goes for any aspect of the craft. Turning the music off is a bit like speed-clicking through the game while skimming the text; either a sign that the developer failed to create something that captured the audience (or, if done reflexively before you even start the game, a player that's grown disillusioned with erodev games ability to use music).

 

[Buddawg]

I instantly turn off any and all sound.

The musics most often poor, and far from my tastes. And it doesnt add any value to the game. For music to have an impact it needs to be scene tailored.. and not a single dev here can afford to put in that much effort into just music.

And then I turn off all other sounds, because its rather unsettling when you play that for most of the games, theres random sex sounds, but not consistantly. So most of the times I just get half a chok instead of enjoyment. Also goes for the random out of the blue sounds that actually have some context to a scene.. something breaking, door opening, etc etc.

Aaand the last.. voiced acting. I read about 5 times faster than they speak. Usually barely half is voiced some even a LOT less than that.. again just an annoyance, do I wait for the slow speaking, or read at my pace and continue the game. Oh and.. the same voice over for all characters.. no thanks. Rather go without.

 

[Stretta]

Only if it's good. But most of the time it's just background noise and I don't even notice it. Unless it's too loud, then I'll turn it down. Naked Ambition has the best music I've heard in a game on this site.

 

[JojotheLich]

I generally mute all porn games and listen to youtube videos or podcasts while I go through the game. I tend to turn the sound back on when I'm... You get the idea. I mostly care about sound effects more than music. I mean, if it has good music, it has good music. But, I'd probably won't be listening to it for a majority of the time.

 

[anne O'nymous]

I rarely listen to the game's music, even when it's a regular game, but your thinking process is wrong :

I'm currently selecting some cool tracks for my upcoming game but I'm wondering how much I should invest into the effort.

Even if the poll was telling you that only one person would listen to your game's music, you should invest at 100% in the music choice.
It's not because (hypothetically) the majority wouldn't hear it, that the few that would do should have to play a game with bad, weird or unfitting music. They shouldn't be penalized because they decided to taste more of your game than others.

 

[Papa Lewd]

For me, it depends on the game, and the music has to fit the theme of the scenes. I LOVE music in certain games (usually not adult games) if it really adds to the atmosphere. But as for adult games specifically, I don't mind if it's there or not, as long as it doesn't distract from the point of the game. If it's done well, it can really complete the game for me, but I would rather there be no music than to have something that doesn't fit the theme.

 

[VanessaD]

I like it when it has the right tone the scene requires, if it's a happy scene with dramatic music (or vice versa) i would just turn it off.

 

[Doorknob22]

What I chose to do is add very specific tracks and fade them out once the player passes the relevant section in the game.

 

[rk-47]

Probably on youtube since the music would usually be in the credits or i would soundhound it