Visual novels without sounds

PositiveBlue

New Member
Jan 18, 2025
1
1
Music and sounds enhance the experience no doubt, but I want to know if people are bothered with games that doesn't have any
 
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Catapo

Member
Jun 14, 2018
261
466
Not necessarily bothered by it but a game without sound effects feels off somehow so I would say good sound effects are a must. Optionally some background sounds for better immersion would be amazing. (crowds chatting, cars passing, wind through the trees etc)

As for music I always lower the volume a bit and if I find it distracting or annoying or that it does not fit the game I just turn it off completely.
 
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joryh

Well-Known Member
Nov 8, 2021
1,139
2,243
Music and sounds enhance the experience no doubt, but I want to know if people are bothered with games that doesn't have any
%99 of the time, I don't even bother to put my headset on, so I never know if most games even *have* sound. Since I don't give a tinker's fuck about the crappy porn music, or the porn 'sounds' that are like a wetvac on a gag/vomit cycle. And as hot as being vomited on. I don't doubt I can count on both hands how many games I play with the sound on. And still have 5 or 6 fingers left.

However, the few that I DO play the sounds, they're damn good. And add quite a bit to the game-value. Hell, one of them I realized the songs were actual Kpop songs, by the choreography of the MMD dancers. Was: How You Like That, by Blackpink. 'Til that point, I never turned on the sound, now I listen to the songs, cause I like Kpop. A lot.

Yes. I recognized the song by the choreo, which should tell you how much I watched the vid. >.<
 
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yossa999

Engaged Member
Dec 5, 2020
2,627
17,579
Of course, it depends a lot on the person, I think. For me, good music definitely improves the experience of the game, especially if it is thoughtfully chosen and matches the scenes happening on the screen.

It's impossible to imagine BaDIK, Summer's Gone or Fog of War without their soundtracks. I think, it creates a kind of self-reinforcing feedback loop - the music creates a mood and enhances the impression of the scenes, and when I see these scenes, I subconsciously remember the music associated with them.

And for me it was really noticeable when DPC lost the license for the Friday Prophets songs, or Ocean had to cut some cinematics because they were built around a certain song that had its license revoked. Or how can you even see the party scene on Lexi's plane the same way after Drifty had to delete Love Automatic? What's playing there now doesn't match the mood of that scene at all.

But if there is no possibility to choose really good music, it is better without it than hackneyed free stock tracks. And the voice acting just complete turn off for me. If you want them to talk, make a movie instead of feeding me talking static pictures with weird synthesized voices
 

Steuan

Super Straight
Donor
May 3, 2024
846
2,873
As long as there is no lame-ass shitty voice acting I'm ok with sounds and music in AVNs. Like you said, they enhance the experience. Although... sometimes I prefer the silence you know. This kinda lets me to feel the emotion of the scene and focus my thoughts more easily.
 

Doorknob22

Super Moderator
Moderator
Game Developer
Nov 3, 2017
2,479
6,027
Over the course of development of my game, I believe I have paid between 3000-4000 USD to a (great!) composer for an original score with tracks custom made for specific characters, fiefdoms, races etc.

I love the results, but rarely get any comment on the music in my game. From time to time people do complement it, but overall I feel the majority of players simply don't pay attention to the music track.
 

woody554

Well-Known Member
Jan 20, 2018
1,613
2,022
overall I feel the majority of players simply don't pay attention to the music track.
it might also mean your score is perfect and people are not getting distracted by it.

I think the biggest source of negative reactions are volume levels and using those 4-5 annoying free to use songs that don't really fit any games. a good soundscape will always drastically improve player experience.
 

romo-ice

Newbie
Sep 11, 2019
51
94
Music and SFX can enhance the experience, but a lot of people don't know what they're doing.

Regarding the BGM, should generally go for something neutral during most scenes. Choosing a song with lyrics can be done if it makes sense for the scene, but a full vocal soundtrack is more likely to distract from the game than immerse the player. Also, using the same free songs that everyone uses is a bad idea.

Regarding SFX, these have to be well placed to actually enhance immersion. I personally hate the umms and ahhs sfx some people put into games when people are talking to try and convey some sort of mood or reaction from the characters. SFX during sex scenes can be great, but they have to be well timed, not too short, awkward, or out of place.

Whether an AVN has audio or not will not affect my decision to try it -- but I have very much decided to stop playing an AVN because the audio was horrendous.
 

Zoe Archangel

Newbie
Jun 23, 2024
17
32
I usually mute everything I play after a few minutes. The only exception in recent memory is Sexbot. It could have used a couple more tracks, but it did a good job of capturing the Persona style of making a few bops go a long way. Oddly enough, I think having repetitive music is better than having a bunch of unique songs, as long as it's good enough to vibe with every time it comes on. Trying to find the perfect emotional track to fit every scene often just misses the mark in my opinion.
 
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unocrus

Member
Oct 28, 2018
136
235
I play just about every VN with sound off. Almost none of them put any effort into it so it's usually not worth it. One particularly annoying thing is when a random sound effect is really loud for no reason.

RPGM games and the like I'll usually play with sound on. Even though a lot of them are using the same songs and sound effects, there's much more going on so it's not as bad.