ArenaNet:Guild Wars 2 suggestions/Music

Composers
These composers have been suggested:
 * Matt Uelmen
 * Jeremy Soule

Dynamic Music (Discussion)
The addition of battle music to Nightfall and GW:EN was a good idea, but feels a bit sloppy in the implementation. I thoroughly enjoy game soundtracks and I pay particular attention to them. Musical soundtracks influence the way the player feels in a situation. A good soundtrack can evoke sadness, excitement, joy... any emotion, really. But this emotional impact only applies if music is used properly. Aeris's theme in Final Fantasy 7 is pretty on its own, but combined with her death mid-game, it's a tear-jerking piece. The fight with Bowser in Super Mario Galaxy wouldn't be half as impressive without the tremendous, over-the-top epic soundtrack. I could go on and on, but I don't think I need to. Anyone who plays games will, I think, readily admit that music is important to the overall experience. Guild Wars has a stunningly beautiful soundtrack (I've purchased all four from Directsong), one of the best I've ever heard, and yet it falls far short of its potential due to the way in which it's used in-game. Drawing liberally on my past game music experiences, I've got a few ideas about how the music in Guild Wars 2 (and even the current Guild Wars) can be improved.

This article summarizes the problems with the music system as it is currently implemented and offers two methods of resolving these problems, followed by some general advice from a long-time gamer who enjoys game music. The first method involves tweaks that can be made to the existing music engine and recommendations on how future compositions can be made better suited to the Guild Wars environment. The second method involves a complete overhaul of the music system and a drastic change in the way GW music is composed, but offers the developers a greatly more flexible music system and a more memorable experience for the players.

Existing issues with the music system
First I'll summarize the issues with the battle music implementation in GW:N and GW:EN. On most maps there are one or more field themes (the default background music) and various battle themes. Currently a battle theme kicks in whenever a monster is attacked and lasts until about five seconds after all aggro'd enemies are dead or out of range. At that point, the field theme restarts from the beginning.

There are several problems with this.


 * 1. Field themes rarely get played beyond the first 30 seconds or so because of the monster spawn rate. This results in the player never hearing an entire piece of music in-game.
 * 2. After every fight, the field theme gets reset. This means playing the first few notes of the field theme over and over and over and over and over... the repetition decreases the player's enjoyment of the music. "Horns of Gunnar's Hold" and "Guardian Sunspears" are two particularly egregious offenders in this category.
 * 3. Battle music is too long to suit most fights. This leads to a similar problem to that of the field themes being interrupted; only the first minute or so of the battle theme is played, and the player gets sick of hearing it. The rest of the theme is never heard (unless one buys the soundtrack, of course).
 * 4. Battle music meshes poorly with the field theme, often spoiling the "feel" being created by the track.

Taken singly, each of these is a minor issue. All together, they combine to create a truly unfortunate situation: the beautiful music of Jeremy Soule presented in a format that people get sick of quickly. I think this can be addressed in one of two ways. One is fairly traditional, and relatively easy on the audio coders. The other... not so much ;)

Method 1 - Static background music
Music would work essentially the same way it does currently, with a few important changes: This goes a way toward solving issue 1 by having the battle music play less frequently on the field. It helps with problem 3 as well by only playing the battle theme when the fight is likely to be long enough play a decent length of the track. Obviously the value of X will have to be fiddled with a bit, but having the music play every time a single enemy is attacked (as it does now) drastically devalues the battle music. In other words, if 47 seconds of the field theme have played and the game decides to switch to battle music, the field theme needs to resume from the 47 second mark (with a fade-in) after the fight is over. This is pretty much a fix for issues 1 and 2. It's been used in other games that have to shuffle between field and battle music since at least 1992 (Final Fantasy V), and there's really no reason not to use this technique in Guild Wars. It allows the entire field theme to be played, regardless of how many fights the player gets in. Look to the game "Sacrifice" for an example of this. It had a grand total of five battle themes for the entire game, and each one was about one minute long. However, these tracks were exciting and fast-paced. Most skirmishes in that game were over in a minute or so. If the fight stretched on longer, the second theme would play, and so on. What was nice about this was the battle music got exciting IMMEDIATELY, without the long, slow lead-ins that are used in the GW:EN battle themes. Right now, the song starts getting exciting right about the time it starts to fade out, and that's no fun at all. Not to say that the boss music can't have variations based on region and/or the boss's importance, but nothing says BOSS BATTLE like an exciting soundtrack that lets the player know they are in for a fight. I've heard it said that the battle with Kuunavang in Factions was added because the developers wanted an arcade-style fight. Arcade-style boss fights need AWESOME BOSS MUSIC. I think you get the idea.
 * Battle music only kicks in when there more than X enemies within aggro range, or those enemies are above level X, or at least 2 groups are aggroed at once.
 * The current "position" of the field music is saved before battle music kicks in, and resumed (with a brief fade-in) from that point when the fight is over.
 * Music that's intended as a battle theme needs to be shorter and more exciting.
 * Bosses need powerful music of their own, and it should start as soon as the boss launches its first attack and not before.


 * Advantages of method 1:
 * All of these methods are tried, tested and successful in other games.
 * It's easier to implement from a programming standpoint; few changes from the existing music system are required.
 * It allows for traditional full-length battle music tracks, which may be the only way that Jeremy Soule composes.
 * The first two suggestions can be implemented in the existing GW games to improve the musical experience without requiring any new compositions.


 * Disadvantages of method 1:
 * Estimating the average length of a fight is hard. Battle music will always be cut short or loop.
 * Shorter battle theme tracks may result in the need for more tracks overall. Depending on how Soule charges, this may end up costing more.
 * Does little to address issue #4.

Method 2 - Dynamic music
In this method, the field music changes based on what the player is doing. Each field track consists of two or more "layers". One of them is the main track, and is a complete composition on it's own. The other layers consist of additional percussion, choir accompaniment, horns, and other exciting things that are timed to fit perfectly with the main track. Thus, instead of playing a separate track for fighting against regular enemies, an extra drum or horn layer can be brought in to accompany the music and make it more exciting without interrupting the field track (mind you, bosses still deserve their own, separate music). This completely eliminates all four issues listed above and opens a wealth of new musical possibilities. Different track layers can be used, for example, inside and outside a cave on a given map, or below and above the surface of the water on maps that require swimming. Multi-part boss fights (like the fight with Kuunavang or Cyndr) could have different layers of music during different parts of the fight. The addition of a drum or choir layer to a song can act as a signal to the player and serve to draw them deeper into the game. Until recently this kind of dynamic control was only possible with tracked, MIDI-style music, but Koji Kondo (another great game composer) and his team have recently proven in Super Mario Galaxy that even fully orchestrated stream soundtracks can be made dynamic and player-responsive. It's a pretty new idea and a difficult one to implement, but I urge Arenanet to seriously consider using a dynamic music system in GW2. If done well, it could provide a new kind of musical experience for the player and set the bar high for future MMORPGs.


 * Advantages of method 2:
 * Eliminates all four issues listed above.
 * Allows for musical changes within a map without interrupting the musical theme.
 * Allows for ways of using the music to signal certain player actions or achievements, such as weakening a boss or gaining a timed bonus (like the Boss Hunt buff).
 * Eliminates the need for a wide variety of battle music; battle simply adds layers of sound on top of the current track. Depending on how Soule's pricing works, this may reduce overall cost.
 * Opens a wide range of additional musical possibilities simply not available with traditional music.
 * Breaks new ground in the MMORPG field. Awards? ;)


 * Disadvantages of method 2:
 * Almost certainly much more complicated than method 1 from a programming standpoint. Will take longer to develop and perfect.
 * May not be compatible with Soule's method of composition. Will require working more closely with Soule on the tracks, and may increase expense as a result.
 * Will on average increase the amount of music that must be streamed to players' computers before gameplay can begin. Longer download waits for low-bandwidth players.
 * Mild performance hit versus method 1, as multiple tracks must be mixed in real-time.

More effective use of music
The following applies regardless of whether or not dynamic music is employed.

Many events that should have been emotional in-game had their impact lessened by an ill-fitting soundtrack. I'm aware that currently the music is composed before the entire game is implemented and the last kinks of storyline worked out. I think, though, that if the in-game music is to have more of an emotional impact, this needs to change. Dramatic events NEED music. Rurik's death was sad. It could have inspired tears if it were paired with appropriate music. Likewise Togo's death, Kuunavang's corruption, the crumbling of the Garden in Nightfall... There are many missed opportunities like this throughout all four games, but there is also one notable exception: the Bonus Mission Pack.

Even though the BMP only uses pieces of existing tracks, it manages to convey events in a much more powerful manner than any of the previous Guild Wars titles. Music is appropriate, inspiring, and it fits the environment as well as the cinematic events. The loops are a little short, but that happens when you have no new source material to work with. The way in which music is used in the BMP is the way it should have been used throughout the other four titles. I sincerely hope that, whether it's dynamic or not, the music of GW2 follows the path blazed by the BMP.

Do the game and the players a favor; work more closely with your composer to write music that fits scenes. They don't have to be long tracks, they just need to fit what's going on better than they do now. It will make the difference between in-game events the player will view, and in-game events the player will experience... and remember.