BGM?

Question

BGM?

Gabriel Anderson

What's your view on including background music to tabletop games? Is it a necessary inclusion for mood and atmosphere, or a waste of setup time? How important are things like background/environment noise? how noticeable is the difference when it's not there? How appropriate is it to borrow from the soundtracks of existing media? Reccomendations?

July 11, 2016 - 15:29

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Connor Phillips

Players are discouraged from using electronics between breaks, so I loop the works of Basil Poledouris softly in the background. The number of times it synchs-up with the TT action is a little scary sometimes.

July 11, 2016 - 17:37

Jason King

After toying around with music at my table for years I've managed to get it right. Some of the best moments from our sessions came while the Hotline Miami 2 soundtrack was playing at the table. How well it goes over depends on your use of it, it's easy to use it for background mood setting, but you can use it as a way of making thins more dramatic as long as you know the track and can synch up with it. I remember describing the actions of a dying npc while
m.youtube.com/watch?v=XWTbo5muJ_Q
Was playing. It made for a very powerful moment.

July 11, 2016 - 17:46

John Smith

>arranged by accident

July 11, 2016 - 18:48

Wyatt Rogers

I use Fire Emblem music during fantasy games whenever I can.
This one is one of my favorites despite being relatively new, just because of how powerful it is.
youtube.com/watch?v=kPo8NgrBBG8

July 11, 2016 - 19:02

James Perry

>BWV 1080
muh nigga

July 11, 2016 - 20:52

Nathan Diaz

I like to use soft background music for low-tension scenes in fantasy games, usually from an Elder Scrolls or Final Fantasy soundtrack.
I'm not sure it was the best way to do it, but my last Call of Cthulhu game I played some songs from Bloodborne and Silent Hill 2+3 in a few places, then turning it off just before the players stumbled on something significant.
I was debating starting the campaign off by reading a letter to the players in time with Ashokan Farewell, but laziness got the better of me. Anyone here ever pulled off something like that?

July 11, 2016 - 23:04

Benjamin Martin

I like to have a compilation of creepy noises on in the background when I'm running CoC , just barely audible when nobody is making a sound; children giggling, creaking floorboards, hushes whispers, discordant violin screeching, all that good stuff, it works surprisingly well.

July 12, 2016 - 00:18

John Edwards

Playing music during RPGs is a sign of advanced autism. It is usually the result of a GM who went on Reddit looking for advice, got linked to the GM advice videos of a bunch of hipster nu males, and donated to their patreons at the end of it. The result is a GM with a ton of shitty advice in his head which includes playing music during sessions, which is the most advanced autism possible. These GMs also use a laptop during games, and the sound of constant clicking of the mouse or touchpad, or typing, is so utterly distracting it destroys immersion entirely. This is mostly the issue with tech-addicted millenials who cannot put down their goddamn phones for more than ten seconds. All GMs who use a laptop can go fuck themselves, you don't need them, and if you do need them because "muh PDFs" then try buying a game you can actually afford the book for, which means NOT playing Dungeons and Dragons. Yeah, I know it's hard, but there are better systems out there, and then you won't need music as a crutch because your roleplaying will be something actually worth experiencing.

July 12, 2016 - 01:24

Aaron Hughes

I use music when I have an appropriate track for the situation. A good soundscape can really help too

July 12, 2016 - 01:40

James Perez

This, albeit in a less cunty fashion.

July 12, 2016 - 03:37

Nicholas Perez

>Is it a necessary inclusion for mood and atmosphere
Nine out of ten times it will obliterate mood and atmosphere.

>How important are things like background/environment noise?
Not at all, because you're supposed to describe this shit so players can maybe react and possibly have a minute or two of rp.

>how noticeable is the difference when it's not there?
Immediately, much the relief of most involved.

>How appropriate is it to borrow from the soundtracks of existing media?
I really like to hear music from that vidya I played ages ago in a game that doesn't use the same themes or setting.

>Reccomendations?
Don't fucking do it. Spend the time on your maps, or your NPCs, or just practicing public speaking so you don't go 'uhhhh' and 'aaahh' and 'ummm' and 'actually' half the goddamn time.

July 12, 2016 - 03:44

Eli Gutierrez

I've found that Hotline Miami works EXTREMELY well for Cyberpunk campaigns.

July 12, 2016 - 05:20

Luis Morales

Here are a few tracks I'm planning to use for a deliberately retro-futuristic Cyberpunk 2020 campaign.

July 12, 2016 - 05:29

Christian Nguyen

>Faerie's aire
My fucking nigga

On topic, I would really try for BGM to make an impact, but have found that it interferes with the experience more often than not unless it's something purely inoffensive, like ambient.

I still dream of pulling a massive, heart-wrenching twist on the PCs when this starts playing:youtube.com/watch?v=Nf4AKMhw2MU&list=RDMNl4PNFubvQ&index=7

July 12, 2016 - 08:47

Ethan Lewis

>Accuses others of autism
>Seriously speak of "muh immersion" and has trouble with GM using a laptop
Hello, pot. I am kettle!

July 12, 2016 - 08:49

Jose Morgan

I rather avoid using actual music most of the time, because it rather breaks immersion than build it. However ambient sounds and "ambience" music can work great if you choose it right. Just avoid using anything too recognizable, because it will make the players think about track's original source instead of your campaign.

July 12, 2016 - 09:04

David Allen

I use stuff from the dark souls soundtrack for bosses a lot, but try to avoid music in non-combat situations, or If I do, I keep it quiet and on loop, and keep it simple.

July 12, 2016 - 11:12

Gabriel Wright

I just clicked on three random threads from the front page, and in all three of them some fucking loon is accusing people of being autistic millennials over something incredibly fucking contrived and trivial.

God I hate this fucking website.

July 12, 2016 - 11:21

Aiden Diaz

It depends. You have to choose the right mood music. Vocals are definitely distracting and should be avoided except if you want your game to have an "intro" and/or "outtro."

Video game soundtracks, however, are awesome mood music for an RPG. They are already designed to played in the background while someone plays a game anyway. They also do an excellent job of conveying a setting and sometimes but not always incorporate sound effects that are also helpful to convey the feel of the setting.

You are best served by turning the volume way down so it's noticeable but not distracting.

July 12, 2016 - 12:14

Brayden Torres

my rule of thumb is instrumentals and no vocal tracks, period.

unless they don't use actual words, like chanting or something like that. non-recognizable words.

July 12, 2016 - 12:24

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