The Importance of Music in Fallout 3

Post » Sat May 07, 2011 10:07 pm

Whoever was in charge of the soundtrack of this game really deserves some type of award: Walking through the ruined buildings, Standing on bridges overlooking the river and generally travelling listen long dead musicians singing about things that all seem trivial in the wasteland really makes the game exquisite. Okay the game could be perceived as a shallow FPS with adventuring elements to some but I feel the same about Fallout as I do when I watch Blue Velvet the game truly had the best soundtrack ever.

I honestly felt depressed or sorrowful along with Billie Holiday and cheerful and upbeat listening to Dear Hearts and Gentle People

I knew it was the music that affected me the most when I played Fallout:New Vegas and felt completely different and to be honest felt that they hadn't understood the formula that must have gone into choosing songs for F3. So I feel I just had to mention it as I see more things about gameplay than the themes of the game

Is there any game as effective in it's themes like this? (Apart from Bioshock)
Is there any moment in the game where you felt similar about an element of the game?
User avatar
Jessica Thomson
 
Posts: 3337
Joined: Fri Jul 21, 2006 5:10 am

Post » Sat May 07, 2011 3:33 pm

I love the 50s vibe F3 offers, and then the reasurring calming of Three Dog's joyous voice.

I don't want to set the world on fire, I just wanna start a flame in your heart!!!
User avatar
Lisha Boo
 
Posts: 3378
Joined: Fri Aug 18, 2006 2:56 pm

Post » Sun May 08, 2011 5:36 am

Having played the game over and over and having heard all the musics a thousand times, for me now the most important role of music is when you turn it off. In those dark tunnels, turn off the music. And it's just you. Only you. It makes me feel monophobic, which is amusingly disturbing since monophobia is also a real life problem for me.
User avatar
Bellismydesi
 
Posts: 3360
Joined: Sun Jun 18, 2006 7:25 am

Post » Sat May 07, 2011 8:06 pm

Whoever was in charge of the soundtrack of this game really deserves some type of award:

Yes. An award for coming up with some of the worst in game radio stations ever.

Walking through the ruined buildings, Standing on bridges overlooking the river and generally travelling listen long dead musicians singing about things that all seem trivial in the wasteland really makes the game exquisite. Okay the game could be perceived as a shallow FPS with adventuring elements to some but I feel the same about Fallout as I do when I watch Blue Velvet the game truly had the best soundtrack ever.

I honestly felt depressed or sorrowful along with Billie Holiday and cheerful and upbeat listening to Dear Hearts and Gentle People

Dear Hearts And Gentle People is not in the game, it was only in the FO3 teaser vid.

I knew it was the music that affected me the most when I played Fallout:New Vegas and felt completely different and to be honest felt that they hadn't understood the formula that must have gone into choosing songs for F3. So I feel I just had to mention it as I see more things about gameplay than the themes of the game

Is there any game as effective in it's themes like this? (Apart from Bioshock)
Is there any moment in the game where you felt similar about an element of the game?


For in game soundtrack: TES III Morrowind, and Deus Ex.
For in game radio: GTA III, and GTA: Vice City.

Jenifur Charne
User avatar
Josephine Gowing
 
Posts: 3545
Joined: Fri Jun 30, 2006 12:41 pm

Post » Sat May 07, 2011 5:43 pm

Yes. An award for coming up with some of the worst in game radio stations ever.


Dear Hearts And Gentle People is not in the game, it was only in the FO3 teaser vid.



My bad about Dear Hearts. Lets go sunning although more embarassing to enjoy does fill me with joy as does Way Back Home

What was the worst radio station? Okay 3 Dog is annoying but was also killable...Mr.New Vegas is shrouded in mystery and is not as developed. Did you not enjoy the music?
User avatar
Nauty
 
Posts: 3410
Joined: Wed Jan 24, 2007 6:58 pm

Post » Sun May 08, 2011 4:12 am

I think it's great! Listening to the radio before I had a companion/dog made me feel less lonely/scared. (I'd been playing for a week or two before I realised I had a radio on the Pipboy, I was wondering 'Where's all the great background songs?'!)

And listening to cheerful songs (e.g. from South Pacific) just made the experience that bit more surreal.

I also found the background music (non-radio) really atmospheric.
User avatar
Kit Marsden
 
Posts: 3467
Joined: Thu Jul 19, 2007 2:19 pm

Post » Sat May 07, 2011 3:37 pm

The main problem I had with Inon Zur is that his music in Tactics was dull and boring and in F3 it was wayyyy too Hollywood. He redeemed himself in NV, but I think they should have gotten Mark Morgan who did Fallout 1 and 2. Interestingly though, a bit of Fallout 1 and 2's music is in NV. My favorite in game music is a mix-up. I like Super Metroid's, Fallout 1/2, Super Mario: All-Stars, and a bunch of other Nintendo games... Oh and Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory... Lord of the Rings Online actually has really good music for a MMO (and graphics, and class design, and story-writing)... I'll probably think of others...
User avatar
carley moss
 
Posts: 3331
Joined: Tue Jun 20, 2006 5:05 pm

Post » Sat May 07, 2011 6:59 pm

My bad about Dear Hearts. Lets go sunning although more embarassing to enjoy does fill me with joy as does Way Back Home

What was the worst radio station? Okay 3 Dog is annoying but was also killable...Mr.New Vegas is shrouded in mystery and is not as developed. Did you not enjoy the music?

The triple mutt itself is annoying as all hell, but as you rightly point out it can be inhumed.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for its replacement or its radio station.

As for the track, Lets go sunning, including a musical ad for the promotion of getting skin cancer in the game is a Real Good Idea, NOT!

edit: missed info.
As for why I rate the GTA III and GTA VC stations well above what we copped in FO3: They're actually entertaining, and you can easily populate them with your own music.

Jenifur Charne
User avatar
Markie Mark
 
Posts: 3420
Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2007 7:24 am

Post » Sat May 07, 2011 7:06 pm

When i played Fallout 3, i listened to the radio all the time. In Fallout: New Vegas i turned it off. Most of the music is annoying as [censored], and Mr. New Vegas is an [censored].
User avatar
Mizz.Jayy
 
Posts: 3483
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2007 5:56 pm

Post » Sat May 07, 2011 9:39 pm

I completely agree. The music becomes annoying very very fast in NV.
User avatar
ANaIs GRelot
 
Posts: 3401
Joined: Tue Dec 12, 2006 6:19 pm

Post » Sun May 08, 2011 12:01 am

I love NV's music!

It's à Sin To Tell a Lie
Jingle Jangle Jingle
Stars of the Midnight Range
Something's Gotta Give

And they have Wayne Newton as Mr. New Vegas! They have Mr. Vegas as Mr. New Vegas!

And Black Mountain Radio is hilarious with best friend Tabitha.
User avatar
Fam Mughal
 
Posts: 3468
Joined: Sat May 26, 2007 3:18 am

Post » Sat May 07, 2011 3:15 pm

Lol I agree black mountain radio was hilarious to bad tabitha had to go :P
User avatar
Pat RiMsey
 
Posts: 3306
Joined: Fri Oct 19, 2007 1:22 am

Post » Sun May 08, 2011 2:09 am

I completely agree. The music becomes annoying very very fast in NV.


This. FO3's radio was the best, never gets old imo.
User avatar
Crystal Clear
 
Posts: 3552
Joined: Wed Aug 09, 2006 4:42 am

Post » Sun May 08, 2011 5:05 am


As for why I rate the GTA III and GTA VC stations well above what we copped in FO3: They're actually entertaining, and you can easily populate them with your own music.




I suppose it depends on if you think of the songs as needing to be entertaining or atmospheric(I found them both) but I can't see myself listening to "Bad Romance" as I explore the wasteland because that doesn't fit in to the game for me.
User avatar
Claire Jackson
 
Posts: 3422
Joined: Thu Jul 20, 2006 11:38 pm

Post » Sat May 07, 2011 9:25 pm

I suppose it depends on if you think of the songs as needing to be entertaining or atmospheric(I found them both) but I can't see myself listening to "Bad Romance" as I explore the wasteland because that doesn't fit in to the game for me.

The reason why I rate the stations in GTA III and GTA VC as being more entertaining than what we copped in FO3, is because of having announcers that did not grate on the nerves; having a far wider variety of stations; larger playlists per station; parodic ads that felt believable; randomized drop in point on which ever station you selected; and being designed to actually resemble stations of the era and area they are supposed to be from. In short they felt far more like real radio stations than what we copped in FO3.
The BGM in FO3, for me, has nothing of the appeal of the work of Jeremy Soule for Morrowind, or what Alexander Brandon; Michiel van den Bos; and Dan Gardopee created for Deus Ex. Personal taste there I'm afraid.
The radio music 'played' by GNR's resident motormouth, combined with his out of date 'news', does not endear itself to me. Those, combined with how the station 'plays' the records and his VO when the player has to visit there, breaks the suspension of disbelief. No door marked as 'INACCESSIBLE' with a label saying it's a recording studio. No holotape deck. No turntable. No records. No announcers booth.
The game uses an idealized atompunk 1950s USA as its base, yet in the game, there is no station playing 1950s music or songs.

Jenifur Charne
User avatar
KIng James
 
Posts: 3499
Joined: Wed Sep 26, 2007 2:54 pm

Post » Sun May 08, 2011 1:32 am

When the full moon is out, put on your party hat, tune in Galaxy Radio, and run into the terror of the Wasteland...can't be beat for pure joy.
User avatar
Ruben Bernal
 
Posts: 3364
Joined: Sun Nov 18, 2007 5:58 pm

Post » Sat May 07, 2011 10:16 pm

Speaking of music am I the only one who occasionally puts on the old Starcraft soundtrack while exploring the wasteland?
User avatar
Sabrina garzotto
 
Posts: 3384
Joined: Fri Dec 29, 2006 4:58 pm

Post » Sat May 07, 2011 5:16 pm

I enjoyed the soundtrack because it was immersing, something New Vegas's soundtrack lacked.
User avatar
Catharine Krupinski
 
Posts: 3377
Joined: Sun Aug 12, 2007 3:39 pm


Return to Fallout 3