I was thinking of how older 2D games often did a better job of setting the mood for different areas and what impact this had on the overall experience.
If you good back and look at a lot of the old JRPGs in particular they have a lot of music scores that won many awards.
Where I'm going with this is that the music is very important to setting the mood for roleplaying.
I remember many times in older games the games would start with a sunny village where everyone was happy and there was happy music. Then something would happen. The screen would shake and disaster struck. The music would reflect that. The music might change depending on an NPC who was talking to reflect their personality. Music was an essential part of the storytelling. I don't feel that too much in MMORPGs.
The other thing I was thinking of was NPCs, what they say, and how they react. In older RPGs I played NPCs would often have some goofy tidbit to say that was funny or serious depending on who. A scripted event might even play out between a few NPCs.
To see examples of this look at games like Final Fantasy IV, VI and Dragon Warrior VII. Kingdoms of Amalur Reckoning. It has good music and sets the scene for the different areas fairly well. One thing of note is that the music is almost all pure instrumental and contains simple, but beautiful musical tunes that stick in your mind. I don't think there has been music from an MMORPG that stuck in my head since the EQ intro music.
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How do you like your story told?
I was thinking of how older 2D games often did a better job of setting the mood for different areas and what impact this had on the overall experience.
If you good back and look at a lot of the old JRPGs in particular they have a lot of music scores that won many awards.
Where I'm going with this is that the music is very important to setting the mood for roleplaying.
I remember many times in older games the games would start with a sunny village where everyone was happy and there was happy music. Then something would happen. The screen would shake and disaster struck. The music would reflect that. The music might change depending on an NPC who was talking to reflect their personality. Music was an essential part of the storytelling. I don't feel that too much in MMORPGs.
The other thing I was thinking of was NPCs, what they say, and how they react. In older RPGs I played NPCs would often have some goofy tidbit to say that was funny or serious depending on who. A scripted event might even play out between a few NPCs.
To see examples of this look at games like Final Fantasy IV, VI and Dragon Warrior VII. Kingdoms of Amalur Reckoning. It has good music and sets the scene for the different areas fairly well. One thing of note is that the music is almost all pure instrumental and contains simple, but beautiful musical tunes that stick in your mind. I don't think there has been music from an MMORPG that stuck in my head since the EQ intro music.