Did I post this before? I don't remember. Check this out, guys:
Alex
Music as a game Enhancer
If you get onto Steam, you can download the entire Dawn of War II soundtrack for free. 'Battle Brothers' is great for pre-mission sequences. And I once had great fun playing 'For the craftworld' during a full-scale daemon incursion.
I haven't checked all the answers on this thread but my advice is this:
For haunting atmospheres:
1. Musica Cthulhiana (especially the song "Feeder") download free at
http://cthulhumusic.bandcamp.com/track/feeder
2. The Swedish guy called Nordvargr. His music is awesome.
For alien landscapes and general strangeness:
1. Synergy (Larry Fast), albums like "The Jupiter Menace". (Other earlier albums are not so good).
NezziR said:
I use music and sound in every game. I use RPGSoundMixer which allows me to create sound scenarios. For example, I've just created a 'ship' sound scenario. It begins with the slowly building sound of rocket engines as they enter the atmosphere. A voice-over announces "Entering Atmosphere'. There is then 30 seconds of 'rocket rumble' as I deliver the introduction speech for the drop. After 30 seconds, there is another announcement, "Firing retro engines in 3... 2... [Explosion]". The rocket sound then fades to give way to the higher pitched retro engines, that last about 5 seconds, then there's the sound of the ship touching down and groaning. This is followed by a (large piston operated) door opening and banging to the ground. The sound scape wraps with the announcement, "You are cleared for insertion. Emperor protect." The whole thing lasts about 45 seconds, 30 of which I use to deliver a unique insertion speech for each drop.
As I said, I use RPGSoundMixer to create the sound scenarios. I also use it to randomize and fade between sound track sections. I have sound tracks for ambient music, combat music, inspirational music, and urban music (to name a few). I have also created randomized combat scenarios (gun fire, grenades, missiles, lasers, etc.) that are unique each time they are played. They are all a key press away. Most of my music comes from the Dawn of War and Dawn of War II games and their expansions (I own the games). I use a few cuts off of the Alien soundtrack for my suspense tracks and a few cuts from John Carpenter (Halloween, Phantasm, Etc.) for my mystery tracks.
Any voice stuff I record, I use Mophvox Pro (I don't recommend this, but I can't find a good replacement) and Audacity (freeware) to change it up (frequency, rate, modulation, echo, etc.) then mix it with RPGSoundMixer.
It's a bit of work, but my players love it and it adds a great atmosphere to our games.
I have unique sound set for 40k, fantasy, and even one for a 30's detective game we were playing using Savage Worlds.
Edit: Most of the music I use is purely instrumental, or gregorian type chants favored in the 40k genre. I find things with lyrics to be a bit distracting. You might also look at some classical music. I use some, but I'm not familiar enough with it to give you details.
could i get a copy of this? just to have a "look" at and see if it is worth the effort myself?
I've actually got a load of different playlists for different kinds of environment (General, Mystery, Horror), battle against different kinds of foes (A lot of Dead Space music for the Tyranid, etc.), and switch between it during the game with an iPod speaker dock I have sat next to me.