I do tend to be kind of random on my thoughts when it comes to TOR, and again this post will be well removed from my last.

 

This time I would like to air my thoughts on the music, and how it will effect us in game.

Well before I get into it, I’ll share with you how this random thought got hold of me.

 

While playing  Rift and listening to the latest PodCasts, and also chatting with guild members in vent. I had to switch to another channel, as I did not want to miss something that may be important. Now, this is not a first for me by any means, but this small act, coupled with the fact my game music was turned way down, it kind of just hangs there in the background so i can notice if I’m getting blindsided in PvP.

This, believe it or not, is just a small glimpse into my random thought process, when it comes to things related to TOR.

 

But really how important is game music ?

Before I started this article, I would of said that music is ok for a short time, but something we can easily do without. You could count on one hand how many games have great music, and you would be hard pushed to name two MMO’s to add to that list.

There are few slim pickings around, where the music in the game is as important as the game itself. Only two games really come to mind, that I would say the game would not have made it, if the music had not been there.

 

So a little test for you, see if you know these games, just by their music…

Game 1 and Game 2

OK, those two are kind of easy, but now we are on the same lines. The music from both are as iconic, if not more than the game itself.

 

Apart from the Dev Trailer – Music of The Old Republic I have not really thought about the music to any great extent, when I think about TOR. While watching this video again, you do get a sense of the vast importance that music will play when it comes to this game.

This may be the first instance in any MMO, that the music is just as important as all the other game elements you care to think of. In case I’ve missed something, BioWare is making this game in such a way, to make everyone the hero. The music along with the story, will set the stage to thrust each and every player forward.

 

Even those first tender moments when you enter the game, with those ever so iconic opening scenes, that hold a special place in many a Star Wars fans heart. If you only see it one time, it will remain with you through out you game playing experience.

Being the Smuggler, the Sith Warrior or any class within the game, at last means something. No longer are quests just a method of gaining levels. They are there to place you in that role you have chosen for yourself. The story is the major selling point for TOR, but without the music, you would never get that feeling of being the mighty hero.

 

I took a quick look of some of the latest videos, more notably the Jedi Armor Progression video and the one on Bounty Hunter. Now these two classes are worlds apart. I’ve watched booth a good number of times, but until I though about the music side of it, I kind of didn’t notice it too much. Sure I knew it was there, but with hindsight, I now see that its the music that sets the scene.

It sets the mood, it gets you into that role, and most importantly it blends story, combat and all manner of game elements together.

 

Now try this, watch both videos again, first without the music, then again with.

You can see in an instant just how massive a role the music plays in both videos, as it will in game.

 

No longer, will I at least, use music as an early warning system, when my focus is else where. For the first time in an MMO, music will be driving you forward and pull you into the world, for everything the  game has to offer.

Just something to think about the next time a TOR video appears on  the interwebs.

 

Until we meet again, MrWarlock signing off.