Music in Horror Games

The horror genre in general usually is usually famous for its classic music that become symbols of the genre. Like in Jaw, as soon as you hear that special build up you immediately think shark attack! Or in Psycho with its famous screech noises that makes you immediately visualize that iconic knife attack in the shower. Since music is such a vital part of the horror genre, I thought it would be interesting to explore how much of a part music and sound effects plays in horror video games.

When thinking back on the games that I've played, music doesn't immediately stand out at me in my memories. This might actually say something about its level of importance; or perhaps its because music blends into the atmosphere of the game and 

you don't immediately realize its effects. 

In Fatal Frame 2 for the majority of the time, the only sound that is heard are the footsteps of the character Mio. Since the setting is in an abandoned village, it makes sense that it should be silent. But what I find most interesting about the sound effects in this game, is that it relies on characters within the game to create the mood. For example, for a good chunk of the game we are with our sister Mayu and at times she'll say random creepy things that (in that moment) doesn't make a lot of sense to the player. Also, the sound effects of opening the door are quite creepy. The scenes in this game that have the most "sound" are the fighting scenes. The camera makes the most noise, the sound of the camera charging, and flashing. Also the sounds of the ghosts that we are fighting and the sounds of them dying. All of this adds excitement to the game and to the intensity of the fight, and as soon as you finish, it reverts back to its silence. I think that the sounds effects, not necessarily music, plays more of a role in this game. But perhaps sound effects can be considered the music of video games. 

In Dead Space, music is definitely more developed, giving it a cinematic feel. Dead Space actually has a soundtrack that was released with titles like, "The Necromorphs Attack" and  "Severed Limbs Are Hazardous Waste". Like Fatal Frame 2, things get louder when you are interact with the "bad guys", however, in Dead Space music is played throughout the game. There are definitely times when there isn't any music, but this does not leave you in silence. There is always some sort of noise occurring, things within the ship are clanging, necromorphs are slithering around. I can say that the music is most intense when danger is imminent. You can check out the theme song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZbpeFDLeGA&feature=related) which is spacey-eerie. 

The Path is different from the last two games that  I discussed. I'm not sure if its an Indie thing, but creep music is played throughout the entire game, or at least the parts that I've played. Unlike the other games, the music was something that I initially noticed. The song is continuously played in the background, sometimes other songs are meshed together, but you can always hear the same keys. This familiarity, makes it feel like nothing is changing, and you don't know when anything is going to change, until it does. 

I think music in video games definitely add to the environment but I'm not sure how much gamers think about the music. Do you guys care about music in video games? Do you even notice it?