Aubrey Hodges Doom Music

[40oz]

Am I the only person here who thinks it's terrible? I've been browsing through random PSX Doom, PSX Doom 2, and PSX Final Doom and Doom64 music tracks and I can't seem to let any single track hold my attention.

I've been mapping to some video game music tracks, the latest of which was Starcraft's Zerg music, which has been very productive for me. It also gave me the idea to try PSX Doom's music to map to, and I've got nothing. I'm just sitting here in front of my computer being annoyed to death. It's all a bunch of random distant airplane flights and phasing lawnmower noises. Each map gets eight to ten minutes of garbage audio. I'll be damned if it even takes most doom maps 8 minutes to complete.

I never really understood the fascination with it. Maybe it's that you get so engaged with actually playing the game that you forget that the noises aren't just the idle sounds of the monsters. The only track I'm even remotely attached to is Doom64 MAP01 - Staging Area. It's the only track i've heard that has even the slightest melody to it, mainly because the noises are very repetitive. I can't figure it out, but I can't seem to torture myself with it any longer.

[Ed]

The entire body of audio in the PSX/N64 Doom is vastly superior to the original. Much more fitting to the mood of the game.

[PRIMEVAL]

I enjoy it, but I can't listen to it like that. I think it's only fitting for Doom64, not classic style Doom.

[DoomUK]

It's all a matter of taste isn't it? Personally I think the atmospheric music of PSX Doom and Doom 64 is much more fitting to the games, too. Some people prefer the more lively and melodic original soundtrack. There's a few Doom 2 MIDIs which I find thoroughly unlikable, but to each his own and all that.

[DeathevokatioN]

Ed said:

The entire body of audio in the PSX/N64 Doom is vastly superior to the original. Much more fitting to the mood of the game.

no

[Blastfrog]

It's not really meant to be music, moreso ambiance.

In a way, Doom has always been kinda musicless, as throughout most of Doom's development, there was no music, and even the Jaguar version had none. Though I do understand that in the case of the former, it was simply incompleteness, and in the latter was technical difficulties. I kinda think that Doom is unofficially officially musicless. Many people say that Doom just feels right without music, as it brings out the atmosphere more, and puts the focus more on what's going on in the game, rather than the music itself.

I've always kinda seen Doom (the first one at least) as an adventure game, that was meant to have an element of exploration, and that action (while still being a big part) wasn't the absolute main focus. Still, the ambient music probably fits better with slower paced, more exploration based gameplay. Doom 64 and Tom Hall's maps have always seemed like they would be best with ambient music.


Point is though, it's meant to fill in silence with atmosphere, it's not meant to be listened to as music. As ambiance, it does an extremely good job, as music, not so much.

[TimeOfDeath666]

I guess I'm kinda surprised that listening to certain types of music help with your mapping. I don't listen to music while mapping, but I do have the tv on next to my computer. My fav is to map while watching JUDGE JUDY.

[DoomUK]

Sodaholic said:

Point is though, it's meant to fill in silence with atmosphere, it's not meant to be listened to as music. As ambiance, it does an extremely good job, as music, not so much.

Next you're going to say the environmental drones in Doom 3 weren't musical.

[40oz]

Sodaholic said:

In a way, Doom has always been kinda musicless, as throughout most of Doom's development, there was no music,

I'm having trouble understanding what you mean by this. Many of Doom's developers at id software were avid metalheads and were very likely to be listening to music the whole time. John Romero has said on occasion that he wouldput on music to map to to get him in that creative mood.

[NiuHaka]

You are not alone 40oz. I love the Bobby Prince music and I don't really like any other doom music. It doesn't feel like doom without Bobby... but then again I'm old and anything after Doom 2 is new and way too cool for me.

[Use]

40oz said:

Am I the only person here who thinks it's terrible?

It's not terrible, I think it sets up a nice mood, but there's no way it holds a candle to the legitimate compositions in the PC version. In almost every case it's people who played the console version first who prefer this music.

40oz said:

Many of Doom's developers at id software were avid metalheads and were very likely to be listening to music the whole time. John Romero has said on occasion that he wouldput on music to map to to get him in that creative mood.

You're right, that's why Doom1-2 soundtracks have drawn such big influences from other bands, cause that shit was playing in the office constantly. Soda is just talking out of his ass as usual.

[esselfortium]

I really enjoy Doom 64's music, for Doom 64. I love Bobby Prince's midi soundtracks for Doom and Doom II though.

[Blastfrog]

Use3D said:

Soda is just talking out of his ass as usual.

Not you specifically, but this kind of stuff is beginning to really irritate me. My posts in general aren't that bad for fuck's sake, why do more and more people dislike me here? I understand some of my posts can be questionable sometimes, but come on, there's worse people here.

[Jodwin]

Sodaholic said:

Many people say that Doom just feels right without music, as it brings out the atmosphere more, and puts the focus more on what's going on in the game, rather than the music itself.

Funny, I always found that music helps the atmosphere, and fitting and engrossing music helps me get into the game much better. Whenever I try to play any game without music I end up getting annoyed because it feels like there's nothing going on (even if there was).

eternal slumber said:

I guess I'm kinda surprised that listening to certain types of music help with your mapping.

I always have music on while mapping. Sometimes it's radio or something totally random, other times it's various midis, or, if I've already chosen a song for the map I might be listening to that to get into the map's mood while, err, making the map. Plus, I get plenty of inspiration from music.

[Use]

Sodaholic said:

My posts in general aren't that bad for fuck's sake, why do more and more people dislike me here?

Here's a pointer, try shutting the hell up.

Jodwin said:

I always have music on while mapping.

Same here, in fact many of my released maps are named from songs. Real original, I know. :)

[Quasar]

I believe it is a matter of context. Hodges' music is not meant to be listened to recreationally. It is engineered to create a mood during gameplay, and in that respect I don't think it's honestly possible to argue that it fails.

But yes much of it is boring to hear out of context, and that is simply true for most (but not all) "environmental ambience" music tracks.

[Koko Ricky]

Fun that you say that Quasar, because I listen to the tracks recreationally, I just love them that much. Am I alone here?

[PRIMEVAL]

Jodwin said:

Funny, I always found that music helps the atmosphere, and fitting and engrossing music helps me get into the game much better. Whenever I try to play any game without music I end up getting annoyed because it feels like there's nothing going on (even if there was).

Well, it depends. For me, SNES Doom without the music was a LOT scarrier as a kid. I couldn't here anything, didn't know what was coming up next, anxiety attack in 3..2..1..

Sodaholic said:

Not you specifically, but this kind of stuff is beginning to really irritate me. My posts in general aren't that bad for fuck's sake, why do more and more people dislike me here? I understand some of my posts can be questionable sometimes, but come on, there's worse people here.

I actually haven't seen a bad post from you. But then, no one can compete with Skib or whatever his name is/was.

[Xaser]

Re: OP

I usually don't care for ambient music in general, but I do believe that Doom 64's soundtrack fits the game perfectly. So there.

[EDIT] Come to think of it, maybe I don't dislike ambient music at all, since I seem to like absolutely everything from the Devil May Cry series. Guess it depends on how it's used. It's the generic orchestral crap used nowadays that I can't stand. ;)

[Blastfrog]

PRIMEVAL said:

I actually haven't seen a bad post from you. But then, no one can compete with Skib or whatever his name is/was.

Thank you, it helps knowing that I'm not completely wasting my time here posting to people that don't even like me. Skib is a good example, I've never acted anything like that, nor have I done anything even remotely similar to BloodMaster/Doom 64/Whatever-Alias-He-Has-Now. Christ that guy is annoying, if someone's gonna be a troll, they should make it interesting and not spam "OLOLOLOL SODAS A FAGGOT".


Still, about the PSX Doom audio. I've always preferred the PSX sound effects, as they're original (not just ripped from a sound library), and they sound cooler (in my opinion). Hell, they even work well with normal music. They just sound like they have a lot more personality, whereas the PC sounds are pretty forgettable to me, since they're so generic.

As for music, I can go either way, but sometimes ambiance can get boring.

[scalliano]

I, on the other hand, can't stand MIDIs (for the record, PSX Doom wasn't the first version of Doom I ever played). Hodges' ambient tracks are exactly that - they're not meant to be just listened to. They are an accompaniment to two versions of Doom which take a much darker tone than the PC originals. That is the reason they work as well as they do.

This isn't to say that I think Prince's work is without merit - some of the versions of those tunes done on real instruments are absolutely astounding - it's just that standard MIDI format really wasn't meant for metal. Or orchestral music. Or techno. Or ...

Also, I must say I can't find the lawnmower noises you speak of.

[esselfortium]

Sodaholic said:

Thank you, it helps knowing that I'm not completely wasting my time here posting to people that don't even like me. Skib is a good example, I've never acted anything like that, nor have I done anything even remotely similar to BloodMaster/Doom 64/Whatever-Alias-He-Has-Now. Christ that guy is annoying, if someone's gonna be a troll, they should make it interesting and not spam "OLOLOLOL SODAS A FAGGOT".

Does every thread have to be about you? What purpose does this tangent serve, exactly?

[dew]

esselfortium said:

Does every thread have to be about you? What purpose does this tangent serve, exactly?

any better ideas how to get a custom title?

anyways, ambient music and noise is perfectly okay in an atmospheric game and as usual, sysshock2 is a perfect example. or ennio morricone's western soundtracks, ffs. i wouldn't listen to doom64 music alone, but then again that is not the intended use to begin with.

[Varis Alpha]

I love the respective soundtracks of PSX Doom and Doom 64. Really soothing to listen to when doing creative work if you ask me, or being played when in a state of insomnia.

[Snakes]

I never really enjoyed the ambient tracks outside of Doom 64. I prefer my doom fast-paced and wild or more serene. I don't like the sounds of PSX Doom in general, so there's that. They have their merits, but none that interest me in the slightest.

esselfortium said:

Does every thread have to be about you? What purpose does this tangent serve, exactly?

There does seem to be a pattern that pops up every once in a while:

1) Soda says something
2) Someone points out that he's wrong
3) Soda gets defensive and whines
4) Someone reassures him
5) Soda feel reassured and mentions a troll

What'd really help him out is if he said, "Oh, I wasn't aware of this," and let the "Soda = dumbass" comments bounce off of him and avoid step 3... Which in due time, they'd get fewer and farther between. Instead this pattern develops and a thread gets derailed.

Soda, are you reading this?

[Mithran Denizen]

Sort of related to the topic, for the last couple of weeks I've been listening to normal MIDI tracks with the soundfont that Doom 64 EX's wadgen utility outputs, just for shits and giggles. In many cases the sound is just an incomprehensible mess, but sometimes the result is quite intriguing.

Plenty of classical music MIDIs seem to work well, in particular. A few of the Doom and Doom 2 MUS files undergo an interesting transformation as well.

[Xaser]

Hmm, got a list of ones that sound good? That's actually quite intriguing.

[Blastfrog]

Snakes said:

Soda, are you reading this?

I am. I admit, I shouldn't be whining. I'll continue trying to ignore the "Soda is a dumbass" comments, but they just irritate me, especially when they're constant.

Either way, I don't want to derail this thread further than I already have, don't bother talking about this any more in this thread.

[david-arquette]

When I first played PSX Doom I couldn't really get in to the soundtrack as when I played Doom on the PC I either had the MIDI soundtrack or Bon Jovi playing through my headphones. But now I really prefer the ambience of chains, groans and sustained bass frequencies. To me it adds to the atmosphere and makes Doom a more immersive experience. In the case of Final Doom and Doom 64, it makes them damn scary.

The original MIDI's though, I still listen to them occasionally when playing the PC version and have learnt to play many of them on guitar and keyboard :)

[vinnie245]

GoatLord said:

Fun that you say that Quasar, because I listen to the tracks recreationally, I just love them that much. Am I alone here?

No your not, i absolutely detest the MIDI's as they sound so cheesy and to me don't fit to what doom should sound like.
Then again PSX Doom was the first Doom i ever played so again i grew up with that style, i can even listen to quite a few of them when im not playing (Even though some of the Doom 64 Songs are a bit too long and tedious)
Favourites of Mine are PSX Doom - Deimos Anomaly PSX Doom - Mt Erebus PSX Final Doom - Geryon Doom 64 - Dark Citadel and Doom 64 - Breakdown.
Plus the new sound effects rape all kinds of ass, especially the shotgun sound :P