My first exposure to this was Phantasy Star Online on the Dreamcast. My mind was blown.
Such a shame more games don't use this. It worked for PSO because fights were relatively drawn out/telegraphed, so there was always a chance to build up/slow down the music.
I wonder if AI could get used to dynamically generate a transition between battle/overworld themes. Or at least, if the composer makes one and use AI to make all necessary versions.
I just remembered that the new Pokemon games (Scarlet/Violet) do this dynamic music thing too!
As a teenager, learning how they did this on a technical level blew my mind a second time!
Any recommendations?
Nothing beats suddenly hearing the big monster's theme morphing into Proof of a Hero when you are close to winning in Monster Hunter.
It's kind of dumb but honestly fun as hell if you can find a working peripheral: DJ Hero honestly still rips. The music rocks and you can change the music on the fly
On a more accessible side Hades does a good job increasing in intensity as things get more chaotic
Frostpunk and Cyberpunk do it pretty well.
Payday 2
Nier Automata
Like a Dragon/Yakuza. Its not dynamically adaptive, but you definitely feel the soundtrack and they sync really well to fightsz. It also is synced perfectly to boss intros!
Raphael's Final Act from BG3
Probably the best track in any game considering the boss you're fighting is literally singing it while beating your ass
Anyone else remember iMUSE in the old LucasArts games? I adored the CMI soundtrack.
I am the storm thAT IS APPROACHING! PROVOKING! BLACK CLOUDS AND ISOLATION!
I actually dislike most adaptive game music because most games that use that term just use it for having combat music that swaps in dynamically when you're near a hostile mob.
The games where the music is just a combination of things based on what's going on, however, are fucking dope as hell. It's not something I see (er... Hear) all that often though which is disappointing.
It's awesome when you notice that you can affect the music that's playing by jumping or doing specific attacks/actions or based on how many/what kind of enemies are around, etc and not just "the music is this now because you're fighting."
Dungeon Keeper 2. Fuck yeah.
I can very much recommend Tetris Effect in that matter. It is a musical experience with a different music piece for every stage. There are about 30 stages and each one rects differently to you rotating, dropping pieces and clearing lines or multiple lines.
Riding out, Chaos bringer, Close the gates, Here it comes
I like how the From Soft games are mostly no music, then the boss hits and it’s on full epic soundtrack
Have you played Pikmin 2 or 3? Those use adaptive midi tracks based on what happens in boss fights/caves.
