Some Thoughts About RotMG's OST Style

#1

I’ve made a similar post before, but I wanted to bring the topic back up again because I had a bit of an epiphany. Although the one reply was nice for giving me feedback, I realized something.

After having played pretty inconsistently, I did a quick Cursed Library on a late Seasonal PPE for fun. While running through the dungeon, I remembered just how much of a banger Sorcerer’s Tower is. The fast-paced percussion combined with the catchy medieval melody and the synth bass really pulled me back into the game. It’s this appreciation for the song that made me realize that it is what the game’s OST should be like. It also represents the game perfectly; a fast-paced and flashy MMORPG bullet hell roguelike with medieval theming. It’s also this realization that put into perspective for me how much the main soundtrack has deviated from that marriage of themes.

I mean absolutely no offense to WangleLine, but most of her tracks, to me at least, lean more into the “medieval fantasy” side. Sometimes that works and fits really well, specifically in the Nexus, Vault, and Daily Quest Room where you’re usually only there to catch your breath and take it slow. Other times it’s nice but a bit unfitting, like the Realm’s main theme, Lair of Draconis, Forest Maze, etc. There are certain dungeons where the tracks change theme into a genre fitting the dungeon and it works, with standouts being Toxic Sewers, Pirate Cave, and Spider Den. For the most part though, Wangle’s music tracks that focus more on “medieval fantasy” feel out of place. The only exceptions are the tracks for each area in Oryx’s Castle, where the tone is more serious since you’re invading the base of the game’s main villain, in which case the darker medieval tone fits especially well. Otherwise though, it’s kinda meh.

However, this also gives me much more appreciation for The Shatters’ track. The whole song feels like a twisted and dark version of Sorcerer’s Tower, borrowing the dubstep influences and putting a dark spin on it, not to mention the broken up version of Sorcerer’s Tower’s main melody, while also having original parts that slap. It sounds perfect for RotMG’s overall OST, and especially perfect for the dungeon itself considering its ties to Oryx’s lore.

I’m going to conclude with my thoughts on what RotMG’s OST style should be. In general, songs should be part medieval fantasy and part dubstep while balancing the two influences. Some dungeons are allowed to break this rule (in particular if the dungeon’s own theme deviates from most of RotMG’s theme), but otherwise this should be the gold standard for the style of RotMG’s OST. I know that Wangle is no longer one of RotMG’s composers, but my hope is that the rest of the team will see my feedback and try to uphold that standard.

#2

im not really sure, ill hgav eto thgink about that one. youve given me a lot to think about, so ill have to think about that one.

#3

The sound-track should be something like Oyrx 2 100% of the time in my humble opinion. I am forced to turn the sound off because DECA chooses music that is so bad it is like chinese water torture to listen to again, and again, and again. I don’t really know why; they must know most players now turn off all music due to that fact.

#4

Although I do love Oryx’s various themes, I still stand by the standard of “dubstep with medieval influences. Could you list some examples of tracks that you dislike? The relatively “recent” tracks have been pretty good, but I definitely know there are some boring/unfitting tracks. Small side tangent, but another gripe I forgot to mention is that some tracks in the game don’t loop perfectly, leaving awkward swaths of silence such as in BOUNDARY::BREAK and Sacarosa.

#5

All tracks I dislike except the old main music and the oyrx music. Shatters is decent too.

#6

On one hand, I understand your points about the OST and I do personally think that the wide majority of the soundtrack isn’t nearly exciting enough for me to justify having it on over the music I would listen to regularly, but I also think that the soundtrack does a fine enough job with being easy-listening background noise. I wouldn’t want the soundtrack of this game to be loud or abrasive, as it shouldn’t take away from the heavy focus meant to be on surviving in this game. I do just think this is a hard game to compose music for, and while I wouldn’t say this soundtrack stands out much at all, it certainly does its job with giving us something to potentially throw on in the background for some comforting easy background music.

#7

Have you heard what NFS Most Wanted 2005 soundrack is like? People love that shizzz

#8

No I have not lol

#9

I find the soundtrack as it is, dungeons without original tracks aside, serviceable, but I think that it could benefit a lot from a unique identity that complements the game’s mechanics more effectively. What we have right now is a decent but very ordinary soundtrack that, give or take a few shared leitmotifs, could probably work in some other games. What I want is a soundtrack that really sounds like it could only work in RotMG (and to the game’s benefit). My main issue comes from some songs not fitting the pace of the game.

Forest Maze’s track is whimsical and odd, a tone which I think fits the dungeon, but its slower tempo feels out of place compared to the actual gameplay. Yes, you’re slower at this stage of the game, but you still have to make some quick reactions towards attacks. Plus, the dungeon literally drops consumables that temporarily boost your speed, so having nothing in the track symbolize those small spurts of speed makes it stand out less. Lair of Draconis’ track is ancient and breathy, but is also slower paced. It could sound better if it mimicked Oryx Sanctuary’s track’s style where it balanced out the slow tempo with some grandeur of its own.

Not all of the slower paced songs are unfitting though. Toxic Sewer’s track is slow, but contains some grunginess with its murky electric guitars and funky bass notes. The slow pace also actually fits with the dungeon itself since you’re usually wading through the Sludge that reduces your movement speed.

My reply is sort of an addendum to my original post here, but my main point in response to your reply is that RotMG’s OST is decent yet lacks some identity. Some songs could have been tuned to better fit the flow and theme of certain dungeons. They don’t need to be intense or loud, they just need to fit the areas that they’re in, and I think that a few of those songs have almost reached those requirements.

#10

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