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[HartDesign]

Hey everyone, I'm in the process of developing a game and I've gotten to the point where I need to seriously think about my soundtrack, now first thing I have to decide is if I want synthetic or recorded music. As you can tell from the title I'm looking at some sort of orchestral soundtrack. So basically what I wanna know is your opinion on orchestral music in a game and If you actually notice or care if it's synthetic or not. reply below and let me know, cheers.

[Kole]

If the game calls for an Orchestral score then I absolutely, positively, 100% prefer live musicians to synth mockups. Samples have progressed very nicely, but nothing captures the pure energy & emotion of a piece of music like a room full of professional musicians. If you have the budget then I absolutely recommend recording live.

[FelixArifin]

Yes. Yes. Yes. 100% yes, get it recorded live if you can.

However, if you don't have the budget for it, synthetic orchestra can sound just as convincing as a real one! It'll take a lot of work, but it always pays off in the end. :D

-Felix

[auroraaa]

Orchestral music in games mostly depends on what kind of game it is. Story-based games will do well with an orchestra, top-down spacey shooters not as much.

A synthetic orchestra would be good enough, budget-wise. I mean, you're not trying to make a triple-A game now, are you? 
Most film scores nowadays are synthetic anyway, and depending on the efforts of the composer, it can sound realistic enough. If you already know how to compose other kinds of music then creating synthetic orchestral music wouldn't be that hard.

[clark_a]

synthetic orchestra can sound just as convincing as a real one!

It'll sound great, but nowhere near as good.

Orchestral music in games mostly depends on what kind of game it is. Story-based games will do well with an orchestra, top-down spacey shooters not as much.

You're telling me you can't see a spacey-top-down-shooter with this supporting?
https://youtu.be/8YkF3j7uUSc?t=25s
Story or no story, top down or first person, etc... the Orchestra is arguably the most versatile scoring tool.

Most film scores nowadays are synthetic anyway, and depending on the efforts of the composer, it can sound realistic enough.

I'd say most tv, but most films are still live.

Are you composing the score yourself? Do you (or your composer, if no to the first question!) have any experience writing for orchestra (live or not)? Can your budget cover it?
Do some research, and find out.

If you want a good orchestral score (sampled or real), you need to know how to orchestrate. You can't just apply any old device you use in synth/chip/band whatever your style is. Sure, bring that to the table, let you be you. But without knowledge of the individual instruments, and how they work as a whole, writing for orchestra is going to be an uphill battle.

[Characterlimi]

Honestly I'd think more on whether you want the soundtrack to be more adaptive to gameplay or if you'd want it more cinematic and linear. Consumers either won't notice or won't particularly care if the orchestral samples sound synthetic if the soundtrack is handled well, and marries the atmosphere and art direction.

-A more linear/cinematic experience would lend itself to a live orchestral recording. Unless you are looking for a choppy sound, or are very skilled at reorganizing audio clips, pre-recorded audio will have the emotional punch imparted from the musicians, and won't need to be adjusted to an extreme degree.

-A more adaptive soundtrack would lend itself to sample libraries. With a clever sound designer and a decent audio engine you can create truly adaptive soundscapes that won't necessarily sound realistic, but will match to the games changing state in a coherent way.

Those are just my opinions

[ZackParrish]

I think it depends entirely on the skill level of the person producing the music. You can make some really convincing pieces of music that sound like the real thing, just like you can have another not so skilled person make a nice sounding track that might be kind of lacking on the realism front. If you plan on having the music loop then using orchestral sample libraries to score the music will be more beneficial since they can make perfectly seamless loops that way, but with real musicians ... outside of using cross fading at the point of the loop it's not likely to be seamless, and generally noticeable.

Then there is the matter of whether the person you use to compose music for said real instruments has the chops to do it. Just like using synthetic / sample based instrumentation they really have to know what they are doing or it will be a train wreck. The ones that do know what they are doing will not be cheap either, and will likely increase their rates for the added time it takes to construct a score for a live orchestra.

On top of the increase in their rates, they aren't going to just accept joe smoe from the corner to perform this stuff, so your session costs for hiring an orchestra will be up there.

Financially you are better of sticking with a composer that does things digitally, unless you have a surplus amount of money and time(live stuff takes much longer to produce as well...).

[HartDesign]

Great feedback everyone, really constructive

I think it depends entirely on the skill level of the person producing the music.

I'm the composer myself, probably should have said that in the topic header, but I have some relatively solid experience scoring for orchestras. I currently have Sibelius 7 so in terms of using samples I'd probably be sweet, so in terms of sampled or orchestral if I really stuck to one then I'd be able to tend to their strengths and weaknesses etc. In terms of time though no real issue, the game is still pretty rough but feeling a little hollow walking around without any sort of music to smooth it out. looking at using http://hollywoodscoring.com/ if I decide on a live recording so could probably manage budget? But to invest that I'd have to feel like it was worth it.
To extend on the question what do people actually think of orchestral music in games? Does it add substance or kinda bore people? keep in mind by orchestral I don't necessarily mean classical.

[Audiosprite]

Great feedback everyone, really constructive

I think it depends entirely on the skill level of the person producing the music.

I'm the composer myself, probably should have said that in the topic header, but I have some relatively solid experience scoring for orchestras. I currently have Sibelius 7 so in terms of using samples I'd probably be sweet, so in terms of sampled or orchestral if I really stuck to one then I'd be able to tend to their strengths and weaknesses etc. In terms of time though no real issue, the game is still pretty rough but feeling a little hollow walking around without any sort of music to smooth it out. looking at using http://hollywoodscoring.com/ if I decide on a live recording so could probably manage budget? But to invest that I'd have to feel like it was worth it.
To extend on the question what do people actually think of orchestral music in games? Does it add substance or kinda bore people? keep in mind by orchestral I don't necessarily mean classical.

Sibelius' samples are great for feedback on your arrangement, but they're really not for producing a finished mp3 that your audience actually hears. To do that, you're looking at finding a DAW and some samples meant for that, like those by EWQL or 8dio.

[ArnoldSavary]

To extend on the question what do people actually think of orchestral music in games? Does it add substance or kinda bore people?

Of course it adds substance. Haven't you played any video games lately? Orchestral music is still very much standard, especially in AAA games. You should probably take the time to listen to some OSTs in the same genre if you're unfamiliar with modern video game music.

[oahda]

I don't notice enough that I think you should allocate a huge part of your budget, which I'm guessing is small for you as an indie, on live music, no. OTOH if you or your musician don't have high quality samples yet I dunno how much less or more those would cost, so eh.

Might be better to get your input from your actual audience than a bunch of audiophiles on here tho, who notice these things a lot more than your average gamer.

[ZackParrish]

Great feedback everyone, really constructive

I think it depends entirely on the skill level of the person producing the music.

I'm the composer myself, probably should have said that in the topic header, but I have some relatively solid experience scoring for orchestras. I currently have Sibelius 7 so in terms of using samples I'd probably be sweet, so in terms of sampled or orchestral if I really stuck to one then I'd be able to tend to their strengths and weaknesses etc. In terms of time though no real issue, the game is still pretty rough but feeling a little hollow walking around without any sort of music to smooth it out. looking at using http://hollywoodscoring.com/ if I decide on a live recording so could probably manage budget? But to invest that I'd have to feel like it was worth it.
To extend on the question what do people actually think of orchestral music in games? Does it add substance or kinda bore people? keep in mind by orchestral I don't necessarily mean classical.

Sibelius' samples are great for feedback on your arrangement, but they're really not for producing a finished mp3 that your audience actually hears. To do that, you're looking at finding a DAW and some samples meant for that, like those by EWQL or 8dio.

Agreed. If you are going for realism with digital production then you want to use libraries that are meant to achieve it, like EWQL's Hollywood series, 8Dio's Adagio sets, LASS2, Berlin Strings/Winds, Cinesamples, etc.

Libraries that come with DAWs and scoring software are passable at best, but definitely not up to snuff if you are aiming to make the music sound like it's actually performed.

[Breakdown Epiphanies]

When starting to make orchestral arrangements last year I took a good look at most of the options in the world of scoring libraries. The market is a bit overwhelming when going into at first and everything seems to be very expencive. I went with the Albion series by Spitfire Audio as they seemed to offer the most considering their price range.
With Albion 1 you get everything you need, strings, brass, woodwinds and percussion, everything in various articulations, including good legato and ostinato patches. The problem with, for example, the 8dio libraries is that you will have to buy everything seperately, certain articulations for the violins, then the violas, etc, sometimes one of these if as expensive as the whole Albion 1 set up. The 8dio stuff sounds great and offers things that other libraries don't, but I don't think that it is a good entry point, unless your budget is very high.

For most of the solutions out there you will need Kontakt from Native Instruments (not for the East West stuff but their software comes with other problems). It's a very powerful sampler and sort of an industry standard. It might be worth it to consider getting Komplete 10 or Komplete 10 ultimate as there are a lot of great instruments in there as well.

All the best for your project!

[Hastouki]

Hey, I own the Vienna Special Edition package provided by these guys, and it sounds amazing! Of course it really comes down to the composer as well. Vienna is a little pricey and all their samples are completely dry, but given proper use of reverb and panning, you can get a true orchestral sound.

http://vsl.co.at/en

[iDev]

You would be surprised what you can do with a computer. If you want to explore a digital option as an live option would be far more costly i would suggest looking into sound fonts rather then rather then synthesized orchestra instruments. Here's a load i just found on deviant art for free.

http://the-filmmusic-group.deviantart.com/journal/Free-HQ-Orchestra-Soundfonts-224143947

Something to consider!

[HartDesign]

thanks everyone, you've been a great help, I'll do a bit more digging and see what I find but seems like a fairly good response in favour of orchestras. I'll definitely look at both samples and contracting and see what I find but spitting out a rough draft it's nice to walk around to some pretty tunes thanks!