DMC5 will have Dynamic BGMs

[DantesLink]

Platinum Games had some awesome use of changing battle music, looks like DMC5 will be taking a crack at it as well!

https://s.gamespark.jp/article/2018/06/15/81653.html
In an interview with Gamespark, producer Okabe confirmed that battle music will change depending on your Style rank. For example, when your Style rank increases, the chorus of the song will start playing.
Original report from twitter DMC5Info

Its neat to see that they will continue how DmC did it.
(Adding this to the info/media section for posterity's sake.)

 

[TWOxACROSS]

And in that Twitter thread, everyone is like "OMG just like Metal Gear Revengeance!" No. Just like DmC: Devil May Cry. MGR's music intensified as you moved to different phases of boss fights.

The ignorance (of two entirely separate games) burns~

 

[Steve]

Hey, I'll take it. I remember Konami doing something with dynamic music in MGS2. Kojima talks about it in the official MGS2 documentary:

(Can't recall when exactly - I watched it on DVD years ago)

I think the idea of the music becoming more layered (is that the right adjective?) depending on the player's skill is a neat touch. I haven't played any of Platinum Games' recent games so this is pretty new - and awesome - to me.

 

[Meg]

Nice! I really liked that about DmC. Hitting that S rank and hearing the vocals come in never failed to get me PUMPED.

 

[DantesLink]

Hey, I'll take it. I remember Konami doing something with dynamic music in MGS2. Kojima talks about it in the official MGS2 documentary:

(Can't recall when exactly - I watched it on DVD years ago)

I think the idea of the music becoming more layered (is that the right adjective?) depending on the player's skill is a neat touch. I haven't played any of Platinum Games' recent games so this is pretty new - and awesome - to me.

Ah, thanks for bringing MGS2 up. Didn't know, also pretty sure the use of "layers" can be applicable for this context.

 

[DragonMaster2010]

Wait did a chorus really start playing at S rank for DmC? I never noticed it. But then again I always get S ranks

 

[DantesLink]

Wait did a chorus really start playing at S rank for DmC? I never noticed it. But then again I always get S ranks

Pretty much. XD

So from messing around the first arena in "Underwatch" I noticed that at the start of the fight the BGM will go through from the first stage to the second, then settle on what your rank is (Which would be: Stage 1 D-A/Stage 2 S-SSS). Add that its easy to get S, and people probly' dont notice XD.

 

[RedNether]

Pretty much. XD

So from messing around the first arena in "Underwatch" I noticed that at the start of the fight the BGM will go through from the first stage to the second, then settle on what your rank is (Which would be: Stage 1 D-A/Stage 2 S-SSS). Add that its easy to get S, and people probly' dont notice XD.

Huh, that's actually neat. I love it.

 

[absolitude]

didn't know that bout DmC.

tho i used to wonder why sometimes i feel less intense..

 

[xMobilemux]

Never knew that about DmC either, didn't really matter anyway since the music sucked and it was stupidly easy to get S ranks.

I feel like MGR's way was better as it happened during the boss fights and the music chorus felt way more rewarding because it showed up at certain stages during the fights.

I hope DMC5's way of doing it doesn't get old after getting a few S ranks, though I wager each character will have their own tracks.

 

[berto]

Yeah, I didn't really notice anything dynamic about the music in DmC so I guess in this case I can say that I hope it's more noticeable this time around.

 

[Innsmouth]

Honestly amount of wub wub wubing was so intense in DmC it was barely noticebly if it was wub more or wub less. Let's hops DMC5 add better distinguished music so it would actually be noticable this time.

 

[Goldsickle]

It's also about how the song "ends" properly when there are no enemies.
In earlier DMC games, when you dealt with the last enemy, the song simply fades away and stops.
In games like Batman: Arkham City, Metal Gear Rising and DmC, the battle music has a proper ending (don't know the musical terms for it).

 

[Keiji]

I see that news, good thing.

 

[TWOxACROSS]

In DmC, it wasn't just vocals, it was the entire score. It'd start out mild and mostly just the beat, then ramp up into the guitar, and then the vocals and whatnot.

I would hope DMCV takes the same cue, instead of "just vocals" appearing.

 

[berto]

In DmC, it wasn't just vocals, it was the entire score. It'd start out mild and mostly just the beat, then ramp up into the guitar, and then the vocals and whatnot.

I would hope DMCV takes the same cue, instead of "just vocals" appearing.

But the question is what. In GoW the combat and stage BGM is the same but when you enter combat more instruments start playing. Adding instruments as you go up in rank would have to mean adding noticeable instruments, like guitar or percussion because as it was with DmC practically no one noticed, and I was a musician.

The issue DmC had, after looking at it for a few, is that the vocals are waiting for a specific spot in the song to come in so when you get an S rank you are not getting the vocals immediately, thus you don't associate them with the rank you just got. How could you? The vocals kick in so long after the 'SAVAGE!!'they just seem random.

Immediate inclusion might not be as clean or seamless but it would be noticeable and people would definitely see the connection between rank and music. I also think that adding a subtle rift or slide from a medium or high pitch into a low one to go with the drop in style to prelude the removal of instruments could add to the experience... But only from taking damage. If it drops because you're not doing anything the instruments should just fade away until it's just the basic rhythm. If you take damage and your rank drops you get a barely audible guitar slide or such plus less instruments. Well, at least I think that'd be interesting and noticeable.

 

[absolitude]

i didn't notice that in mgrr either, what i notice was that both have cool tracks, cool characters..

by that, i don't think this musical dynamics really matter in a significant way..

btw, will each character have different battle theme?

 

[ReaperHunter]

^ I would imagine so. If you look up Devil Trigger on YouTube it will specifically say that it's Nero's battle theme.

 

[Veloran]

I've heard it speculated that the end of the Devil Trigger full song, from about 4:30 or 5:00 onwards, is actually the sample of the dynamic changes in Nero's theme according to his rank during combat. You'll notice it starts off soft, almost like ambient music around 4:30, before starting to kick into different distinct phases from 5:00 into the lyrics.

 

[TWOxACROSS]

But the question is what. In GoW the combat and stage BGM is the same but when you enter combat more instruments start playing. Adding instruments as you go up in rank would have to mean adding noticeable instruments, like guitar or percussion because as it was with DmC practically no one noticed, and I was a musician.

As I said, and exactly what you said. Going from a simply guitar riff to a percussion beat, a bassline, and then vocals, it's pretty obvious, especially if you then add in a rhythm guitar.

As for why you didn't notice it? Pardon the assumption, but, like...you didn't care...? Why would you pay attention to every element of something you were already somewhat unreceptive to? Like...it was there, I don't know what to say if you didn't notice the very present element.

Plus, as you mention below, the music in DmC waits of specific points in order to appear in tempo.

The issue DmC had, after looking at it for a few, is that the vocals are waiting for a specific spot in the song to come in so when you get an S rank you are not getting the vocals immediately, thus you don't associate them with the rank you just got. How could you? The vocals kick in so long after the 'SAVAGE!!'they just seem random.

I'd much rather the vocals come in on the beat, rather than fade in. DmC's problem with this feature was that the music didn't return to a lesser intensity if you lost your grade from damage or inactivity. It'd probably add more impact to DMC5's combat if the music's intensity was more directly tied to your actions and keeping your rank up, rather than it being rewarded as a static prize once you reached a specific grade, regardless of keeping it or not.

i didn't notice that in mgrr either, what i notice was that both have cool tracks, cool characters..

Because it didn't happen in MGR. MGR literally only had boss music that intensified as the fight went to a new phase, and there's no style system nor ranking for the combat to keep track of mid-fight to implement something like that.

Like, it actually bugs me that people are attributing it to MGR and not DmC, not only because DmC did it first, but also that MGR literally does not even do it. How can people profess to love a game so much and be so ignorant of how an element of the game works...?