I’ve always wanted to use that line, ever since I saw the televised broadcast of Aliens (Alien II, the one by James Cameron). I just love that catchphrase.
But you’ll find that I’m using it in a very different way than the movie did. See, I was reading through Google Reader and through CK’s blogroll, trying to find something interesting, when I came across a post by Shae Tiann from Sweet Little Bad Girl: Eve has Sound?
That post was indeed what I needed to bring forth an observation I’ve had ever since I started playing this game: what’s this music they have in there?
Being an accomplished musician myself, I can totally appreciate the built-in soundtrack of Eve; it’s kind of minimalistic, and very 2001ish in regards to its mood. Something very quiet, and almost eerie, which I find somewhat stimulating… in its own “relaxation-meditation” kind of way.
But I can also relate to all the other videogame players out there, who are used to having something more meaningful as a soundtrack. There’s always a THEME song somewhere (take Nintendo’s Mario Bros.), and I think that is cleverly setup into this game as being the military-style theme at the login screen. But the rest of the included tracks… no offense, but I don’t like them.
I’d prefer something along the lines of Pantera, Rush, Pink Floyd… there’s a lot of music I could hear playing over my gameplay. Except… I usually play in fullscreen mode, on a Linux client, and I can’t actually switch between screens (or as some might say, Alt-Tab). So I can’t turn on Rhythmbox or Winamp or Amarok or any music player. That just sucks up the system’s resources anyway, which I need for the actual came.
I’m sure that many have already thought up the same idea as me: why not integrate a full-blown music player into the game? It would be pretty simple to have it read MP3, OGG, AAC and other formats – even FLAC. We could then all manage our own playlists and stay within the confines of the game, without having to fiddle around with resources!
I hate wearing headphones, and I think it goes against the design of any game that I should have to wear an iPod while playing to hear good music. I’d rather listen to the game’s tracks… except that to me, these aren’t interesting. And I have this huge setup at home on my PC, it’s a shame I can’t use it. Besides – I have to keep the headset clear for when everybody uses the comm.
If there’s any way this idea can be forwarded to CCP, then please – by all means, take the credit if it means you’ll make it come true. I just wish I can listen to Rush’s Cygnus X-1 while fighting off pirates and taking war prisoners in space.
