With the democratization of streaming services and the gaming industry’s rapid growth, music has taken the central seat in gamers’ daily lives. There are even concerts featuring video game music! Several studies have explored the role of music in people’s emotions, behavior, and performance. They suggest that it can create time distortion, fulfill the player at the end of the game, and immerse him when it’s well done.
However, it’s essential to think about how deep music’s influence goes when playing a game and how developers can use it to forge better experiences for the player.
The Influence of Music on the Gaming Experience
Music used to be an afterthought in most games, mostly because 80s and 90s machines had limited memory. It wasn’t possible to have a cinematic orchestra crammed in 8-bit cartridges. Laser discs’ arrival changed everything, and games started to have actual scores signed by legends of film composition.
This trend also affects the iGaming market. More and more titles are implementing tailored music, making the experience more immersive. It’s increasingly present in social casinos, where the operator tries to set a mood depending on the site’s theme; learn more about social casinos here.
It represents an increase in budget, but it goes along with the larger scope and graphic fidelity of most games. No one would accept playing the latest Mario game with the original soundtrack, except for a 15-minute nostalgia trip.
Exploring The Role of Audio Cues in Gaming
Music in a game isn’t simply the score, and audio cues can also impact the player’s feelings. For instance, every gamer knows the sound of opening a treasure chest in Legend of Zelda. This particular sound immediately gives players a sense of satisfaction after ramping up expectations with the first few suspenseful notes.
Another more recent example is in Rockstar titles when a mission is accomplished. In GTA IV, the music played differs depending on the mission’s outcome. It can be satisfying, depressing, or enigmatic and always in line with the mission’s context. This gives players an unconscious signal about how their behavior affects the story.
Specific sounds are crafted to communicate information in action-packed games like FPSs, such as Doom or Call of Duty, to stay mainstream. This information is visually present on the HUD, but developers know it isn’t enough. Therefore, in Call of Duty, the sound gets progressively muffled as health goes down, while in Doom, it’s a sort of alarm indicating that the sun is getting low.
The Role of Music in Gaming: Pace and Emotion
Players turn to streaming services on their machines when the music is bad enough. According to Spotify, 53% of gamers play their own music. That’s also why there are numerous gaming playlists based on the game or genre the user is looking for.
This music can pump up the player when enjoying intense action or be more contemplative in a story-driven game or even a puzzle game. It gives the player a pace to follow (who never played some Rolling Stones during a Call of Duty, right?). Music also conveys emotion, and having the fitting soundtrack at the right time can augment its impact (look at any Red Dead Redemption finale).
