You may not even notice it, but music is just about everywhere. Grocery stores, restaurants, cafes, even some train stations have music playing. Music has the ability to completely transform how people feel and alter their mood. Notice in movies how they play the sad instrumental music at the heart-wrenching, tear-jerking moments? It really adds to the overall effect, doesn’t it? There is no wonder that music is also incredibly important in gaming. Again, you may not even notice it most of the time, but if it wasn’t there, you definitely would notice its absence.
Music Development in Gaming
In the first era of video games, you will notice that often, the music used was more akin to short jingles rather than intense movie soundtracks. But even so, people loved them. They were memorable, catchy and fun. Nowadays, these tunes tend to be heard when playing online casino games. Sign up to get your no deposit bonus in Canada and listen out for the catchy background music. As technology advanced, so did gaming music. Developers began hiring well known composers to create full orchestral pieces that became available to purchase in their own right. Moving on from this, music began to be used more like the movies, driving, and influencing scenes. Nowadays, games often use fully licenced songs from popular artists and have a whole range of different radio stations for you to choose from. But what does music bring to the gaming experience?
Evokes Emotion
Music is all about feelings and emotion; it brings an extra dimension of immersion into the gaming world. With the right music, scenes are completely transformed. Those intense car chases just wouldn’t be the same without the excitement of the music spurring it on and having you sat on the edge of your seat. Music is able to enhance emotions of excitement and bring an extra thrill to all gaming experiences.
Sets the Scene
Often, developers use music to highlight cultural aspects of their games. If the scene is set in Asia, they would use instruments that you would commonly hear in their music; if it is in Ireland, you might hear some fiddle folk music in the background. Using these cultural motifs through music allows the gamer to really connect with the game settings.
Provides Cues
In gaming, music can be used to evoke a reaction from the gamer; they are used to point users in the right direction and alert them that something is happening or about to happen. Dramatic shifts in the tone and mood of the music let you know that you’re about to run into something unpleasant or might be used to hype you up before a big battle.
Keeps Your Focus
Without music, there is nothing to drown out the noise of other distractions for gamers. It can keep your mind focused on the task and prevent it from wandering around and losing focus. This is why you often see gamers with proper noise cancelling headphones, especially when they’re competing in tournaments.
In the world of gaming, music is important for so many reasons. It gets you hyped, alerts you about potential threats and keeps you in the zone.