Since the beginning of human civilisation we have been making music. For example, the first musical instrument found, a flute made from a vulture’s bone, dates back about 42,000 years.
In fact, music’s so ingrained in our culture and natures that it is as important a form of communication as language. Indeed, it has been said that it can express feelings that words alone cannot manage.
This is at the heart of why music forms an intrinsic and very important element of every single video game created to date – and will continue to do so for as long as we’re playing them.
Music at the heart of games
In some games the influence of music is very easy to see. That’s because they are directly related to the games themselves.
For example, the heavy metal band Motorhead worked with a company called Kaitsu Software to create a game in which you play their iconic lead singer Lemmy. The story is a simple one. Other members in the band are being held hostage by other musical genres like country, punk and goth. It’s your task to release them to get the band back together again.
Then there are the slots games that are so popular on most major social online casinos, where players can play without using real money. The developers of these slots games are always looking for themes to appeal to particular types of player. Music and musicians are an obvious easy choice. So you can expect to find games featuring bands like Kiss as well as solo artists like Elvis.
Often these games will also include snippets of video performances by the artists in question, usually as a reward for a win or other in-game achievement.
And let’s not forget the wide range of video games that let players act out their fantasies of being a guitar hero or rap star for themselves.
Setting the mood
While these examples are directly linked to music there are several other ways in which it plays an important role in games.
The first, and probably most important, of these is similar to how films rely on their score.
This is inextricably linked with the action that’s taking place on the screen. Alternatively, it can act as an aural foreshadowing of what is shortly to occur. For example, when one is exploring a dark cellar in a game, not quite knowing what is lurking in the shadows, the music will be intended to heighten suspense.
Or when one has completed a particularly tricky level or challenge, the music accompanying the images on screen will be bright and optimistic. The real skill of the composer of video game music is to weave it so closely into the storyline being depicted that the player only really absorbs it on a subliminal level.
The net result is to make a game even more involving and immersive to play, often without the player realising that they are being manipulated in this way.
It all really comes down to the psychological effects that music has on us, even altering our brain chemistry as it responds to what is being heard. Five particular areas of the brain have been singled out as the ones most affected by music. All of these are also involved when we’re playing video games. So it’s no wonder that the sounds we’re hearing have such a profound effect.
Making a game “yours”
Musical taste is a very personal thing. To acknowledge this fact some games even allow the player to select their own soundtrack to accompany the action.
It was the ground-breaking Grand Theft Auto franchise that first introduced the idea by letting you pick the radio station playing in your car as you cruise the city’s mean streets. It’s an idea that’s also been picked up by Fortnite – which even followed this up with a series of emotes picking up on different musical signatures, with flossing probably being the best-known example.
Branding the game
Then there’s the question of branding. Just as every successful TV series has a theme tune and movie scores repeat the same music in different styles, so do some games.
In time this means that the particular piece of music forever becomes associated with that game. This is something that’s been happening ever since the earliest days of Super Mario.
Looking ahead
The links between gaming and music are set to become even stronger in the very near future. Already artists like Ariana Grande have made their live performances available through game platforms. And, as we move forward into the bright new world of the metaverse, we can expect to see far more of this kind of collaboration.
So it surely can’t be very long before we see an artist releasing a new album or song not in the real world, but as exclusive content in a game. Then music and gaming really will have come together as one.
This article is a guest contribution. Views expressed are the author’s own.
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