How Music Shapes the Way We Play Video Games

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The video game industry is one of the most advanced economies in the world. It includes everything from their development to finding adequate marketing solutions related to their sale. Although from the user’s point of view, video games as the end product of this industry are primarily intended for entertainment, in reality, they have a much wider application today. Their presence on social networks makes them a great marketing tool for marketing a variety of products. The development of the industry depends on the development of technology, or more precisely, hardware, which regularly offers new possibilities for the application of video games.

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The technology, as well as the industry, improved a lot, and today, even some smaller games have such great features, graphics, and of course – music. One industry that is also rapidly advancing is the gambling one, with online casinos being a big part of that growth. The experience of playing, and in this case also earning money, has never been better and having fun while making money is something that more and more people want and require. That is why today, we have so many online casino websites, with all those games that are in their land-based version, and the live dealer feature along with casino music is just the latest innovation. With so many options available, searching for the best virtual casinos, the best games, and the best experience can be troublesome. Luckily, there are websites where everyone can find the best ones sorted by their popularity, bonuses, promotions, etc. For more info on them, click here and find the one that suits you the most.

They represent multimedia and comprehensive experience, which in that sense, is a complete package, a mix of various arts, similar to a movie, with the addition of interactivity (gameplay) that makes them what they are. Nowadays, the experience of playing them almost reached the level of cinematic experience with numerous interactive content, fantastic orchestral sections, and various segments of pretty serious music.

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We remember some games by a great story, others by great gameplay, others by impeccable graphics, by specific characters … and yet, one thing, if it is as it should be, will forever remain etched in our memory – a good soundtrack. A good game simply has to have a top soundtrack without which the experience is just not complete, and a good soundtrack will be the trigger by which we remember some game forever.

The list of the best video game soundtracks summarizes the history of the video games themselves: from the 1980s 8-bit and 16-bit era, the rise of 3D graphics with the domination of the PlayStation to the contemporary landscape of smaller ones and the current wave of Hollywood blockbusters.

It is impossible to talk about the influence of music without mentioning Streets of Rage 2, which is dominated by the sounds of Yuzo Koshiro and the great Motohiro Kawashima. It is perhaps the best proof of the symbiotic relationship between the game and the console. Koshiro found his inspiration in Western music like UK Rave and Detroit techno. That soundtrack, compiled in collaboration with Kawashima, has inspired generations of musicians, including producers Jay-Z, Just Blaze, and artist Ikonick.

If we talk about the western area, we could single out Trent Reznor, the famous frontman of Nine Inch Nails, who is credited for the music and sound for the game Quake. This futuristic, first-person shooting game was suitable for the then pretty popular repetitive and dark sounds of Trent Reznor, the musician from Pennsylvania.

In the last ten years, it has been possible to study composing and working on music for video games at the American University of Berklee College of Music, Yale, New York, as well as in Europe (Utrecht School of Arts). Seminars such as GameSoundCon also hold lectures on composing this type of music. And this shows how great of an impact music has on video games and its industry.

Just one example – Everyone is familiar and played at least one GTA game, in which among everything else, when you are driving, several radio stations are available, with different music, for everyone’s taste. Not to mention in-game music and while loading. And that is how high role music has to our overall playing experience, and developers know this and dedicate a lot of time to this segment.

World of Warcraft lovers are probably familiar with the Legion expansion, which has brought us perhaps one of the best musical backgrounds in WoW to date, and that is Anduin’s theme. Perfect female vocals, calm, relaxing composition, and gentle tones convey to us brilliantly Anduin’s wisdom and desire for peace, which is now imbued with his father’s determination and fighting spirit. Without a doubt, one of the most beautiful songs in video games ever.

By most studies, listening to music from video games while studying, working, or exercising improves the quality of that work. Of course, listening to almost any kind of music is beneficial to our mental health and more. But the purpose of this particular music is to entertain our minds, and when we listen to it, even though we are not currently playing, it brings out the excitement and feelings that we have while playing them.

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This industry is undoubtedly one of the most lucrative businesses today. In that sense, it is a pretty serious endeavor to deal with this domain, no matter how much of it was based on entertainment. Someone can say that we have fun just by inserting a disc and starting the game, while the process of making virtual landscapes is almost equal to making a Hollywood movie.

Music is also no longer a joke because it is no longer enough to write some music, as it is also necessary to do a serious and quality sound design, quite similar to a movie project. However, with today’s cheaper and more affordable technology, the possibility of realizing young creative minds is expanding and continuing in an increasingly complex direction.