How music influences our playing experience

How music influences our playing experience

The rapid development of technology in the 1970s led to a significant change in the gaming industry. It became more diverse and lively with the improvement of audio and video and began to gain fans. at tremendous speed. We believe that music is one of the main factors that make gambling the most popular pastime.

Just watch the market: when you kill enemies in Counter-Strike, playing keno in New Zealand, or steal cars in Grand Theft Auto, there are distinctive soundtracks accompanying you every second. And it’s almost impossible to find players who mute these sounds. To study the phenomenon, we want to find out why music has such a big impact on our playing experience. We are sure our findings will be extremely interesting. Stay tuned!

Music is in our nature

Dopamine, the pleasure and satisfaction hormone, is released when we listen to the music we love. Our bodies are designed to respond to pleasant sounds. Just think of the heart – its beats are the basis of almost all melodies.

Music also has a huge impact on our emotions: it can relax and motivate us; it makes us quiet or emotional. And given that the primary goal of game developers is to touch our emotions, it’s no wonder that they use music in all possible ways.

You have probably noticed that rock music is used in online casinos or shooting games. Techno and electronic music in games with races and chases. Background or lounge music is the basis of games such as The Sims. It aims to relax us. Changing music triggers different emotions depending on the needs of the developers and the plot. This approach is widely used not only in games, but also in the film and advertising industries.

Music creates moments

This feature can be pretty obvious, but we can’t avoid mentioning it when discussing the impact of music on our gaming experience. If you are an avid gamer, think about the most memorable moments. We bet you will remember the biggest payouts, complex missions, and team quests. Do you remember the sounds in the background? We are sure you do because it is the brain that remembers such moments with all the details. Later, he wants to recreate the experience and when you hear the same music or the same soundtrack, you feel warmth and motivation. These moments last a long time.

Total immersion in the game

In addition to triggering emotions, music has another important mission: to make the user experience immersive. The music muffles the sounds around us and allows us to focus on the plot. This strengthens engagement and becomes one of the most effective instruments to gain the love and loyalty of players.

With its help, you can dive into the game, forgetting the time, your problems at school or at work, and experience several positive moments. This is why so many developers spend a lot of time and money on music. They know that bad soundtracks can ruin everything!

Unexpected studies and results

Right now, a large number of researchers around the world are testing millions of claims. They want to get to the bottom of the truth and sometimes such research has turned into real game changers. For example, in 2009 two scientists came to the conclusion that people playing racing games with music drive much more. faster than those that cut off the sound. At the same time, they make more mistakes, which ends up reducing their efficiency.

There are also several other studies that claim that music can be distracting and that millions of gamers will leave the game if the soundtracks are not appealing. This leads to the conclusion that music in the gaming industry is subjective and can do both good and bad.

Wrap

It has been proven that the background music is an integral part of any successful game. We remember the soundtracks and even after a long break we can define the playing by several chords. This knowledge is a valuable source of information for developers, psychologists and game enthusiasts who want to learn more about the industry. And we hope that after reading this article, you will also have a better understanding of the impact of music on gamers.

Image Credit: Javier Martínez on Unsplash