Soundtracks are one of the most often overlooked aspects that transform a good game into a memorable experience that will stick with the player long after the playthrough has ended. 

Music creates unrivalled emotional responses, and the best developers tap into this amazing aspect of game development to conduct powerful, resonating experiences, as with the haunting melodies of The Legend of Zelda, or create unrivalled tension with the adrenaline-pumping heavy metal of Doom.

But there are a number of elements that go into choosing the best music for games, and stumbling in any one of them can create a soundtrack that is at best boring, and at worst, enough to turn players off a game. 

In this article, we’ll explore some of the factors that developers consider when choosing music, and its crucial role in setting the mood, enhancing immersion and conveying emotion.

Setting the tone and emotional impact

The first concept to master in game design is that music is not just background noise.

It’s a narrative force that shapes the player’s emotional journey and perception of the game world. 

Tone is essential. The mood of music is essentially telling players how to feel as they move through the different stages of a game, in the same way as music is used in other visual media, like films.

It’s unprecedented as a subtle and powerful way to influence player engagement and retention.

Through tone comes an easy way to indicate genre to players ahead of any actual in-game experience.

An example of this being used in condensed gameplay is slots. There are various machine types available at online casinos, and each will have a different narrative, style or genre.

The best slot sites utilise carefully crafted soundtracks to indicate genre to players from the moment they open the game and set the tone swiftly and efficiently.

As discussed, music in games has a strong influence on players’ emotions.

Beyond the initial tone of the piece, soundtracks can conduct player emotion through the rich storylines encompassed in games today, from the light-hearted lo-fi of cosy, 8-bit games to rich orchestral masterpieces as experienced in Bloodborne.

Player engagement and retention

Music doesn’t only work on the emotional level in games. Great soundtracks are excellent tools for improving player engagement and retention. 

A similar technique is used in marketing ads and game shows, where familiar jingles and well-crafted sound effects create a sense of satisfaction in the audience, and the memorable sounds keep them thinking about the product – in this case, the game – long after it is turned off. 

Music is one of the core avenues that our brains use in memory association.

By tying impactful music to memorable moments in the game, the future recall of this experience will become more meaningful, often drawing players back to a game and increasing engagement. 

This is especially important in free-to-play games, where funds are made from returning players purchasing cosmetics and loot bundles. 

Ongoing memorable usage of music can also help to keep the brain engaged with the game and promote longer play sessions.

One way to do this is with music that dynamically evolves based on player actions. 

This creates a special, personalised situation that will resonate with individual players and deliver a more rewarding experience.

Cultural considerations

Many games, particularly those with a narrative or stylised arena, will draw on real-life cultures as inspiration for worldbuilding.

It’s easy for uneducated game developers to choose music that is stereotypical and improperly representative of a culture.

By doing proper research and consulting with experts and cultural groups, developers have a real opportunity to create a soundscape that is evocative, sensitive and richly rewarding for players – whether they’re aware of their desire to experience unique cultural worldbuilding or not.

Technical constraints and integration

Game developers come up against all kinds of technical limitations when adding music to a game.

File formats, compression techniques and memory optimisation are all hurdles that must be overcome, simply to layer the soundtrack into the game itself.

Improper execution of these techniques leads to an unwieldy file and lagging sound cues. 

However, recent years have brought outstanding leaps of innovation in the world of game music. Dynamic music engines seamlessly blend pre-composed tracks to create a rich soundscape, and advances have even been made in procedurally generated soundscapes that create fresh, unique soundtracks without human input.

Feedback and testing

Nothing is more decisive in the quality of a soundtrack than comprehensive player feedback at the beta stage.

Developers often use an iterative process to refine the game music, focusing on tone, sound cues, sound effects and emotional impact. 

It’s these refining procedures that are the final step in executing a truly exceptional game soundtrack that will stay with players for years to come.