New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Music has influenced our lives for many years in more ways than people think. With digitalisation, music has become more accessible over multiple platforms and will continue to grow with newly developed technology and software. Most of us are used to listening to music while driving along in the car, jogging on the treadmill, or commuting to work. But one area where music is having an increasingly growing influence is in the online gaming industry.
If you look at the development of gaming, taking the evolution of the PlayStation for example, you will see a stark difference between the menu or in-game sound effects/ music playing in the background. Understandably, the advancement of technology has played a significant role in this with more software available to embed sounds into gameplay. Of course, we don't want to be completely rid of the jungle drums anthem from Crash Bandicoot (the PlayStation One version of course) that bear a sounding resemblance to some individual track in-game sounds on Mario Kart but with the popularity of music, and especially the influence of electronically-produced music, games are even starting to produce an identity when it comes to a soundtrack. Fortnite for example has a soundtrack to the game that could easily provide an instrumental for a song in the Top 40 in the music charts. I imagine there was a very careful decision-making process when it came to deciding the soundtrack for this particular game. It seems they have gone for an eerie mix; one that creates even more suspense for the player. With so many games, and so many similar games hitting the market, there is a greater requirement for different popular games to produce their own identity. People have always had a favourite band, or song and even a favourite game. So, it makes complete sense to give the user another reason to remember the game.
The development of game graphics is also improving at a vast rate. So much so that graphics are almost life-like. With this added dimension of realism, there too is a greater need to give it more of an identity. There is the feeling that technology including graphics, gameplay and music develop and evolve hand in hand. So naturally, the advancement in graphics require a modern soundtrack to go with it.
We have seen a surge in popularity in gaming, especially during the lockdown period with other daily activities restricted but music is one constant in people's lives. The value to music in video gaming is unquestionable but there are other gaming industries that are looking to exploit the value of music on their platforms. One of them is online casinos. You might ask why music is as important here as one can argue that the general atmosphere is created by the clinking of coins or the whoops of winners on the roulette or blackjack tables. This natural noise is all part of the environment but with online casino, there is a different kind of buzz. You obviously don't have the natural noise of the surrounding tables to get your adrenalin pumping, nor do you have anyone else's energy to feed off. But what online casinos and game creators especially are beginning to use, are these individual soundtracks for individual games. Whether you are playing Book of Dead or Stallion Fortunes, you will either have an Egyptian temple beat or a wild western twang in your ears, each designed to create an environment resembling that particular game. As mentioned before with the advancement of gameplay and graphics, the utilisation of music needs to keep up with what the game creators are conjuring, so that it doesn't become outdated.
Music is especially versatile and is becoming increasingly important in our lives. The importance of music in gaming will only increase with time and it might not be long before we see video or virtual gaming resembling movies, with their own individual soundtracks.
