By Ninichi | Contact | Follow

Last year I was asked to take part in an interview series to inspire youngsters to explore what music can offer and to help them understand more about game music. One of the questions that was asked is to do with the ways that music is used in games. I thought that this could be an interesting area to explore together and to share here on my blog seeing as it seemed to be an interesting element to the programme, and so here are some of my thoughts…

There are many different ways that music is and can be used in games. The most common use is probably to set the mood and to set the tone for the overall game. Then an extension of this perhaps, is to use music for scene setting. Storytelling is also key in certain games and music will certainly play a key role in supporting the storyline, and then as part of this and/or separate to any particular story maybe emphasising key moments and using music to help to do that. In more general terms music is also there to keep you interested, engaged, entertained and to help you move through the game.

So, to look at each of these in a bit more detail:

1. Using music to set the mood in a game

Games are usually there to take you to a different world and to act as an escape from the real world. Therefore helping you to shift into the ‘zone’ is important and music really helps to do this. In some cases it may simply be about creating a relaxed and fun, uplifting environment. For example, ‘By the Seaside’…