How music makes or breaks a game

Video game music is more than just tunes you hear in the background—it defines what the theme of the video game will be. From the grand orchestral music you hear in Elden Ring, to the quirky seasonal tunes in Stardew Valley, and even the upbeat tunes that the old Super Mario Bros. had on the NES, video game music gives that necessary flavor to bring a game to life, as this short video will show you.

Without it, the experience will just not be the same. Slapping a track onto a game isn’t the end of it as well, as the music must meld with the visuals, gameplay and everything else to make the ideal playthrough.

Remember all the flute music you hear in adventure games, or when entering a forest? Well, there’s more to it, as our recent podcast guest explains in the newest episode!

Five game insights we think will pique your interest!

Video game music doesn’t always have to be some BGM on the backburner—there are many games where playing music is the game itself! Guitar Hero might not be as famous as it used to be, but it definitely defined a generation of gamers. Back in the day, the game was a rite of passage of some sort in many youth gaming circles, specifically teenagers.

While not everyone owned a console, music-related games were still available for the more casual audience. Remember Piano Tiles? This is another game that was cemented as a classic mobile game and was the go-to music game for all generations. From teens hanging out in the schoolyard to office workers taking a short break, everyone was tapping away on their phones for quite some time.

Want to move and jive to music? We get you. Once you hear a good track playing, you just can’t stop tapping your feet or shuffling your body around along with the music. Just look at this Japanese man dancing his heart out in the middle of the arcade! And if you’re ever in the mood to play with something like that as well, we recommend trying out the Dance Dance Revolution series, which is best played in the arcade with the floor buttons and all!

Horror game music is another perfect example of why video game music is crucial to setting down a tone. The Silent Hill series is one of the best when it comes to horror soundtracks, and the game reflected the chilling and desolate feeling it wanted to portray through its music.

Video game music is a genre of its own and is essential to giving us memorable experiences when we play. Most music genres stick to a certain playbook on how they’re going to feel, but with video game music, it’s a free-for-all. You’d think that a horror game would be full of violins and other classic instruments, then Akira Yamaoka busts out a dentist drill and synthesizes it into haunting boss music called “My Heaven”. 

Video game music is exciting because you never know what tunes you’ll get along with your visuals, and that’s what makes gaming so fun, especially now that it continues to evolve.

And to that, we share a quote from our recent podcast guest Josh Plotner, video game musician and woodwind specialist:

“Video game music has zero rules, there's zero tradition and so they're really unique and unusual sounds.”

Time flies when you’re having fun playing our daily games, why, it’s September already! We’ve also uploaded new videos on our YouTube channel, so check them out when you can!

And if you want to learn more about what we’re up to at Hey, Good Game, you can find out more right here.

That’s all for this week. See you next Friday!

-The Hey, Good Game Team