Video game music is an integral part of the video game experience. However, we as gamers sometimes ignore it, not really paying attention to the anything but the actual gameplay. However, it must be said that a bad soundtrack can ruin the gaming experience, if not for everyone then at least for those that actually care about the music. From the humble bleeps and bloops of old school video games to the complex orchestrated musical pieces of today, music is an essential, and possibly fundamental part of the video game experience.

Think for a moment about the original Super Mario Bros. It’s distinctive Overworld and Underworld themes have become almost legendary since their debut in-game, well known and cherished, even to this day. Anyone who even remotely knows anything about video game know those pieces. Now…imagine if Super Mario Bros. used different music, or even no music at all? Same with Tetris…it’s distinctive theme, a big part of gaming music history, is also memorable, and, along with the music of Super Mario Bros., is possibly one of the most recognized themes in gaming history.

However, aside from just being memorable, video game music helps to set the mood in the game as well, something that became especially important when voice acting and cutscenes began to play a part in the video game experience. Just like in other forms of media, music can be used to convey emotions and moods to its audience. Utilized properly, video game music can prompt an emotional response from the player, be it happiness, sadness excitement, or anger to name a few. That said, there can also be moments where the soundtrack fails to capture the necessary feeling of a scene and even feel out of place.

Not just any kind of music can be used to supplement a scene in a game. You wouldn’t add a comical sounding piece together with an emotionally engaging scene. But it just isn’t that. There can be situations in which the music can simply be repetitive and annoying. One example is the Devil May Cry series, namely the third and fourth installments. While the both games have incredible musical pieces, the music for most battle scenes tends to consist of the same annoying heavy metal songs, which play every time you meet an enemy, which for a game like the DMC series means that the song would be repeated endlessly throughout the whole game. This is an example of music making a game annoying. In the case of Devil May Cry 3 and 4, the music is a minor problem, but annoying nonetheless.

In my opinion, music is as important to a video game as the voice acting and storyline that accompanies it. A game without any music would be dull, but the wrong kind of soundtrack can detract from the game itself. There have been several influential and well-known pieces of music in the history of games, aside from several lesser-known but well composed soundtracks. So stay tuned. Next week, we take a look at 8-bit music from the NES era, including classics like the Mario series.