When people look at what makes video games tick, they often put their focus on the visuals. That makes sense. Big, splashy images, intriguing characters, dynamic animations: these are the things that grab our attention. We’re very visual creatures. It’s thought that the neurons devoted to visual processing take up around 30% of the cortex, with only about 3% going to hearing. We can remember enormous numbers of images with stunning accuracy. It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that sight really matters to us.

So why, then, are we talking about music?

Because although we might pay a lot less conscious attention to sound when we’re playing a video game, it’s actually one of the most important building blocks when it comes to creating an atmosphere and crafting a world. The background noises do huge amounts of work in terms of cueing you in to what’s happening on the screen, supporting the visuals, enhancing the plot, and driving emotional beats home.

If you’re feeling doubtful about this, just try playing a game on silent. It won’t take long for you to see precisely what we mean here. With that proof in mind, let’s look at what music is doing in the gaming world.

Music Shapes Expectations

Firstly, and perhaps most critically, music is a tool that’s being used to tell the player what’s happening. It’s not just an add-on, a nice-to-have. It’s fundamentally part of the conversation going on between game and player.

That’s true across genres, even in games that we would traditionally consider “light” and easygoing. Take the iGaming world. If you log into the 5gringos online gambling platform, you’ll see games in a wide range of categories, and every single one of them will have a soundtrack, plus audio cues, to help you understand the games.

Log into a slots game, and you’ll be met immediately by catchy background tracks, with unique noises to indicate actions you take (button pushes, coin movements), and actions the game takes (reels spinning). They’ll often be adjusted to match the theme of the game, but they’ll be there regardless of what title you’re playing!

Next, try opening a poker match. Same deal. Baccarat? Ditto. Blackjack? Again. The music might be soft and subtle to ensure it doesn’t disrupt your focus... but yes, it will be there. So will audio cues, e.g. card shuffles, chip clinks, etc.

The same goes for other light games, such as tile matchers; think about the way the energetic music draws you in and keeps you playing, while the sound effects let you know when a swipe has been made, a match has been achieved, a bomb-style effect has been activated – and so on. It’s key to the way we play these games; without the sounds, our immediate understanding rate would drop off a cliff.

Sounds Equal Ambience

Of course, what really matters to a lot of gamers is how the titles feel. Take a few seconds to think about your favorite game. What’s your go-to example of why you love it?

For most folks, it's a mechanic. Maybe a plot element. That’s standard. But if you take a bit of time to think about it, there’s a reasonable chance you’ll also realize that the music captivates you in some way. That’s because music speaks to us on a deep, emotional level, in a place we often don’t consciously recognize, but respond to nonetheless.

Some of the most successful and long-standing games of our time have had music that is both iconic and enormously appealing. Take the Crash Bandicoot series and the soundtracks and sound effects that populated that universe; you can probably bring them to mind without even trying! Or maybe the soundtrack from your favorite racing game is what gets you pumped with energy. Perhaps you remember the way every planet in Ratchet and Clank had its own theme, letting you know instantly where you’d touched down.

It often goes even deeper than that; continuing the Ratchet and Clank example, it’s fair to say that the music even offered hints about what you could expect from the planet. Subtle, sure, but definitely there. High-energy, dangerous, toxic waste, aerial enemies – it's staggering just what the sound designers managed to convey here with the weird and wacky effects they chose to include.

And there’s no doubt that the same idea has moved into more modern games. Silksong, the much-awaited sequel to Hollow Knight, is famous for its incredible soundtrack, and even the name of the game suggests its focus is going to lie in the world of audio. What an impressive, invigorating, and unique experience it is because of that design choice. Every area has impeccable composition that works alongside the colors and imagery to section off the different zones and create a world that feels endlessly rich and vibrant, for all its darkness.

All this, sculpted through the use of sound. It matters across the board, in casino games of every iteration, in triple-A titles that have survived decades of play, in modern indie hits that have broken sales records. Next time you boot up a game, shut your eyes for a few moments, let the sounds flood in, and marvel over the hidden wonder of game audio creation.