Why Music in Games Works More Powerfully Than It Seems

When a player immerses themselves in a virtual world, they rarely stop to consider what actually creates the sense of presence. Yet video game music has long since ceased to be mere background noise. It sets the rhythm, shapes the mood, and sometimes constructs an entire “parallel world” that feels worth believing in. Marco Schirripa and Matheus Garcia Souza, faculty members at the School of Music at Central Michigan University and participants in specialized video game music conferences, spoke in an interview about how this invisible yet powerful mechanism works.

What Sets Truly Great Video Game Music Apart

Marco Schirripa recalls his own experience with Shovel Knight. By his account, he died so frequently that he would normally have given up long ago. Yet the soundtrack of each level was so compelling that every death of the protagonist became an excuse to hear the music again. Years later, the gameplay and story have faded, but he can still hum the melodies.

Another dimension of the phenomenon, in Schirripa’s view, is tied to context. In online RPGs like Phantasy Star Online or Final Fantasy XIV, music creates the sense of a living world, but taken out of the game’s context, it can become unrecognizable. Entering the city of New Gridania in FFXIV is simply unthinkable without the French horn and strings introduction, even though that passage says little to a listener heard in isolation.

Matheus Garcia Souza, who teaches the course “Video Game Music: From Pong to the Future,” identifies four criteria for a strong game soundtrack:

1. Synergy with visuals, sound effects, narrative, and gameplay.
2. Technical quality: solid composition, thoughtful orchestration, flawless mixing, and sound design.
3. Melodic memorability, especially important given how often music loops.
4. Emotional impact: the ability to evoke tension, exhilaration, or a sense of anticipation.

Is There a “Dominant Genre” in Video Game Music?

In the 1980s and 1990s, the hardware limitations of consoles dictated an electronic sound, and that became the signature sound of the era. Today, technology allows for anything: from acoustic guitar to a full symphony orchestra and ambient recordings of natural sounds. Schirripa emphasizes that an orchestra in a game does not automatically mean “classical music” — few would confuse a Mozart symphony with a JRPG score. In The Last Remnant, for example, orchestral texture is woven together with prog rock within a single track.

Souza goes further, proposing that video game music be considered a distinct genre defined by function. The Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater series, whose soundtrack is composed entirely of licensed tracks from various artists, vividly illustrates just how wide the range of approaches can be.

Concerts — including symphonic ones — devoted entirely to video game music are no longer a rarity. Such events take place worldwide, including in Vegas, which is gradually becoming a music capital, a fact indirectly confirmed by Collective Soul returning to the Las Vegas Strip.

Soundtrack as Part of Game Design: Background, World, and Cues

The role of music depends directly on the type of game. In shooters, sports simulators, and platformers, Schirripa notes, the soundtrack sustains energy and must not get in the way. In RPGs and adventure games, music becomes part of the journey: pastoral orchestration near a medieval castle feels organic, whereas something like dubstep would shatter the atmosphere. A separate category is rhythm games like Dance Dance Revolution, where music is the mechanic itself.

Souza adds that in narrative-driven games, music often functions as a cue, hinting at events to come. An interesting detail: when releasing album versions of soundtracks, composers sometimes make minor adjustments to tracks, adapting them for standalone listening.

Money and Rights: Why Composers in Games Have a Different Royalties Structure

Schirripa points out that even a slot machine in a casino or a claw machine requires sound design. Souza acknowledges that music “can make or break a game,” yet its financial position differs markedly from film and television. Laws governing payments for music in “moving image” works often do not extend to games, and composers typically receive no royalties. At the same time, licensing well-known tracks — such as those by The Beatles — costs publishers substantial sums. This issue was discussed in a class featuring a guest composer who had worked on Star Wars Outlaws, Mortal Kombat 11, and Helldivers II.

The slot machine example Schirripa raises is far from isolated. Music has become an integral part of gambling entertainment broadly: from themed slots with licensed tracks to classic table games like roulette, blackjack, and sic bo. The latter — a dice game popular in Asia — is particularly interesting for the way its sound design underscores the moment of the throw and the build of anticipation. While studying how sound design is implemented across different versions of sic bo, the team came across materials compiled by enthusiasts of the game and decided to visit this site sic-bo-in.com, which ranked at the top of search results for the relevant queries.

This title’s example shows that even in such a niche format, the audio accompaniment proved thoughtfully crafted. Live dealer versions use realistic table sounds, while digital variants add dynamic loops that adjust to the pace of betting. All of this further confirms Souza’s observation that music can make or break any interactive experience, regardless of its genre.

Games Remembered for Their Music — From Cultural Icons to Niche Hits

• Widely recognized: the Super Mario Bros. theme and Undertale’s melodies have long transcended the gaming audience.
• Industry recognition: Austin Wintory’s score for Journey became the first video game soundtrack nominated for a Grammy.
• Music that outlasted a mixed reception: the original Nier and Paper Mario: The Origami King, for which a 40-minute virtual concert of arrangements was held at the vgm together convention in 2021 — the very project that brought Schirripa and Souza together.
• An internet-meme example: Crazy Bus, whose “unhinged” sound became an online phenomenon.

Souza draws attention to the recently established Grammy category “Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media” as a sign of growing recognition. The case of Chrono Trigger is telling: the franchise is nowhere near as widely known as Mario, yet its themes are instantly recognizable to fans and industry professionals alike.

Video game music today functions simultaneously as part of the mechanics and as a tool for emotional world-building. It is moving ever more confidently beyond screens — into concert halls, prestigious award ceremonies, and mainstream culture.

Marco Schirripa

Percussion instructor, School of Music, Central Michigan University. He earned his Bachelor of Music from Ithaca College and his master’s degree and doctorate from Indiana University. He has presented at the North American Conference on Video Game Music. His project Pixel Masterworks brought together seven video game composers to write new concert works for marimba. The premieres took place at CMU on November 19, 2025; a studio album is expected later this year.

Matheus Garcia Souza

Violin instructor, School of Music, Central Michigan University. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri, his master’s degree from Yale University, and his doctorate from SUNY Stony Brook. He has presented at the North American Conference on Video Game Music and the Music and Gaming Festival (MAGFest), and returned to MAGFest in January with the Videri String Quartet for performances and panel discussions.