Ok so. Question. Who here listens to external (not from the game) music while playing? Is it always the same music genre? Does it depend on what type of game you’re playing? I think this is one of the really core identifiers that shows the difference between gamers. No one has the same answer.
For me, I really like competitive games (pvp, things with leaderboards, etc.) - and usually have no music (ingame or outside) but have game sounds tuned so I can hear footsteps or a rogue vanishing or whatever.
…BUT, when I’m grinding in an MMO, or playing Hearthstone on a tablet, or something where my mind isn’t focusing, I like to listen to post-rock in the background. Things like Sigur Ros, Explosions In The Sky, Mogwai, etc.
I always listen to in-game music/sounds, I feel like if there is a whole team dedicated to making all of the music, the battle sounds, etc, that I should appreciate their efforts. The soundtracks are (or should be) designed to take you into the world of the game and immerse you in the experience (Witcher 3), so I usually dive in. I usually play story driven games, but even in MOBAs I keep the music on. Only exception is FPSs with no music, and constant CONSTANT gunfire. Makes me anxious.
Plus how will I know when I’ve stumbled into a battle zone I’m not even close to ready for without the really suspenseful music? (again, see my entire experience Witcher 3)
I try to listen to the game music/sounds whenever unless it’s something like Heroes of the Storm or any other singularly competitive type deal (PvP etc) and then its some crazy amalgamation of crap I’ve been listening to since childhood because being old is awesome and a lot of music these days is balls.
Gotta agree there. Something like Fallout or Mass Effect is made by the game’s music. For others that don’t require as much attention (or if I am replaying a game), I like listening to podcasts. Helps me feel like I’m killing two birds with one stone.
Doh! For some reason I was thinkin of music while playing while STREAMING lol my bad.
But yeah, I still stand by what I said earlier. If I play a game when I’m not streaming though, I’d either listen to music or have a show on the side so I binge watch while I play haha
It’s funny you mentioned Explosions in the Sky! While I was hooked on Warhammer Online back when it first got going, Explosions in the Sky is all I listened to while playing. Having the beat go along with my steps as I ran around made me way more immersed than having the in game music going.
I’m not sure if it’s due to age, but now I just turn the volume down on games that I just play regularly like TF2 and watch streams or catch up on Netflix. You really haven’t min/maxed unless you’ve gone into the multi-monitor setup.
I tend to listen to up-beat music like techno, electronica, or dubstep. However when I’m gaming I’m generally streaming so I kinda need to use the YouTube Royalty-free music.
For me, it really depends on what I’m playing. I will almost always be listening to music or podcasts when I’m playing the game. I have to be really invested in the game or know that the game’s soundtrack is next level before I listen to the game sound. Even in games like Call of Duty or the MMOs I play, where I should be using sound queues, I just focus better for longer if I’m listening to tunes. As for what music I listen to, I either listen to EDM or Hard Rock, language doesn’t matter. Here are a few of the Bands I listen to while playing.
EDM:
The Glitch Mob
A_Rival
Mystery Skulls
Carpenter Brut (Did a bunch of the Hotline Miami OSTs, as well as his own release)
Pendulum
Zircon
Chase & Status (although this leans pretty heavy into rap sometimes)
Some OCRemix stuff, my favorite being THE ANSWER, which is an Armored Core tribute album that is so amazing.
Rock/Hard Rock/Metal:
A Perfect Circle
Tool
Celldweller
Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas (Japanese Rock/EDM/Post Hardcore)
Starset
System of a Down
Rival Schools
Metal Gear Rising Revengeance OST (10/10 game and OST)
Lacuna Coil
That was probably more specific than some of the posts, but that’s how I do it. I’m either on voice with my friends, or I’m listening to something with few exceptions.
Depends on if the game has gameplay with a great story or narration, i normally don’t listen to external music.
My kind of games like these are: Mass Effect Hitman Skyrim Bastion
Just to pick a few out.
However if it’s a game you don’t have to immerse into; Dota Nuclear Throne Hotline Miami Payday
I like to listen to either SuicideSheep on YouTube or i’ll put on my huge library of various genres.
It kind of depends on the game. I mostly follow Enzymme’s line of thought. However, I will admit to playing Mass Effect with its music turned off and instead playing external music. This has only happened though after playing and beating the game several times so I have already heard the different music. And even then I was trying to match the music I was playing with the roughly the same genre of music that the game was playing.
So bottom-line: First playthrough or two of a single player, narrative game I will definitely stick to the provided soundtrack. Once I have done multiple playthroughs (Mass Effect, Borderlands 2) that might change. Multi-player games that don’t require the need to listen to footsteps (as in not FPS games) I will also play my own music.
I tend to keep game sound on but low (~20%) and then alternate between music, streams and voice chat if playing with friends. I’ve been trying to get into podcasts lately while gaming but I find my brain starts to melt if I’m paying attention to more than one thing.
Rarely! If I play a singleplayer game I don’t wanna ruin the experience by adding my own music to it. I don’t get people doing that btw. I know one guy that watches movies while playing, ruining both in my opinion.
I used to listen to music while playing multiplayer games tho, but I layed off that habit, so the answer is no, I guess.
I’m almost always listening to some kind of podcast/video while gaming alone. Any of TB’s stuff, or the NLSS are usually my go to, but I can also just choose a random streamer I like and go with it. I once listened to someone playing The Witness, while I was playing the Witness (no spoilers, I was like 5 hours ahead of him). I dunno what it is, but I guess it acts like a kind of background noise while I’m gaming, to entertain me if I’m waiting for a match or doing some menial task.
Often times a game that relies too much on me actually listening (eg, Crypt of the Necrodancer, and some parts of the Witness, both of which I LOVE) gets ignored way too much cause I can’t bother to play it without something happening in the background.
I prefer the game sounds and music in games like Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing where the soundtrack is awesome. I tried playing cs:go and hots without music and sounds, but it didn’t have the proper feel for me. Besides, in HotS you would miss out on some really nice character quotes, for example Muradin (retreating) “Time to advance in the other direction”.
But yes, when it’s something grindy like MMOs, I listen to my favorite music and that would be symphonic or power metal. Hammerfall, Rhapsody of Fire, Gloryhammer, Avantasia, Kamelot and more.
In rythm games or story-oriented games like Bastion, The last of Us, Mass Effect, etc. i leave the music and sounds on, it makes the experience even better in my opinion, but when im grinding on games like Persona, Etrian Odyssey, etc i sometimes listen to my own music. In openworld games like MGSV, Fallout, Terraria i sometimes listen to ingame music or my own music. I really love the Minecraft soundtrack but its way more fun mining some chunks and doing some redstone with sound activated + my own music. I also hear to my own music on multiplayer games like Battlefront, MGO, TF2, etc and arcade games like Nuclear Throne, Downwell, etc.
I mostly hear to diverse japanese music. Anime OST, japanese videogame OST (actually any vidya OST) and Lotus Juice music. Also hear to Daft Punk, some monstercat albums, Gorillaz, Deltron 3030, A day to remember, The Black Eyed Peas, Macklemore and maybe someone other im missing.
In pretty much anything that involves online multiplayer, I just put on some chill-out, even for high energy shooters and things like that. Something about the mix of high-speed action and relaxed sounds puts me in a really comfortable state of mind.
Usually I just listen in-game music, but most of the online flash games and simple puzzle games - jigsaw, three in the line, zuma-like or any logic-genre game I like to have my own music. Sometimes it’s just the Portal soundtrack (which is surprisingly good music to study), but sometimes it’s a song good to sing, so I can relax while playnig.
And if it’s loud enough the neighbours won’t hear me singing, so that’s nice.
(no spoilers, I was like 5 hours ahead of him). I dunno what it is, but I guess it acts like a kind of background noise while I’m gaming, to entertain me if I’m waiting for a match or doing some menial task.