Author Biography

Dylan Jensen is a freshman at Utah State University majoring in English: Creative Writing and Music: Composition. He is the youngest of four siblings from the small town of Hyrum, Utah. Dylan is an artistically driven individual, having a love for singing and playing the piano, guitar, and violin, as well as a loving appreciation for the written word. Along with these talents, he also takes an interest in psychology and the simplification of complicated information. Dylan wants to utilize all of these in his future career exploration while immersing himself in fiction writing and video game music composition in his spare time.

This essay was composed in April 2024 and uses MLA documentation.

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When I was young, my brothers and friends introduced me to the world of video games. Every day of my life was spent trying to conquer digital worlds and various fantasy-themed enemies, and I loved to do that even more with those who were closest to me. Many days during the summer breaks of my childhood were spent alongside my best friend of that time, Landon, and we played a plethora of games together such as Minecraft, The Legend of Zelda, Terraria, and many others.

One game I remember playing in my early youth was Final Fantasy IV, and I fell deeply in love with it because of two things. The first of those two things was the inspiring storyline. I had never experienced a storyline in a video game that comprised events that twisted and turned so much that it was almost as if you were reading a book or watching a movie. Many video games don’t include a storyline as an essential part of understanding gameplay, but Final Fantasy IV did.

The second thing that caused me to fall in love with Final Fantasy IV was the amazing soundtrack. Sadly, there is only so much that words can do to describe music, but what I can say is that the soundtrack had a way of pairing perfectly with the game. It reached into my heart and soul and encouraged me to connect with the characters and the scenes in the game. Because of this very thing, the composer Nobuo Uematsu became a role model for me as I grew and matured over the years.

Since that time, I have come to love video game music because it has a way of reaching the hearts of people in ways that differ slightly from what you might hear from normal music or film scores. I have gained more role models who are trailblazers for the video game industry involving music, such as Dale North, composer of Wizard of Legend, and Gareth Coker, composer of Ori and The Blind Forest and its sequel Ori and The Will of the Wisps.

The variety of music that goes into video games may surprise those who are not regular consumers of video games. Many imagine it to be arcade-style music, but in reality, it is incredibly diverse, comprising many themes or genres such as pop, folk, or even polka. Christoph Krimmt, professor of communication studies with the University of Music, Theater, and Media in Hannover, Germany confirms this idea in his study, “… Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag, which contains a Caribbean pirate narrative, is equipped with music that triggers associations of sailing, adventure, and freedom…” In addition, large-scale symphonic orchestras are occasionally used such as the one at the disposal of Gareth Coker in his compositions. Because of these reasons, I felt that video game music was something that could change the world, and I decided that I wanted to write video game music professionally as well.

Have you ever wondered what video games might be like without music? If you consider yourself a “gamer,” then this question may have crossed your mind a time or two, and you likely felt a flash of gratitude as you realized how important the soundtrack was to your experience.

My hope, as I explain my thoughts and findings throughout this essay, is that video game developers and composers, both aspiring and established, will recognize the worth of video game music and what it contributes to a video game. I would like to bring awareness to video game music as its own genre so that people can pay closer attention to it–especially when they play video games.

Throughout the course of my discussion, I will argue that video game music deepens the psychological immersion of a player and allows individuals to become more engaged and, therefore, immersed in the gaming experience. Thus, I intend to uncover the hidden truths of music as they relate to video games so that these composers are truly given due credit for their work and amazing talents as they contribute to entertainment forms in such a vital capacity. As such, many others who may also simply take an interest in the psychology involving video game music may also find these findings interesting, and I hope that its worth can be magnified in the eyes of the populace.

There are many important subjects that must be discussed in order for us to understand the immersion of video game players within their activity. It is dually important to note that it is highly probable that such information will fluctuate from time to time because of a variety of reasons. What I refer to is known as the presence of “individual factors” which includes the fact that every individual who plays a video game will be affected differently by the music depending on numerous additional factors such as skills, preferences, backgrounds, but also the fact that video games consist of several types of scenes and events. Some are peaceful, whereas others are action-packed, filled with explosions and near-death experiences. The type and/or genre of video game may also come into play. Therefore, it is not unfair to say that the evidence that supports my argument also needs substantial amounts of greater evidence and further studies if we are to determine the effects of such a wide scope of factors affecting players. Though it is determinable for a video game to be immersive due to general subjects that I will discuss, the level of immersion to which this phenomenon occurs is somewhat unknown and unmeasurable until more studies are done.

Throughout the body of my argument, I will address several of these various factors that appear to contribute to video game immersion according to some of today’s most specialized and educated individuals on such topics. Factors that have been considered involve sensory stimulation, cortisol levels, reported levels of enjoyment and emotions of players after gameplay, and many other factors. However, it is important that we understand what immersion means.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines immersion as “the state of being completely involved in something”. This definition, though helpful, does not paint an in-depth description of what immersion looks like. Being “completely involved in something” could prove somewhat difficult to measure to most without comprehensive criteria in psychology to describe what is referred to as “total immersion” might encompass. Immersion was selected as a key term for this argument primarily due to its widespread and popular usage among the gaming community, but as Emily Brown of the University College London Interaction Centre states, “…it is not clear exactly what is meant by immersion and exactly what is causing it.”. Therefore it is vital that we attempt to define immersion as it occurs in psychology.

In a study conducted by Sarvesh Agrawal at the Technical University of Denmark, he and his colleagues attempted to derive a comprehensive definition of immersion: “Immersion is a phenomenon experienced by an individual when they are in a state of deep mental involvement in which their cognitive processes (with or without sensory stimulation) cause a shift in their attentional state such that one may experience disassociation from the awareness of the physical world.” In addition, four factors were established to determine if immersion occurred: the system, narrative (content), environment, and individual factors.

It is important to note that “the system” refers to the physical properties of what is present or the sources of sensory stimuli within the product. Individual factors are factors specific to individual people, such as their preferences, skills, etc.

With all of this in mind, we can begin to determine whether the soundtrack of video game music contributes to immersion. The first and most obvious method is to address the fact that a soundtrack is an auditory stimulus. Though on its own, a soundtrack may not contribute much to psychological immersion, when working in conjunction with many other stimuli, immersion is more likely to occur.

Think of your everyday life. What do you do in a day? Where do you go? What do you hear and see? We often do not pay attention to questions like these on an in-depth, or more accurately, psychological, level. Using the five methods of sensory data collection can help provide insight into this subject.

There are five primary methods of sensory data collection: visual, auditory, olfactory (smell), gustatory (taste), and somatic (touch). Collectively, these senses make up a lot of our cognitive performance in our everyday lives. We process and collect information about our surroundings using these five senses. The two senses that are most commonly used are visual and auditory.

So, when thinking about the aforementioned questions, think about how often you use your three other senses of data collection in comparison to sight and sound. Sight and sound are used as you walk around, as you sit during a lecture, and for many other tasks. Occasionally we will have three or maybe even all of these senses collecting data at once.

Multisensory data collection is also known to some as sensory immersion and is highly contributable to psychological immersion because sensory details are able to hold attention to things and events that cause the stimuli to occur (Agrawal). Therefore, it is not unreasonable to say that auditory stimuli may contribute to the psychological immersion of video game players as they play the game. There are also some misconceptions that people have about this subject, as well as video games and films.

Many individuals tend to think of video games and films as equally immersive because the primary senses used to observe them are sight and sound, respectively. Some studies, such as one which will be described in depth later, which was performed by Siu-Lan Tan, P.h. D, who is a professor of psychology at Kalamazoo College, determined, however, that the fact that gamers can actively control their character through the use of gaming controllers also contributes to sensory immersion. When a player is able to actively make choices and decide how their own story plays out, they are often more engaged in what is taking place, rather than passively observing as one might do with a movie or television series.

There is also an important individual factor present in this example. A player must be well experienced with the controls to the point where the controls used for the game are practically second nature. Therefore, first-time players and players who are just getting used to the game are less likely to be engaged in the gameplay and experience sensory and, thus, psychological immersion because “…there are usability and control problems” (Brown).

Recent advancements in gaming technology further permit a more immersive environment for video game players and allow them to collect more sensory data from the games they play. Virtual reality in the gaming community has gained substantial popularity as individuals become further engaged in searching for ways to keep the gaming experience both exciting and engaging. Virtual reality is a welcome detail to how video game music contributes to a player’s psychological immersion as it increases factors for multisensory data collection.

Virtual reality heightens immersion by tapping into our somatic senses. While the five forms of sensory data collection are typically referred to, some argue that there are more. Kylie Rymanowicz, Extension Educator in Child and Family Development at Michigan State University promotes the idea that there are two additional, lesser-known senses tied to the somatic sense: vestibular (movement and balance) and proprioception (awareness of the location of limbs in relation to the others). She further argues that “[t]hese two senses help round out our ability to connect and interact with the world around us.” These two additional senses would highly contribute to further stimulation and, therefore, immersion in addition to the auditory stimulus of music as it occurs in virtual reality video games.

Another sense that is rarely engaged in video games or movies is the olfactory sense–our sense of smell. However, according to Taylor Lyles, a reporter for IGN specializing in technological influences of the gaming industry, with the recent addition of GameScent to the gaming accessories market, players can now “smell things that appear onscreen.” GameScent is driven by AI technology and essentially allows the device to pick up what you see on the screen and emit some related scents. The official GameScent website indicates that the current scents on the market are “Gunfire, forest, racing cars, storm, explosions, [and] clean air.” Several other scents are being developed to add to this fascinating technology. It is believed that the olfactory sense is the missing link that is needed to further gaming immersion, as it is the least-used sense related to gaming.

Video game soundtracks can further contribute to the psychological immersion of players as they allow the player to improve concentration and performance among video game players.

In a study conducted by Siu-Lan Tan and two of her colleagues, several players were exposed to an unfamiliar video game and were tested with full sound from the game present, partial sound, and no sound. Dr. Tan found that “top players earned their highest or second highest scores when playing in the Full Sound condition.”

Several similar studies that have been conducted over the years show similar results to what Dr. Tan’s study has concluded. One such example is in the research of Yaqi Zhang, who is affiliated with the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. She stated that “…music is increasingly used to facilitate task engagement and positively impact task performance in a gaming context.”

Another important element to consider from this point of view is the purpose of sound effects in video games as they contribute to immersion. Though sound effects are not the same as a soundtrack, many game composers also create sound effects. In addition, several sound effects in video games can also be variations or portions based on the main musical theme or melody of the soundtrack as well. The game soundtrack and sound effects are used in, “… drawing attention to instructions, providing notification, feedback, and orientation to the player…” according to Dr. Richard Stevens, course director for postgraduate students of music and sound at Leeds Beckett University. These purposes further support that music and any auditory stimuli can further engage a player and draw attention to what is happening inside of a game.

One of the video games that made me realize that task performance appeared to increase in my early childhood was Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story, a Japanese role-play game (JRPG) centered in the Mario universe. Today most of the soundtrack for me is not easily remembered except for the theme of the final battle, In the Final. The music made me feel as if I was taking part in some legendary duel of fate and I became energized by the rapid tempo and entrancing melody. I realized I felt more engaged and determined to play the game and win when the music was present than in comparison to times when I had to play with the music off. Playing was not as satisfying or enjoyable without the music.

It is apparent that due to people’s connection with music, they truly feel as though they are more invigorated while playing a game, thus feeling that they perform better overall. This would suggest that music heightens the functions of the brain in order to be more engaged in its tasks (Paiva de Oliveira).

Emotions are also highly affected by music, as they occur in video games (Agrawal). Emotions such as calmness, happiness, anger, or horror are correlated with one’s immersion because music “enables them to cognitively and emotionally resonate with the virtual world” (Zhang).

Previously, we established that narrative or the content of a video game is one of the four contributing factors that lead to psychological immersion. In Agrawal’s research, he found that a compelling narrative was one of the most highly effective ways to increase immersion and draw attention from the players because they emotionally connected with the story unfolding before their eyes, saying, “… a stirring narrative can deliver immersive experiences even with a limited amount of sensory input.” He further argues that if we want to achieve the highest level possible of psychological immersion, all the main three factors should be present (multisensory data immersion, immersion in a narrative, immersion of tasks).

As a story unfolds in a video game, it is a video game music composer’s task to match what occurs within a story. The music itself could change what is meant to be a heartwarming scene to one of disastrous comic relief. Therefore, it is essential that a game composer knows how to tailor his music to a narrative.

The soundtrack of Ori and The Blind Forest is an excellent example of this idea for me in my experience as a player. Near the beginning of the story, a character who plays the role of an adoptive mother to the main character appears to have died. Gareth Coker used this point of the narrative to bring out the saddening melody of a single piano amid his symphonic orchestra in order to tug on the heartstrings of the players. Coker’s main task was to take the already tear-jerking scene of a terrible incident, rip out the hearts of the players, and milk them dry of any form of doubt that something sad had occurred in the character’s life.

“Sound can be used to communicate aspects of the narrative, enhance immersion, and convey emotion” (Tan). Those who play video games tend to feel more immersed in a game when they enjoy the game as “… their emotions are directly affected by the game” (Brown).

The results of many studies seem to indicate a connection between music and emotion. Similarly to the previous reason, heightened emotion and overall world-building techniques can further immerse a player in an unfamiliar environment. People who experience positive emotions because of music are more likely to be more engaged in what is causing the positive experience. Dopamine levels tend to further seek dopamine “highs” and music often causes such things.

As mentioned at the beginning of the argument, several researchers indicate that they do not believe that we are able to draw a specific conclusion as to whether or not video game music, in fact, contributes to immersion. Scott D. Lipscomb, who is affiliated with Northwestern University, performed a study in which several participants were tested with video game music present, not present, and with music only (no game) in different scenes of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers game. These individuals were tested on how they felt about a specific characteristic of their experience playing the game (whether it was more colorful, dangerous, etc.). Lipscomb’s results were mixed on the subject, as evidenced by the graph below:

Lipscomb’s graph indicates people felt that games with music were more colorful and dangerous while being less simple and relaxed. Compared to the other two experimental conditions, the video game played with music shows the most shift in perception. These results make it clear that Lipscomb’s reasons for arriving at his conclusion were not far off of the mark. The relationship between immersion and music appears to be one of high complexity because these results do not easily imply a causation effect but rather correlations. Lipscomb came to the reasonable conclusion that “it is imperative that future investigations provide a clear understanding of the contributions to the experience made by each of the auditory and visual components, as well as the level of interactivity exhibited.”

While these results are helpful and reasonable, the study was focused on three scenes of one video game, which were all centered on stressful environments. This is problematic in determining the contribution of music to immersiveness because music serves more than one role, as it can occur in other contexts.

“Indeed, the lush cinematic scores take us through the emotional highs and lows of the journey of a game” (Tan). Music is used for more than just exhilarating, stressful battles in video games. In the before-mentioned example of Ori and The Blind Forest, it was used to draw on sadness, Minecraft contains passive music that allows one to calmly observe their environment as they work, and Mario Kart contains tracks that are upbeat and energetic in order to get the player excited for the race that is meant to be times of enjoyment spent with friends and family. Raul Paiva de Oliveira, P.h. D at Universidade Estadual de Campinas stated in a study comparing the effects of immersion between algorithmically composed game music and game music composed by humans supports this conclusion, saying, “…human-composed music is linked to higher aesthetic and emotional aspects of immersion.”

Is it justifiable to say that more research is needed to determine how music affects video game immersion? No! Though Lipscomb’s conclusion is reasonable, the difficulty with it is not that immersion does not appear to occur, but rather to what level it occurs is difficult to measure. In truth, immersion as a concept is determined by how engaged we are and how much attention we give to the game. This is also referred to as flow, or in other words, how well the events of the game blend together to encourage concentration. “Flow has some parallels with immersion in the fact that attention is needed, sense of time is altered, and sense of self is lost” (Brown).

Video game music contributes greatly to players’ psychological immersion. It engages us, steals our attention away from the boredom of life, then brings out our deepest emotions, and makes us feel the game and its story. Thus, it is clear that game composers contribute highly to the gaming experience through various factors as a form of art. Their work is misunderstood and underappreciated as it contributes to the gaming experience.

I implore my dear readers and fellow enthusiasts to seek to understand this genre of music in its entirety — to bond with it. As the world grows and advances, we must seek to value and appreciate what others create. We take for granted the effects of art on the experience of human life. I fear that because of this, we may lose sight of and value the importance of art and music and their purpose of inspiring. So, I ask you to be attentive, look, listen, and seek to be inspired by the music of video games.

Works Cited

Agrawal, Sarvesh, et al. “Defining immersion: Literature review and implications for research on audiovisual experiences.” Journal of the Audio Engineering Society, vol. 68, no. 6, 30 July 2020, pp. 404–417, https://doi.org/10.17743/jaes.2020.0039.

Brown, Emily and Paul A. Cairns. “A grounded investigation of game immersion.” CHI EA ’04 (2004).

“Explore Our Scents – Gamescent: Curate Your Gaming Experience.” GameScent, 28 Feb. 2024, gamescent.com/scents/.

Klimmt, Christoph, et al. “Effects of soundtrack music on the video game experience.” Media Psychology, vol. 22, no. 5, 20 Aug. 2018, pp. 689–713, https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2018.1507827.

Lipscomb, Scott D., and Sean M. Zehnder. “Immersion in the virtual environment: The effect of a musical score on the video gaming experience.” Journal of Physiological Anthropology and Applied Human Science, vol. 23, no. 6, 2004, pp. 337–343, https://doi.org/10.2114/jpa.23.337.

Lyles, Taylor. “GameScent Is a New AI Device That Lets You Smell Game Worlds While Playing.” IGN, 21 Mar. 2024, www.ign.com/articles/gamescent-is-a-new-ai-device-that-lets-you-smell-game-worlds-while-playing.

Paiva de Oliveira, Raul, and Tiago Fernandes Tavares. “Impact of algorithmic composition on player immersion in Computer Games: A case study using Markov chains.” Revista Música Hodie, vol. 18, no. 1, 19 June 2018, pp. 61–73, https://doi.org/10.5216/mh.v18i1.53571.

Kylie Rymanowicz, Michigan State University Extension. “The Seven Senses: Supporting Your Child’s Sensory Development.” MSU Extension, 17 Mar. 2021, www.canr.msu.edu/news/the_7_senses_supporting_your_childs_sensory_development.

Stevens, Richard, and Dave Raybould. “The reality paradox: Authenticity, fidelity and the real in battlefield 4.” Soundtrack, The, vol. 8, no. 1, 1 Oct. 2015, pp. 57–75, https://doi.org/10.1386/st.8.1-2.57_1.

Tan, Siu-Lan, et al. “Effects of Built-in Audio versus Unrelated Background Music on Performance In an Adventure Role-Playing Game.” International Journal of Gaming and Computer-Mediated Simulations, vol. 2, no. 3, July 2010. Gale Academic OneFile, dx.doi.org.dist.lib.usu.edu/10.4018/jgcms.2010070101. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.

—. “Video Games: Do You Play Better with the Sound on or Off?” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 5 Feb. 2014, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/what-shapes-film/201402/video-games-do-you-play-better-the-sound-or.

Zhang, Yaqi, and Yao Song. “The effects of sensory cues on immersive experiences for fostering technology-assisted sustainable behavior: A systematic review.” Behavioral Sciences, vol. 12, no. 10, 27 Sept. 2022, p. 361, https://doi.org/10.3390/bs12100361.