Video Game Music - Why You Should Have A Playlist
Music is such a powerful tool. It can brighten a mood, calm your heart, energize you and connects people. It is so self-explanatory and apparent that celebrity culture and idolization of singers and musicians is a fairly universally accepted cultural norm.
Sold out concerns, festivals, fame, glory. All of it exists.
Music is worth it.
But do we ever consider the power of music for productivity? What it can do to focus our attention?
And if not, what kind of music should we be listening to?
Now, let’s be clear.
Although many people listen to background music during tasks that require sustained attention, there is still no consensus about its effect on performance. It’s still inconclusive with contradictory findings. Some studies argue the benefits and some argue the negative influence of music. The verdict is still debated.
But…
Here’s why I listen to music.
Think about it.
Now, mind you, not ALL music is good for productivity. And there’s definitely some subjective or personal variation in what music is beneficial to productivity but consider the following to find out why video game music is the perfect focus music.
1. HEIGHTENED ALERTNESS
You know how some productive tasks are kinda mind-numbing? How your mind can just wander away and 20 minutes you catch yourself down some random wikipedia rabbit hole that has nothing to do with your planned work?
Well, music can help with that. Kiss & Linnel (2021) found that background music increased the portion of task-focus states by decreasing mind-wandering. However, there’s a sweet spot. Too much heightened alertness (or arousal as it’s termed in journal articles) leads to too many external distractions.
We want that sweet spot. And music can uplift you from low arousal mind-wandering.
2. NO LYRICS
Shih YN, Huang RH and Chiang HY (2012) actually did a study on this and found if background music is played in the work environment, music without lyrics is preferable. Better yet, attention performance scores were better if no music was present at all.
Lyrics are great for normal entertaining music but for productivity, you want no lyrics.
Music with lyrics is a more complex stimulus than instrumental music alone. More complexity can result in higher levels of engagement or alertness and then you’re too susceptible to external distraction. Your mind is drawn to other thoughts, external stimuli, You don’t want to think about the lyrics, be distracted by rhyming patterns or start making contextual associations. The music is supposed to help you focus on the work and not distract from it.
3. SOMETIMES SILENCE ISN’T AN OPTION
Silence is great. But sometimes, silence isn’t an option. I live in the city and sirens, cars honking and yelling people are common. Furthermore, I like to sometimes work at coffee shops. They’ve got their own music, the clanging of cups and cutlery and the chatter of other patrons.
To get into the zone or flow state quickly, familiarity and routine is important. With coffee shops, sudden noises, and inconsistent quiet, headphones and a focused playlist is perfect.
4. FAST-PACED, ENERGETIC TEMPO
The goal is increasing your alertness, so a decently paced playlist is important. Slow pace obviously dampens energy levels. It can be effective for calming you or relaxing you but for productivity work, it may not be best.
SO WHY VIDEO GAME MUSIC?
Well, video game music has a few things going for it.
Video game music typically is primarily instrumental. Theme music, menu music, fight music. The intentional behind video game music is to provide thematic support for the world or environment without distracting you from the main content of the game.
So intentionality-wise, it is designed to live in the background, not distract you from your puzzle, your fight, your strategy.
Secondly, video game music is typically upbeat, and mid-to-face paced. Sure, there are exceptions for cinematic sad scenes and such, but I’d argue for most action, puzzle, adventure or strategy games, the pacing of the music is fairly quick. This is engaging, energizing and stimulating. That reduces mind-wandering.
Thirdly, having a staple video game music playlist provides consistency. On occasion, you might not get a quiet work space. You might find yourself in a coffee shop for the radio or lyric-heavy music. You now know that music with lyrics can detract your attention, so opting for a familiar video game playlist is preferred.
To me then, it’s a solid platform or foundational tool to set me up for success. It brightens my mood, keeps me energized and focused and let’s me settle into work ready to tackle the project at hand.
References
Kiss, L., Linnell, K.J. The effect of preferred background music on task-focus in sustained attention. Psychological Research 85, 2313–2325 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-020-01400-6
Shih YN, Huang RH, Chiang HY. Background music: effects on attention performance. Work. 2012;42(4):573-8. doi: 10.3233/WOR-2012-1410. PMID: 22523045.