Composed to Experience: The Cognitive Psychology of Interactive Music for Video Games

Although music is not always in the primary focus while playing a modern video game, it plays a crucial role in defining the overall gaming experience. Whereas a looping musical structure might demotivate and irritate the player up to the extent that they choose to play on silent mode, an interactive dynamic music system can enhance game experience by, for example, making the game narrative, its characters, and gameplay feel more convincing and immersive at various degrees. However, a fine balance between these experiential components must be maintained when composing music for games. This chapter sheds light on designing and implementing interactive music for games from an artistic and psychologically informed perspective that intends to account for an immersive gameplay experience with regards to task context and expressive quality of the composition.