Working to Video Game Music and Why You Should Too

One of the more recent activities my employer iTech Media has started running is called “Wavey Wednesday”, where volunteers run a 30 minute Zoom session of their favourite music for people to listen to while they work. Guess who volunteered this week?

Despite being a music lover and creator, my preference will always be for absolute silence, but as I discovered when working for wearable technology start-up Doppel, vibration, music and rhythm have a way of affecting your own natural cadence and ultimately changing the way you feel, so when I do listen to music — I try and make sure it’s the right music.

An obvious example of this emotional effect is film scores, which can have you anywhere from on the edge of your seat, to crying uncontrollably. As a whole, I find this rollercoaster of emotion not particularly useful for working to, but there are many exceptions and a fair few films have made their way to my focus list.

So let’s take a look at why I think video game music is great to work to, and then look at the picks that made my playlist!

Why Video Game Music?

1. No Vocals

A common reason to listen to music is to block the noise from people talking around you, so listening to music with lyrics is often out of the frying pan and into the fire. There are many genres that are suitable in this regard, but you can almost guarantee video game music ticks this box. An exception would be Fallout 3, which is still an awesome soundtrack, but is better suited to singing along to in the car!

2. Designed for Repetition

I have sunk hundreds of hours into some computer games and eight hours in one sitting is not unheard of. To listen to the same music on repeat for that long, it needs to be of a certain style and quality to make that possible.

3. Designed for the Background

Everyday music is designed for the foreground. If you didn’t notice it, it wouldn’t sell well. Video game music, much like film music, is designed to sit in the background — if it distracted you too much from the game, it would quickly find itself switched off.

4. You’ve Heard it Before

Don’t underestimate the cognitive load of listening to something new. Familiar sounds will sink into the background much easier than unfamiliar. That’s why it’s a fairly common practice to fall asleep listening to TV you’ve seen a thousand times before — although sleep specialists are of mixed opinion on this!

5. Stockholm Syndrome

This is more of a justification as to why I can listen to some of my recommendations, rather than a reason video game music is worthy. Certainly with older games, some of the music wasn’t objectively “good” but we listened to it anyway because it was either that or silence. Just like the theme music to Star Trek Enterprise, if you hear it enough times, you eventually end up loving it!

Spode’s Top Picks

So before we delve into some of my choices, I think it’s important to realise that my choices will likely be very different to yours. I don’t think I can objectively state that these are good tracks — they are just good tracks for me. However, hopefully this will inspire you to hunt out the tracks to your favourite games and let me know your top picks in the comments!

You’ll also notice a trend that a good chunk of these are MIDI/Adlib, because I’m also a fan of my vintage PC gaming. There are definitely some more modern games that would have made my list as well, but I thought I’d stick to this theme.

1. Transport Tycoon Deluxe

This jazzy soundtrack is almost an hour and half of toe-tapping fun. If you find the Adlib a bit grating, John Broomhall did a fantastic remake using real instruments and there are other live sessions around well worth checking out.

OpenTTD is an excellent open-source remake that is true to the original, but works on modern machines with Internet multiplayer and a whole host of other improvements.

2. Lemmings

When I first got Lemmings on PC, we didn’t have a mouse and we didn’t have a sound card, but it was still mind-blowing to play despite the minimal beeps and use of QAOP keys to control the cursor. It was several years later that I was able to properly enjoy this wonderful game and the soundtrack will stay with me forever.

I’m still waiting for Stockholm Syndrome to kick in for some of these tracks, as I’m not sure I can handle listening to “how much is that doggy in the window” one more time. I do think it’s worth fighting through it to get to the great tracks though.

According to a quick search, “Lemmings features a combination of unique songs, nursery rhymes, classical pieces, and covers from other video games”. Even the familiar tracks feel more like an arrangement with some added extras, as there is definitely a unique style.

At just under an hour long, it fits nicely in a playlist and like most soundtracks listed here, there are remakes — so here’s an orchestral version of “Just Dig”.

3. SimCity 2000

You’ll notice a trend for simulation and strategy games here, and SimCity is a series I’ve put many hours into, with this 23 minute long soundtrack ingrained into my brain.

My girlfriend has heard me listening to this so many times that she has PTSD flashbacks every time she hears a flute. Track 13 at around 15 minutes in is by far my favourite, and I always imagine it sung by Pavarotti and will often chime in with my best impression.

4. Theme Hospital

Another short soundtrack at 22 minutes, but amazing nonetheless. If you have fond memories of the game — there’s a great open-source version called CorsixTH as well as a more recent remake Two Point Hospital.

5. Lotus III — The Ultimate Challenge

This is definitely one of the more energetic soundtracks on my list, but I have fond memories of attaining hyper-focus to it as a child. Again at around 20 minutes long, it sits well in a playlist. This version comes from the Amiga but it’s close enough to what I remember on my PC. For bonus points, here’s a guy playing the main theme on guitar.

6. Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis

As a software developer, I spend all day creating, I mean, solving problems — which is probably why the background music from point and click adventure games work so well. I think you’d do well with any LucasArts soundtrack, but Indiana Jones is one of my favourites, both from the perspective of soundtrack and game. At 3 hours long, it stands out by itself and mostly atmospheric background music. I’m particularly fond of the music played as you are wandering around Atlantis itself.

7. Faster Than Light

By far the most modern soundtrack on here, but still maintaining that “quite clearly video game music” vibe. I’ve spent over 300 hours playing this game, and at two hours long, it’s definitely a go-to soundtrack without needing to be in a playlist. Oddly, my favourite track is “Colony Ship” which is a bonus track that is never heard in-game!

Honourable Mention — Xenon 2

Xenon 2 is most definitely a defining soundtrack of my childhood, but I just find it a bit jarring to work to, especially as I played it on PC speaker (there was no Sound Blaster support). However, this version played on a banjo is just amazing, so I’m giving it an honourable mention. Enjoy!