Menzo Proof of Brain Post #1 :THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MUSIC AND GAMING

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Although we don't know when humans first began listening to music, we do know why. Music benefits us both individually and collectively. Music has the ability to improve our physical, mental, and emotional health.

"Music is therapy. Music moves people. It connects people in ways that no other medium can. It pulls heart strings. It acts as medicine." - Macklemore

Physicist William Higinbotham created what is thought to be the first video game in October 1958. It was a simple tennis game that was highly popular at a Brookhaven National Laboratory open house, and it was akin to the legendary 1970s video game Pong. Unfortunately, the first video games did not include any form of sound.

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Rally-X, released by Namco in 1980, was the first video game to feature continuous, melodic background music, with a simple tune that repeats continuously during gameplay.

Despite the crude noises, game designers saw something significant. They needed some kind of music to keep our attention.

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For modoern era, Merry Waran (2019) said that six major components or factors which help in video game designs are game world, game storyline, characters for video game, music, visuals, and quality assurance. She emphasize that the soundtrack is one of the most significant aspects of a video game.

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We spent a lot of time playing a game. The world vanishes. It's fantastic! The music simply transports you to another world. That is the brilliance of video games.

An excellent piece of music or sound effect can alter the mood of gamers and transform the feel of a video game. The video game's music puts us in the correct mindset to play the game.

Music and video games have always had a very significant correlation. Some songs have become so strongly identified with specific games that hearing them brings back memories of playing them for those who have.

The need for music is widespread. Without music, a game would be devoid of heart. Music is essential to how people enjoy gaming. We get to enjoy the game's rousing scores, percussive syncopation, and eclectic experimentation. Music in games helps to determine the gamer's mood and create an overall feel.

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We hum Minecraft's music or Mario's music to our fellow gamers. It bring back memories!

"The world’s most famous and popular language is music." - Psy

What good is a game if it doesn't have music? They'd be playable, for sure. But they would be missing their soul as a gaming experience, and this is where music comes into play in every game and medium. Music is the heart and soul of it all, accompanying us through all of our joys and sorrows.

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Video game has continual evolution that bring it closer and closer to digital medicine. Including music in a video game will provide us with a lot of known and probably unknown mysterious benefits. And what a wonderful companion it is!

References:

1. Brookhaven National Lab.(2008, October 21). The First Video Game. https://www.bnl.gov/about/history/firstvideo.php
2. Merry Waran. (2019, January 30). 6 Components of Video Game Design. https://www.upgrad.com/blog/6-components-of-video-game-design/
3. Video game music. (2021, July 2). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_music
4. npr. (2008, April). The Evolution of Video Game Music. https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89565567
5. Gamespot Staff. (2005, March 28). A History of Video Game Music .https://www.gamespot.com/articles/a-history-of-video-game-music/1100-6092391/
6. Kevin Truong. (2019, May 19). Playing doctor: The evolution of videogames in healthcare. https://medcitynews.com/2019/05/from-joke-hour-to-digital-therapeutics-an-evolution-of-gaming-in-healthcare/