Exploring the Music Behind Online Casino Games

Have you ever considered what makes a casino game so exciting? Or so relaxing? We would say it isn’t the narrative, the risk, the meditative concentration, or the gameplay features, but it comes down to the music. Like the local spa playing pan flute or the nightclub playing drumming beats, music evokes a feeling, and that’s especially true of casino games. Read on as we explore casino game music.

Creating a calm atmosphere

Sometimes you just want to sit at home in front of the TV with your favourite slot machine. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s one of the main selling points of online casinos that you can enjoy them in your alone time. You don’t have to go anywhere and you can play from the comfort of your home.

Some casino games, depending on their theme, like to aid this feeling of comfort with a calm and breezy music theme. While some games go for an upbeat, fast-paced soundtrack to encourage continued play, some opt for a slower vibe with jazz and lounge music. It provides a mellow backdrop for card games that require concentration.

Creating a thrilling atmosphere

The other way that music can enhance the gaming experience is by ramping up the excitement. Players tend to frequent casinos that create an enjoyable, high energy audio environment. They use an upbeat tempo and soaring melodies to get you excited about the spins. Varying music styles like house, electro, funk, and soul provide sonic interest and an eclectic, lively quality in the best online slots casinos. This matches the casino’s constant activity.

And have you noticed how the music changes to match different game phases? The really good casino games know how to evoke excitement by making their music build at the right time. While you are playing, the music builds anticipation during reel spins and rewards big wins with a musical flourish.

Creating a casino atmosphere

Sometimes you don’t want calm or hyped, however. Sometimes you simply want the feeling of being there in the casino. This is where the audio is as important as the look. This is particularly important to live dealer casinos, which are created to evoke a feeling of being at the casino as much as possible. The dealer is a real person streamed to you, standing over a real casino desk in a studio that looks as much like a real casino as possible. But all that doesn’t mean anything if the oppressive silence feels like home.

Therefore, live dealer games include background music to mimic a lively casino floor. Sound effects overlay the music for shuffling cards, rolling dice, dropping chips, etc. Sound and music designers study casino ambiance and try to recreate the hypnotic, energetic feel of bricks-and-mortar casinos. The sights and sounds give a psychological boost to players.

Sticking to a theme

However, a lot of slot machines, arguably all, have a theme. Some are more blatant than others. For instance, there are a lot of slot machines based on popular culture. Playing slots can sometimes feel like a moment in time, such as when you’re scrolling through your favorite slots and suddenly find a Tiger King-themed slot, like the Joe Exotic slot from Red Tiger Gaming.

To add to this feeling of going back to a pop culture moment, the music adds to this atmosphere. This can manifest in a lot of different ways. Here are some examples of popular slot machine themes that incorporate familiar music:

Themed slots based on rock bands like Guns N’ Roses, Kiss, and AC/DC feature their actual hit songs during gameplay. This evokes fans’ love for the music. Similarly, music-centric games feature genres like rock, country, or Latin pop. These slots play songs fitting the genre like “Sweet Home Alabama” or “La Bamba.”

Additionally, slots with TV and movie themes often use their iconic scores. The James Bond slot plays the classic 007 opening music and themes from the films. Wizard of Oz slots include “Over the Rainbow.” Slots with Disney themes incorporate theme park ride music and songs from movies. The Pirates of the Caribbean slot uses the ride’s “Yo Ho” soundtrack.

And then there are the slot games that are based on iconic console and arcade games throughout history. Slots use music and sounds from the video games themselves to evoke the memory of playing them, like the way the Super Mario Bros slot mimics the original NES music and sound effects.

Conclusion

There are a few different approaches game developers can take with their music, but it really depends on the theme and atmosphere of the game, which is often dictated by what game you’re developing. Do you want players to sink into relaxation or meditative thought, or do you want them to feel their heart race as they play? That comes down to the music. The power of music is that it can evoke emotion, which is useful even in the iGaming world.