How Changes in Tempo & Genre of A Game Soundtrack Affect Gaming Experience and Performance

School of Computing, Science and Engineering
BSc Professional Sound and Video Technology
How Changes In Tempo & Genre Of

A Game Soundtrack Affect Gaming
Experience And Performance?
Anton Gudkov
@00433429
a.gudkovs@edu.salford.ac.uk
Supervisor: Dr Ben Shirley
Reader: Dr Bruno Fazenda
The dissertation includes a practical component: NO
May 1
Abstract
The audio in games is often perceived as not worthy topic of study. However the gaming
experience wouldn’t be as immersive and enjoyable without the sound accompanying visual
side. This research focuses on the effect of musical tempo and genre in the video game, it also
looks at the effect of the tempo on the physiological aspect of human body such as heart rate. It
attempted to investigate how to improve gaming experience by using music and also how
immersion can be enhanced with the audio. To assess these questions participants were asked
to play a simple video game whilst listening to variety of music in different genres and with
different tempos. The results showed that gaming experience and immersion can be affected by
the genre of a soundtrack, which arguably could be dependent upon users’ musical preference,
however tempo did not affect gaming experience in any way. In addition to that, results also
showed that participants’ were able to concentrate on the game better when no music was
present and therefore performed better in the game, which led onto higher level of immersion
and more pleasant gaming experience.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction.....................................................................................................................................5
2. Literature Review.............................................................................................................................7
2.1 Uses and roles of music and audio in games............................................................................7
2.2 Difference between game and film music.................................................................................8
2.3 Musical preference.....................................................................................................................9
2.4 Effect of musical tempo on heart rate.....................................................................................10
3. Methodology & Experiment Design..............................................................................................12
3.1 Introduction.............................................................................................................................12
3.2 The problem to be addressed..................................................................................................12
3.3 Research method.....................................................................................................................13
3.4 Overview of an experiment.....................................................................................................14
3.5 Participants..............................................................................................................................15
3.6 Choice of the video game.........................................................................................................15
3.7 Selection of music....................................................................................................................16
3.8 Questionnaire...........................................................................................................................18
3.9 Data collection and analysis....................................................................................................19
3.10 Equipment/software/artefacts used....................................................................................20
4. Results............................................................................................................................................22
4.1 Overview...................................................................................................................................22
4.2 General questionnaire results.................................................................................................22
4.3 Results between conditions.....................................................................................................24
4.4 Post - run questionnaire results..............................................................................................27
5. Discussion, Conclusions & Future Work.......................................................................................34

5.1 Effect of tempo and genre........................................................................................................34
5.2 Music as a distracter................................................................................................................36
5.3 Practice effect...........................................................................................................................36
5.4 Limitations of current research..............................................................................................37
5.5 Strengths and weaknesses of current research......................................................................38
6. Conclusions....................................................................................................................................39
7. Further Work..................................................................................................................................40
8. References......................................................................................................................................41
9. Appendices.....................................................................................................................................44
Anton Gudkov Effect Of Game Music On Performance
1. Introduction
Research in the game music field is very limited and being perceived as a topic which isn’t
worth studying. Over the years game music has progressed from 8-bit sounds and short loops
being repeated the entire game onto dynamic soundtrack which alters based on the action of
the player, multi-thousands pound production teams which record orchestras, spend years
working on a particular sound or atmosphere and expanding game audio onto surround sound.
This is why in writer’s opinion it is very important and fascinating topic for a research, because
there is more to the video game than just graphics and storyline.
In the 21st century technology develops at insanely fast speed and video games aren’t
exclusion. Nowadays it gets more and more difficult to distinguish computer graphics from real
life footage due to the incredible quality of visual content, game engines become more
powerful, sophisticated and well-thought-out games keep alluring huge numbers of people of
various age. In reality, player mainly focuses on visual part of the game, however gaming
experience wouldn’t be as immersive and enjoyable without the sounds and music
accompanying the visual side. Furthermore, to provide the best possible experience from
playing the game it’s not enough for sound and music just to be present. They have to be
thoroughly tailored and customized to suit the game atmosphere and support or even provoke
player emotions.
The main objectives for current project were; to conduct a research using relevant
scientific literature on how musical compositions with various musical attributes affect human
brain, to replace the soundtrack in the existing game in order to carry out tests and collect the
data such as in-game results and immersion, to measure participant’s heart using heart rate
monitor (HRM) and compare measurements influenced by various styles and tempos of
musical pieces, to analyse collected data and identify the influence of a certain type of a
soundtrack on the gaming experience and performance, to establish the most suitable type of
the soundtrack for enhancing gaming experience and performance and to develop
understanding of how to make video games more immersive and enjoyable using music and
sound.
This dissertation has got seven sections. It starts with an introduction, followed by a
literature review, which leads onto methodology. Section number four addressed to the design
5
and production of the project which then goes onto result section. Fifth section is dedicated to
the most important part – discussion. The final sections are conclusion and further work
section.
6
2. Literature Review
2.1 Uses and roles of music and audio in games
During the gameplay, user mostly focuses on visual content, however audio is as important as
visual part of the game. As Vorderer and Bryant established music in video games can “Enhance
a sense of immersion, cue narrative or plot changes, act as an emotional signifier, enhance the
sense of aesthetic continuity, and cultivate the thematic unity of a video game” (Vorderer and
Bryant, 2012, p. 290).
There is a difference between “hard-core” games and “casual” games, so required level of
immersion should be considered and tailored according to the game. Casual games are typically
distinguished by simple rules and by reduced demands on time and learned skill, in contrast to
more complex hard-core games. As stated by J. Juul (2010), players of casual games are less
committed to gaming in general, because as opposed to looking for an adrenaline or any other
stimulation casual gamers want to relax and simply enjoy the game without being dedicated to
it. (IGDA, 2008). It means that immersion isn’t considered as an important element in casual
games, therefore it can be stated that music has fewer uses in casual games in comparison to
hard-core games.
PhD researcher Jørgensen (2008) conducted an experiment which involved 13

participants playing real-time strategy game Warcraft III (Blizzard Entertainment, 2002) and
Hitman Contracts (IO Interactive, 2004) for 25-30 minutes with the sound being unexpectedly
turned off approximately half way through. After questioning participants about their
experience Jørgensen highlights two uses of audio as a result of experiment: creating an
atmosphere that involved players into the game world and notifying/alerting players about
important events in the game. Players also compared the experience to being left in the dark or
losing a leg. Warcraft III is a real-time strategy game where player builds his military bases and
develop their army to fight against another player or computer. Such game would require a
substantial multitasking skill as well as high level of awareness of events in the game, which
can be gained through the use of the sounds in the game. As an example of sound alerts player
will hear specific sound on the completion of a new construction or an enemy attacking user’s
military base. Hitman Contracts, however, is allocated in completely different game genre and
requires different gameplay. It is a stealth game, which demands player to be discreet and
tactically focused. Such game makes sound an important feature, because it’s used to inform
7
player about his status in relation to the game world. For example, whether current situation in
the game will be calm or critical music will change accordingly or security guards will shout at
the player if he looks suspicious. To summarise Jørgensen’s research it can be stated that audio
in games doesn’t only enhance the immersion; it also assists narration and communication
(Vorderer and Bryant, 2012).
2.2 Difference between game and film music
As technologies develop more and more funds are being put into gaming industry, there has
been a push to make games more cinematic. This can be seen by increasing number of games
with orchestral scores. One of such examples is score for the “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2”
which has been produced by famous film composer Hans Zimmer. However, the field of game
and film music are different and one of those differences is linearity.
Films are linear one-way experiences, when games are non-linear interactive experiences
and the composed music needs to reflect that (Eladhari, Nieuwdorp & Fridenfalk, 2006)
(Pidkameny, 2008). When reviewing casual games music, it can be found that most do not have
cinematic, orchestral score, which means similarity between film and game music is greatly
reduced.
Another key difference between films and games is interactivity. As Pidkameny (2008)
highlights, games are played interactively but films are watched passively. Furthermore, passive
films require passive scores, whereas games have the possibility of using interactive music
(Pidkameny, 2008).
As it can be seen from the aforementioned arguments game and film music has various
differences in the way it’s being presented, however both of use diegetic and non-diegetic
music. The term “Diegesis” refers to the fiction plot within the film or a game – every
development/change of the environment or character(s) is being visually shown on the screen.
An example of diegetic music (source of the music is present in the environment and can be
heard by the characters inside the film/game) can be “Pip-Boy’s” built-in radio in Fallout 4
(Bethesda Game Studios, 2015) or a boom box in the film Say Anything (Cameron Crowe, 1989,
1:17:16). On the other hand orchestral score or intro song is classified as non-diegetic music,
because it’s not considered to be audible by the characters. Quite often, it functions as an
interpretive element, which triggers listener’s feeling, subjectively beyond the visual elements
(Sonnenschein, 2001, p. 154).
8
Game audio falls into two categories: linear and adaptive. Linear audio is set to timed
events and is written to create a particular mood or atmosphere for visuals, which matches film
sound. Adaptive audio, however, is music and sound in the game that react to changes in the in-
game environment and/or player responses (Collins, 2008a). Adaptive audio is widely used in
nowadays hard-core games. Video games are not as predictable as films and music cannot
know the players next step (Marks, 2009).
2.3 Musical preference
When considering how music affects player’s performance in the game, their musical
preference must be taken into account. One of the related researches (Cassity, Henley and
Markley (2007)) was focused on the “Mozart Effect” which is theory, that listening to Mozart's
music may induce a short-term improvement on the performance of certain kinds of mental
tasks known as "spatial-temporal reasoning”. Cassity, Henley and Markley found that
participants performed better in the game Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 (Neversoft, 2001) when
listening to their preferred music.
Collins voiced conversed opinion about music preference by saying that well-known
music (subjectively term “well-known” music can be applied to preferred music too, because
listener knows the lyrics, progression of the song, etc…) might distract player from the game (K.
Collins, 2008, p. 118). Rick Altman (2001, p. 24 – 26) supports this idea by suggesting that:
“Popular song depends on language, and is predictable, singable, rememberable, and
psychically involving in ways that “classical” music is usually not”. In other words it can be
suggested that familiar music in the game can draw too much attention from the actual game
and decrease the immersion by (automatically) physically involving player to concentrate on
music.
A study by North and Hargreaves (2000 p. 48-49) conducted two interesting experiments
on a musical preference topic, although it is based outside gaming the findings of the
experiments can be applied to certain field. In the first experiment participants were asked to
choose their preferred music after engaging in a high or low arousal task – riding a bike or
resting on a bed. The list of offered music consisted of two choices – loud and fast or slow and
quiet version of the same song. Those, who rode a bike have chosen slow and quiet music, on
the other hand participants, who rested on the bed have chosen loud and fast music. The
second experiment was exactly the same, apart from one thing. Participants had to choose
music during the activity. It resulted in completely opposite results – the participants preferred
9
music that suited their current state of arousal. North and Hargreaves (2000, p. 48-49)
believed, that the choices by the participants were made to moderate their level of arousal.
Author suggested that participants preferred music based on their goals, because in second
experiment they have chosen music which would help them (mentally) to achieve their goal.
Based on aforementioned findings, it can be assumed, that music that suits the present goal of
the player has a possibility of affecting gameplay performance, however there is no direct
evidence to support such statement.
2.4 Effect of musical tempo on heart rate
Music is capable of stimulating specific hormones in human body and brain as well as
increasing or decreasing heart rate and blood pressure, depending on the genre and tempo.
Sleight (2005) highlighted that music can “alleviate stress, improve athletic performance and
improve movement in neurologically impaired patients”.
A number of research studies suggested that music affects participants at the

physiological level as well as provided enough evidence for a recommendation to use music as
a form of therapy. Study by Trappe (2010) established that such music as hip hop and rap,
which is associated with fast tempos, caused negative effect to patients suffering from anxiety,
stress, depressive syndrome, pain and sleeplessness by increasing their blood pressure and
heart rate. Conversely, the same study found that those patients benefit the most from listening
to slower and calmer music such as classical music, as it made both blood pressure and heart
rate to decrease. Furthermore, similar study showed how by listening to slow–paced music
patients’ pre-surgery anxiety decreased as measured by their heart rate and systolic blood
(Iwanaga & Youko, 1999).
Certain types (like fast or slow tempos) of music can also have different effect on
physiological measurements during exercise. Karageorghis, Jones and Low (2006) found an
increase in physiological arousal in participants who preferred music with higher tempo whilst
exercising. Edworthy and Waring (2010) conducted analogous research and observed the
effects of slow and fast music on the heart rate during exercising. First group of participants
were exercising to fast & loud music and second group did the same exercise to slow & quiet
music, afterwards Edworthy and Waring compared heart rates of both groups and established
that first groups’ heart rates’ were significantly higher.
10
3. Methodology & Experiment Design
3.1 Introduction
This section is looking at the method of current research, as well as provides an overview of
similar experiments that have been done by other researchers and comparing those methods.
After that it leads onto detailed discussion about all aspects of designing an experiment for this
study and final paragraph provides procedure for the experiment.
3.2 The problem to be addressed
It can be clearly stated that video games without any sounds or music wouldn’t be even near as
immersive and enjoyable as they are with. Which means that game audio is very important
aspect and has to be done in appropriate way in order to achieve desired result from the
gameplay. As mentioned before this research intends to find out how certain attributes of a
game soundtrack, in particular tempo and genre would affect gaming experience and
performance. Not to forget that experience could be directly proportional to performance,
because the better the user will perform in the game the better experience they will have.
Furthermore, this research aims to investigate and establish the most suitable type of music for
enhancing performance in the video game. Even though it’s obvious that there are numerous
game genres which differ in many ways and require different skill sets, playing styles and some
of which (simple casual games) can be enjoyed as much even without any background music
but this specific project will be tailored towards reaction based action game. Arguably, it’s more
difficult to test effect of a music genre on a performance and experience since it goes down to
subjective personal preference, however the hypothesis is that certain genres will have certain
effect due to the common (not identical but quite similar) musical attributes they hold and
therefore might influence users’ in the similar way. Effect of musical tempo, on the other hand,
is easier to test, because it affects physiological part of human body (considering every human
organism functions in the same way) as shown by some previous researches (Trappe, 2010;
Iwanaga & Youko, 1999; Karageorghis, Jones and Low, 2006; Edworthy and Waring, 2010).
11
3.3 Research method
Considering the nature of the research it’s been established at the early stage of this project
that it would be necessarily to carry out experiments, because it’s the most reliable way of
testing effects of music in the game. In order to acquire specific set of results it’s been
suggested to establish medium that will be causing these results (cause and effect type of
results). Music in this case is considered as a cause and in-game results and participants’
feedback on their experience considered as an effect.
Similar researches have been carried out before, for example by Jørgensen (2008) who
used two existing video games (Warcraft III and Hitman Contracts). Jørgensen was researching
slightly different topic (playing computer games with the sound turned off) and she wasn’t
using any external music apart from internal in-game audio. Also to collect qualitative data she
interviewed participants after the experiment about their experience and thoughts. The idea of
using existing game and using questionnaire to collect quantitative and some qualitative data
was adopted for current study.
Another example of similar methodology is research by Daniel Lawrence (2012) who

assessed the effect of tempo on video game performance and the researcher used Tetris as a
test game. In his study Lawrence didn’t touch upon the effect of genre so he was only using in-
game music, however he manipulated it and created a number of copies of the in-game music
with slightly altered tempos. The reason for that was so every participant would play the same
game a number of times but every time music would be slower, faster, one go would have no
music at all and one would have the original unedited audio.
As discussed before there is a difference between “casual” and “hard-core” games and
potential findings of the current study would be more reliable and precise if a “hard-core” game
would be used in the experiment. The reason for that is the level of immersion in “hard-core”
games is higher, which means, as stated before, the audio there has more uses and affects users
experience more, than audio in “casual” games. Although Jørgensen was studying different
topic her approach to testing could be compared to Lawrences’. Jørgensen used “hard-core”
games for testing which require knowledge of the game and skills to properly play it, whether
Lawrence used “casual”, simple and well-known game – Tetris. Use of the simpler game for
testing would mean that broader sample of the population (participants) would be eligible for
taking part in this study, however findings could potentially be less accurate, due to the lower
level of immersion.
Due to the time limit of the current project it’s been established to use “casual” game
which wouldn’t require any specific gaming skills. The method Lawrence has used seemed the
12
most suitable for this project, however it required a few additional tweaks to tailor it towards
more specific nature of the study.
3.4 Overview of an experiment
As stated before, in order to study the effect of musical tempo and genre on the gaming
experience and performance the necessity of designing an experiment has been established.
Before looking into related articles the initial idea was devised. The video game was introduced
as a tool to assess the effect of music and it was obvious that researcher had to make a selection
of different songs (in this case music is variable condition) as well as create copies of them with
accordingly edited BPM’s (tempo is measured in beats per minute). Furthermore, to extend
this research onto physiological side of human body and monitor fluctuations in participants’
heart rate in relation to music it’s been suggested to acquire heart rate monitor for use in this
experiment. Also to give to participants chance to express their feelings and thoughts about
their personal experience it’s been decided to design a two-part questionnaire (general and
“current-run” specific, explanation of both will be mentioned below), which would help the
researcher to acquire more data for more precise analysis. Finalised test looks as follows:
 Participants will be playing the same video game in the quiet room with zero distractions.
 During entire experiment participants will be equipped with an HRM and their heart rate
will be monitored and recorded.
 Before the start of the experiment participants will read through the Study Information
Sheet, sign the Participant Consent Form and fill in general questionnaire.
 Participants will be exposed to ten different conditions. Three different songs, two copies of
each song with altered tempo. Tenth condition will be no music at all. Which means overall
each participant will play the game ten times.
 Music will be playing from the same laptop which will be used to run the game. Headphone
use ONLY.
 In-game results will be written down after each go, which includes two numbers: distance
(measured in meters) and collected coins.
 After each go participants will be given a “current-run” questionnaire which is looking at

various things such as their gaming experience, how well current song worked with the
game, how immersed were they and if they have any additional comments.
13
3.5 Participants
The population for this experiment was people in Manchester starting from the age of 18 and
older. Participants were both female and male with varying gaming experiences (ranging from
low to medium to high) and musical preferences. Ethical considerations have been taken into
account when approaching participants, however current experiment doesn’t require any
specific sampling frame (like age, gender, ethnicity, religion, culture, whether person is English
native speaker or not), because the more diverse participants will be the more generalised
results will be acquired. In total the sample was 15 people. It’s been decided that such number
of participants would be suitable for this project. If the number would be less than 15 it would
mean average results would not be as precise, however if more than 15 participants would be
involved it would mean harder data management, considering how much data would be
collected from a single participant. Taking into consideration the nature of human body,
participants were asked to not to drink any coffee or energy drinks prior to the experiment,
because it could raise their and heart rate which would make HRM data inaccurate.
3.6 Choice of the video game
As discussed before, it’s been decided to use simple “casual” game so all the participants could
play it equivalently well. That way it would take minimum time for participant to familiarize
him/her-self with a game and the performance of “low” skilled gamer could potentially be as
good as the performance of a “high” skilled gamer. If the game would be too sophisticated and
too specific (“hard-core”) some participants potentially wouldn’t get any further than the very
start and that data would become unusable. Also required play time for each participant would
significantly increase due to the complex nature of “hard-core” games, which means the length
of the experiment would be too long and participants would potentially get bored and stopped
trying hard in the game.
So bearing all of the aforementioned arguments in mind the most suitable game for this
project has been found – Jetpack Joyride (Halfbrick Studios, 2011). It is free, multi – platform
game, where user controls the character that run down the straight line and avoids enemies,
flying missiles and various deadly objects, as well as collecting coins and various upgrades on
the way. The speed at which the character is running is proportional to the distance that has
been passed, in other words the further the user gets the faster the character is running which
14
makes the game harder over the time. Another important factor which supports the choice of
this game is that the character is being controlled by a single key which makes the character go
up or down (character is equipped with a jetpack). For the score analysis game offers the
distance that has been passed and amount of coins collected on the way.
As this game is multi-platform it’s been established that the researcher will use their own
laptop to run it on.
Figure 1: Jetpack Joyride (Source: Softwsp, 2015)
15
3.7 Selection of music
3 songs have been picked for this experiment:
1. Hybrid – Power Curve (Noisia Driveclub Remix) – 172bpm (indicated as PW)
2. Ten Walls – Walking With The Elephants – 120bpm (indicated as E)
3. Buckethead – Soothsayer – 76bpm (indicated as S)
Such selection seemed very appropriate due to the variety of genres and completely different
mood of each song. Song PW is fast, aggressive tune in a drum & bass genre with a heavy bass-line and
synth sounds. E is “mid-energy” nice, melodic, catchy dance song in a progressive house genre and the
third song S is slow, melodic post-rock. All of these songs purposely don’t have vocals in them to avoid
possible distraction from the game.
As a justification for such selection of the music for the experiment it can be said that firstly,
three of these songs cover most of the BPM range in which music is being made. Secondly, all three
songs fall into completely different genres and have completely different moods. Although PW and E
are both electronic styles they don’t have any similarities whatsoever. In order to get more precise
results in relation of a genre effect it would be more efficient to introduce more different genres,
however in this case experiment would require significantly more time which would end up with
participants getting bored and stop trying to succeed in the game.
To extend the research of tempo effect it’s been suggested to edit the BPM’s of picked songs and
create multiple copies. In other words, to remain the song the same (genre and mood) but just slightly
alter its tempo to find out whether it would impact participants’ performance in any way. The goal was
to speed up and slow down each one of the songs by 5 BPM, which is just above noticeable difference
(JND) in tempo. By using such increments participants might have not even noticed the change in
tempo in the same songs throughout the experiment.
This task has got accomplished by using Ableton Live Suite 9 music production software and
built-in tool Time Warp. This tool allows user to stretch the audio sample by using various algorithms
(depending on the nature of the audio sample and desired effect). In order to make sure all the tempos
have been edited correctly the built-in metronome has been used. Also it’s been suggested to cut most
part of the intros out. The reason for that is to ensure that participant will be listening to the actual
main part of the song, as opposed to listening to 40-50 seconds intro and possibly dying in the game
even before the main part comes in.
After the editing selected songs had following BPMs:
16
1. Hybrid – Power Curve (Noisia Driveclub Remix) – 167bpm, 172bpm, 177bpm
2. Ten Walls – Walking With The Elephants – 115bpm, 120bpm, 125bpm
3. Buckethead – Soothsayer – 71bpm, 76bpm, 81bpm
Figure 2: Ableton Live Suite 9 with Time Warp section at the bottom (Source: screenshot has been taken by the researcher, 2018)
3.8 Questionnaire
The questionnaire was used to gather subjective opinions of participants as a quantitative data.
Based on the established required information from participants two questionnaires were
created. The first one was “general” questionnaire which participants filled in before the start
of actual experiment. It’s been used to collect general info about participant, such as gender,
age group, general gaming skills and three musical preferences (participants had to write their
name on the Participant Consent Sheet). General gaming skills question had three options for
an answer: low, medium and high. This question was added in order to prove that player
doesn’t necessarily have to be advanced gamer in order to succeed in a “casual” game. Question
about musical preferences was added to find out if there was a match between participants’
favourite genre(s) and selected music for the experiment and whether they have performed
better or worse whilst exposed to preferred music.
Second questionnaire was specifically made for participants’ to rate their experience
after each go. This questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data, as participants had to
rate their experience on the scale from one to ten. Since term “immersion” can’t be precisely
measured and is very subjective it’s been decided to add question about it in the questionnaire.
After that, participant’s had to rate the effectiveness of the current soundtrack within specific
17
game, which is also subjective and cannot be measured in any other way. The last question
asked to rate their overall gaming experience. Also optional field for any other comments was
added in the end of the questionnaire to give participant’s chance say what in their opinion
worked and what didn’t (qualitative data). See appendices.
3.9 Data collection and analysis
Following data has been established as required for collection and analysis in this project:
 In-game score: distance and coins
 Heart rate
 Subjective experience: rated immersion, effectiveness of the soundtrack, gaming experience
The only way to measure participants’ performance in such game is to write down and
analyse in-game results which in given instance is travelled distance and collected coins.
Researcher is going to use his own notes for this (can be found in Appendices). Heart rate
monitor will be connected to researcher’s mobile phone via Bluetooth and heart rate data will
be shown in the Run Keeper app. Before every attempt (experiment) the researcher will start
recording phone’s screen with the Run Keeper opened which then will be saved onto phone’s
internal memory. The initial idea was to write down heart rate data on the piece of paper every
time it updates, however due to the risk of missing out on some data it’s been established to
record phone’s screen. To acquire results about subjective experience it’s been decided to
create a questionnaire using Google Docs.
After all the data will be collected it will be put into Excel document, because it’s the most
convenient way to summarise all data and present it in the appropriate manner. Also required
graphs, tables, charts will be created with corresponding titles.
18
3.10 Equipment/software/artefacts used
Following list includes everything that has been used for the experiments. Documents (for example,
questionnaire) can be found in the Appendices.
 The game – Jetpack Joyride
 Laptop
 Headphones
 Empty room with a desk
 Heart rate monitor
 iTunes (playlists with selected music)
 iPhone + Run Keeper app (connected with HRM for displaying heart rate) + Record It! App (for
recording the phone screen)
 Study Information Sheet
 Participant Consent Form
 Questionnaire (first one on the paper, second one in Google Docs)
 Researchers notes (for writing down in-game score and other related notes)
3.11 Procedure of the experiment
In prior to the experiment researcher created 15 playlists in iTunes and added the same nine audio
files (songs) into each playlist in the random order (for each playlist). Laptop with headphones was set
up on the desk in an empty room to ensure there will be zero distractions and participants will be able
to fully concentrate on the game. On each participant arrival they’ve been equipped with an HRM and
been asked to sit down on the chair and relax whilst they are reading through the Study Information
Sheer and signing Participant Consent Form. It’s been done this way in order to measure and write
down participants’ rested heart rate which was crucial for appropriate analysis. It helped to establish
by how much heart rate would go up or down for each case. As stated before, participants were asked
in advance to not to drink coffee/energy drinks or take any substances that might have raised/slowed
down their heart rate.
19
Before the start of the test participants were introduced to the game and had one trial go with in-
game music. During the actual experiment in-game music was muted however in-game sound effects,
such as footsteps, explosions, etc… were still audible to maintain the legitimacy of the experience.
Initial idea was to set time frame for each go at two minutes, however during the trial experiment
(which happened prior to the actual experiment) it’s been discovered that not many people would
survive in the game for two minutes, so this idea about time frames was abandoned.
Participants were using headphones provided and researcher ensured that output volume
remained the same during the entire experiment for all participants, because the volume could have
affected their experience, if for example participant would be enjoying the song and the louder it
would be the more emotions participant would have been experiencing.
Every time before participant would start playing the researcher would start recording his
phone screen with the Run Keeper app opened to record heart rate changes during their play. Also, to
ensure that researcher would be able to establish which video file relates to specific participant he was
saying participant name and according song out loud (Record It! app was picking up sound through
phones’ microphone). As the participant would die in the game the song would get paused and the in-
game score would get written down immediately and phone recording would get stopped. To ensure
the same song wouldn’t play twice it would get deleted from the playlist after each go. On the
completion of each go participants were asked to fill in questionnaire (which was opened on the same
laptop). Procedure was maintained the same across all participants.
20
4. Results
4.1 Overview
This section shows the results collected from the experiment of 15 participants, including effect
of tempo and genre on the passed distance in the game, collected coins, average heart rate and
questionnaire results. Results of experiment with no music are also included. The results are
ordered as follows: results of general questionnaire summed up in the bar charts, which includes
age, gender, overall gaming skills and musical preference; effect of tempo and genre of the
performance in the game (average passed distance and collected coins) and effect of the tempo
on the heart rate all presented in the bar charts; summed up questionnaire results about
participants’ experience which is also presented in the bar charts.
4.2 General questionnaire results
The results of general questionnaire which participants filled in before the start of the
experiment are shown below.
Table 1 – Questionnaire results about Gender
21
Table 2 – Questionnaire results about Age Groups
Table 3 – Questionnaire results about General Gaming Skills
22
Table 4 – Questionnaire results about Musical Preferences
As it can be seen from the general questionnaire participants were predominantly male with
medium gaming skills. Regarding musical preferences the graph shows that four genres were
the most preferred across all participants: House, Rock, Drum & Bass and Hip-Hop. Musical
selection for the experiment included House, Rock and Drum & Bass and discussion of whether
or not musical preference affected gaming results can be found in the next section of this
project.
4.3 Results between conditions
Three of the graphs that are shown below display the effect of conditions (tempo and genre of
songs, as well as one condition is being no music) on average passed distance, average amount
of collected coins and average heart rate. All of the songs were sorted in groups of three and
put into logical tempo sequence (from slowest to fastest) in order to make it visually easier to
see the difference.
23
Table 5 – Chart with average distance scored across different
conditions
Table 5 – Chart with average distance scored across different conditions
Table 6 – Chart with average collected coins across different conditions
24
Table 7 – Chart with average heart rate across different conditions
The first thing that can be seen from the first chart (Table 5) is that on average participants
performed in the game better without any music, which suggests that music was distracting
participants from the game.
Second chart (Table 6) shows that the most coins have been collected whilst the mid-tempo
(in relation to selected songs) progressive house was playing, however if assumed that number of
coins is proportional to the distance passed then the most coins should have been collected when
playing without music.
From the third chart (Table 7) it can be stated that average participants’ heart rate was nearly
the lowest without the music and song by Buckethead – “Soothsayer” (81bpm) influenced the
lowest heart rate, however chances are that it can be considered as inaccuracy. Interestingly enough
the highest average heart rate was measured whilst participants’ were playing to the slowest songs
(71bpm) out of all.
25
4.4 Post - run questionnaire results
This sub-section shows questionnaire results for each song per question, as well as the run
without any music in a separate chart. Below it can be seen how much on the scale from 1 to 10
participants rated their immersion in the game, effectiveness of the soundtrack and their overall
gaming experience.
Table 8 – Questionnaire results about immersion in the game

during Buckethead - Soothsayer
26
Table 9 – Questionnaire results about effectiveness of the song in the game during Buckethead - Soothsayer
Table 10 – Questionnaire results about overall gaming experience during Buckethead -

Soothsayer
Table 10 – Questionnaire results about overall gaming

experience during Buckethead - Soothsayer
27
Table 11 – Questionnaire results about immersion in the game during Noisia’s remix of Power Curve
Table 12 – Questionnaire results about effectiveness of the song in the game during Noisia’s remix of Power
Curve
28
Table 13 – Questionnaire results about overall gaming experience during Noisia’s remix of Power Curve
Table 14 – Questionnaire results about immersion in the game during Ten Walls – Walking
With The Elephants
Table 15 – Questionnaire results about effectiveness of the song in the game during
29
Ten Walls – Walking With The Elephants
Table 16 – Questionnaire results about overall gaming experience during Ten Walls –
Walking With The Elephants
30
Table 17 – Questionnaire results about immersion in the game

without music
Table 18 – Questionnaire results about overall gaming

experience without music
31
It can be seen from the second group of charts that the most immersive song for current
game was fast-paced aggressive drum and bass “Power Curve” originally produced by Hybrid
and remixed by Noisia. It can be also stated that enjoyment from the gameplay is directly
proportional to the immersion. Participants also thought that song in such genre was the most
suitable for specific game, which is reflected by their response about the effectiveness of the
soundtrack.
Regarding section in the questionnaire about “any other comments” as summary

participants highlighted following thoughts:
 When played without music every single participant said that it wasn’t as fun to play,
however they could concentrate on the game better.
 When played without music some participants said that although it was less fun to play,
they were still immersed because they were performing well in the game.
 When played with slow rock song (Buckethead – Soothsayer 71bpm/76bpm/81bpm)

most of the comments mentioned that song was too slow for the game and made it a little
boring, although they though that mood of the song fit the game but the tempo wasn’t fast
enough.
 When played with fast and aggressive drum & bass song (Hybrid – Power Curve (Noisia
Drive Club Remix) 167bpm/172bpm/177bpm) participants said that song fit the game
very well and made it more intense, which added immersion to the game.
32
5. Discussion, Conclusions & Future Work
5.1 Effect of tempo and genre
From the results it can be seen that tempo of the songs didn’t make any major impact on the
performance, because the average distance varying a lot, however some pattern can be
observed. When playing to the slowest songs out of all participants scored approximately the
same distance as when playing to the fastest song at 177bpm (1342,2 m for the slowest and
1333,4 m for the fastest). When looking at the first chart in the “4.3 Results between
conditions” it shows growth of the average distance with the increase of tempo in house song
“Walking With The Elephants” by Ten Walls. The version with slowest tempo at 115bpm has an
average distance of 1403,4 m, 120bpm – 1485,4 m and 125bpm – 1662,6m. Considering 1662,6
m is the highest score (not including the run without music) it might suggest that tempo at
around 125bpm was the most effective for specific game. It can be backed up by the amount of
collected coins whilst playing to 120bpm and 125bpm, because the highest average number of
coins reached 228,6 and 226,3. Furthermore, looking at the decrease of average distance in
“Power Curve” with the increase of tempo from 167bpm to 172bpm to 177bpm it can also
suggest that range of tempo from 125bpm to 167bpm would enhance performance in given
game. Such statement can be made because song with 167bpm has an average distance of
1631,9 m which is very close to the high score set with 125bpm song – 1662,6 m. The lowest
scores have been set when participants played to the slowest and the fastest song and they
differentiate only by 10m. It suggests that 71bpm is too slow for such game and 177bpm is too
fast.
Talking about the effect of tempo on average heart rate the results are contradictive to
what Trappe (2010) and other researchers found out in their experiment. The highest average
heart rate was 80,5 bpm whilst playing to the slowest songs at 71bpm. The potential reason for
that is although the song was slow it wasn’t calm enough due to the powerful guitar riffs and
overall mood of the song. On the other hand, the song with fastest tempo at 177bpm made
average heart rate go up to 80,3 bpm, but so did 125bpm song – 80,2 bpm. Potential reason for
such contradictive results might be the heart monitor not being professional and precise
enough or the mobile phone application that has been used for monitoring it wasn’t displaying
the data properly.
33
Regarding the effect of musical genre on performance no effect was observed during the
experiments and looking at the results, however it did affect the gaming experience and
immersion. Reflecting the questionnaire results it can be said with good amount of confidence
that participants thought that drum & bass song worked the best in current game. In questions
about immersion, effectiveness of the soundtrack and overall gaming experience most of the
answers ranging from 7 to 10 (out of 10), which suggests that such genre was very effective in
this game, which therefore made them immersed and therefore they’ve enjoyed their gaming
experience. To back it up with the questionnaire results participants did say that drum & bass
song worked the best out of all three due to its speed and intensity, which worked as a
stimulant for current game. At this point it’s important to refer to the general questionnaire
about participants’ musical preferences. As shown in “4.2 General questionnaire results” graph
reflecting musical preferences it can be seen that one of the genres that was the most preferred
across all participants was drum & bass, which therefore contributed to the results.
The song in genre of a progressive house (Ten Walls – Walking With The Elephants)
worked relatively well in a specific game, however not as good as the drum & bass one. Such
statement can be made from the questionnaire results. Most responses about the immersion in
the game are laid out between 6 and 8 (out of 10), as well as three ratings of 5, three ratings of
9 and two ratings of 10 were given to the song in this genre. This is directly proportional to
participants’ rating about how effective was such song in the game – answers for this question
are ranging from 4 to 9 (out of 10) with the most amount of responses being rated as 5 and 6
(out of 10). Overall, participants rated their gaming nearly as immersive and enjoyable as in the
case with drum & bass song, having most of the rating at 7 and 8 (out of 10). Worth mentioning,
that house genre was one of the most preferred across participants too which therefore had an
effect on participants gaming experience.
Finally, participants’ answers about the post-rock song were the most spread out on the
scale. The answers about effectiveness of the song were mainly laid out between 3 and 7 (out of
10) with some ratings being placed at 1, little more at 2 and a few at 8, 9 and 10, however the
difference between number of responses from 3 to 7 and very extreme sides of the scale
(ratings 1, 2, 8, 9, 10) is drastic, so it can be said that this song wasn’t as effective as previous
ones. Although most of the answers about immersion in the game are marked between 3 and 8
(out of 10) looking at the participants’ comments about current song it can be said that it made
the gameplay boring and significantly less immersive as the songs in house and drum & bass
genre. Rock, however, also was one of the most preferred genres between all participants but as
it can be seen, in current application this genre didn’t work as well. The hypothesis is that it’s
not the genre that didn’t make it work but the tempo. As the questionnaires show participants’
34
enjoyed more playing to the fast and intense music, rather than to slow. It contributed to the
immersion and overall experience from the game, when on the other hand slowest song made
participants bored.
5.2 Music as a distracter
Results show that music in the game can contribute to the immersion and therefore make the
game more enjoyable, however it can also distract users from the game. As it can be seen from
the “4.3 Results between conditions” chart participants got the highest average score when
they were playing without any music (the sound effects of the game were still audible). It
suggests that music doesn’t always have to be present even in the “casual” game, because it
might draw all the attention away from the game. Furthermore, none of the songs in the
experiment had any lyrics present, which leads onto hypothesis that use of a song with lyrics in
the game would only distract players even more. From aforementioned thoughts it can be
suggested that triple A (AAA) game developers should avoid using well-known music in the
games to make users more focused on the game.
Although participants performed better without any music in the questionnaire they’ve
mentioned that it wasn’t as fun to play the game. Also most of the answers about their
immersion in the game without music were laid out between 6 and 8 (out of 10) and their
answers were backed up by the comment that although it wasn’t as fun to play, they were still
immersed because they were performing well in the game.
5.3 Practice effect
When performing the same task over and over again it’s obvious that participants could have
got better at it. Although the game wasn’t complex and was purely based on the reaction time,
practice effect still might have taken place and caused unwanted influence on the gathered
data. This has been taken into consideration in advance and in order to counter this effect
conditions that participants were exposed to have been randomised, however as data shows
practice effect has still happened in some cases. Based on the travelled distance five out of 15
participants were performing better towards the end of experiment in comparison to the start.
As a potential improvement for the future instance would be taking breaks between attempts,
however it would significantly increase experiment time and could potentially cause boredom
effect, which would negatively influence collected data.
35
5.4 Limitations of current research
One of the limitations of this project was number of participants involved. In order to get more
precise results it would have been better to get larger amount participants, as well as to be able
to generalise results more and apply to a broader population. However due to the limited time
scale and resources this was not possible.
Another limitation was not professional and precise enough heart rate monitor. Polar H7
is a good piece of equipment for its price and it does the job well for an average consumer,
however study like this would require more elite heart rate monitor. Also, ideally it would need
a feature of exporting heart rate changes over the time into digital format, for example to excel
document. H7 does have that feature, however it only exports the average heart rate and
doesn’t show changes over the time. As mentioned before, researcher was recording his phone
screen with updating heart rate statistics and later writing them down with sampling
frequency in five seconds. The actual monitor was refreshing every two seconds, however it
would be exceeding and hardly manageable amount of data to work with. The reason why heart
rate data collected in this study cannot be considered fully accurate is the selection of heart
rate monitor, however it worked moderately well considering the scale of this research.
One of the most significant limitations of this project was choice of the game. As
discussed before, there is a difference between “hard-core” and “casual” games and key
difference is level of immersion and complexity. In order to properly assess what effect does the
soundtrack has on the gaming performance and experience it would be necessary to use AAA
“hard-core” game, however it would cause certain difficulties and would significantly increase
the complexity of this research. Firstly, if “hard-core” game would be present in this study it
would majorly increase the time needed to conduct an experiment. Secondly, it would make it
harder to find eligible participants, because in this case they would have had to have skills and
experience in the selected game, otherwise results would not be accurate. Thirdly, it would
make it much harder to asses and analyse how well they’ve performed in the game, due to the
nature of “hard-core” games and required time to achieve something or succeed. And finally, if a
“hard-core” game would have been used for this experiment, it wouldn’t be possible to extend it
onto different genres, furthermore, it wouldn’t even be possible to replace the soundtrack in
the game, because audio in complex games isn’t linear. AAA games use adaptive audio and
dynamic soundtrack, which as discussed before, changes over the time based on users’ actions.
36
Taking into account everything mentioned above it’s been established in the early stages of this
project to use simple “casual” game as it would significantly reduce workload.
5.5 Strengths and weaknesses of current research
One of the weaknesses was that music tempo remained the same during one run (one game
attempt). In order to assess tempo effect on the heart rate it would work well if song had
automated tempo and it would increase or decrease over the time. However by doing this it
would mean that longer play time would be required, which wouldn’t be easy to achieve in a
given game.
Another weakness of this project was limited selection of genres. Since this research is
also aimed towards assessing the effect of a musical genre on the gaming experience, having
only three different genres present in the experiment doesn’t allow broad enough study. In
order to properly assess this topic it would be necessary to include significantly more of
different genres, however it would mean very long time required for the experiment.
Strong point of this project is a selection of data that has been collected. If assumed that
there would be no limitations in this project such an amount of data (including in-game score,
questionnaires and heart rate) it would be possible to do a very deep and thorough research
and discover interesting findings. Another strong point is the methodology of this research. The
approach to the experiment covered everything related and was ambitious .
37
6. Conclusions
In conclusion it can be said that neither genre nor tempo of the soundtrack affected gaming
performance and only genre affected gaming experience and immersion to some extent. It could
be stated from the results that experience and immersion from action video games, for example
those that are based on reaction, could be enhanced by faster music, because it matches the pace
of the game and excites user more. On the other hand, if the soundtrack doesn’t fit the game it
can make the overall experience worse and make user bored. Another conclusion can be made
from this – it’s better to have no soundtrack in the game, rather than have the one that doesn’t fit.
The absence of a soundtrack will make user concentrate on the game more, which will lead onto
better performance, which therefore will result in a better and more enjoyable experience.
38
7. Further Work
This project showed that methodology was suitable and efficient for such research topic,
however there are areas which could be improved in order to discover actual effect of genre and
tempo of a soundtrack on the game experience and performance.
First of all, the appropriate game should be chosen. It needs to be a complex “hard-core”
game where level of immersion is significantly higher than in the “casual” game and participant
will spend continuous time playing it in order to acquire appropriate results. Also wider range of
population should be chosen for the experiment, as well as larger amount of involved
participants so results can be more generalised.
Another future improvement for this study is professional, possibly legitimate medical,
heart rate monitor should be used for the experiment. By using it the collected heart rate data
will be more precise, which is crucial for monitoring heart rate fluctuations.
More musical genres should be present in the experiment, because three genres aren’t
enough to make general assumptions. Also not to forget that every genre has many variations
and deviations, two songs of the same genre can have completely different mood and style, which
might also affect gaming experience and performance.
If assumed that this experiment would be re-created with the use of “hard-core” game it
would be a great idea to record participants’ gameplay on video and then analyse it in
conjunction with heart rate data, in order to see what event in the game influenced specific heart
rate.
39
8. References
Abc.net.au, (2005). Music makes your heart beat faster › News in Science (ABC Science).
[online] Available at: http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2005/10/10/1478792.htm [Accessed 1
May 2018].
Cassity, H. D., Henley, T. B., & Markley, R. P. (2007). The Mozart Effect: Musical Phenomenon or
Musical Preference? A More Ecologically Valid Reconsideration. Journal of instructional Psychology,
34 (1), p. 13-17 [online] https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ761251 [Accessed Jan 6 2018]
Collins, K. (2008). Game Sound. Cambridge: MIT Press, pp.125 - 126. [online]
http://web.b.ebscohost.com.salford.idm.oclc.org/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook/bmxlYmtfXzIzNzc1Nl9fQ
U41?sid=77ac96bd-e53f-4945-a72d-3726d783865e@sessionmgr102&vid=0&format=EB&rid=1
[Accessed Jan 5 2018]
Eladhari, M., Nieuwdorp, R., & Fridenfalk, M. (2006). The Soundtrack of Your Mind: Mind Music
- Adaptive Audio for Game Characters. Proceedings from ACE 06: The 2006 ACM SIGCHI International
Conference on Advances in Computer Entertainment Technology. New York, NY: ACM, p. 2 [online]
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/209436404_The_soundtrack_of_your_mind_mind_music
_-_adaptive_audio_for_game_characters [Accessed Jan 3 2018]
Husain, G., Thompson, W. F., & Schellenberg, E. G. (2002). Effects of musical tempo and mode
on arousal, mood, and spatial abilities. Music Perception, p. 156 [online]
http://www.utm.utoronto.ca/~w3psygs/Husain.pdf [Accessed Jan 4 2018]
IGDA. (2008). 2008-2009 Casual Games White Paper. International Game Developers
Association, p. 8 - 9. [online] Available at:
http://www.igda.org/casual/IGDA_Casual_Games_White_Paper_2008.pdf [Accessed 7 Jan 2018]
Iwanaga, M. and Moroki, Y. (1999). Subjective and Physiological Responses to Music Stimuli
Controlled Over Activity and Preference. Journal of Music Therapy, 36(1), p.27.[online]
http://www.chinamusictherapy.org/file/file/doc/Subjective%20and%20Physiological%20Responses
%20to%20Music%20Stimuli%20Controlled%20Over%20Activity%20and%20Preference.pdf [Accessed
May 3 2018]
Juul, J. (2012). A casual revolution. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, p.26. [online] https://sal-
primo-production.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/primo-explore/fulldisplay?
40
docid=44SAL_ALMA_DS2162172670001611&context=L&vid=SAL_MAIN&lang=en_US&search_scope
=LSCOP_SAL&adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine&tab=all&query=any,contains,a%20casual
%20revolution&sortby=rank&offset=0 [Accessed 4 Jan 2018]
Jørgensen, K. (2008). Left in the dark: playing computer games with the sound turned off. K.
Collins (Ed.), K. (2010). From pac-man to pop music. Interactive audio in games and new media.
Hampshire: Ashgate Publishing, 2008. SMID - Society of Media researchers In Denmark, pp.163 - 167.
[online] http://bora.uib.no/bitstream/handle/1956/7855/Left%20in%20the%20dark_Kristine%20J
%C3%B8rgensen.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y [Accessed Jan 10 2018]
Karageorghis, C., Jones, L. and Low, D. (2006). Relationship Between Exercise Heart Rate and
Music Tempo Preference. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 77(2), p.241 - 242. [online]
https://www-tandfonline-com.salford.idm.oclc.org/doi/abs/10.1080/02701367.2006.10599357
[Accessed May 1 2018]
Lawrence, D. (2012). The effect of musical tempo on performance. Master's thesis. University of
Jyväskylä, p. 19 – 20. [online]
https://jyx.jyu.fi/dspace/bitstream/handle/123456789/38129/URN:NBN:fi:jyu-201207021987.pdf?
sequence=1 [Accessed Jan 3 2018]
Madison, G. (2004). Detection of linear temporal drift in sound sequences: empirical data and
modelling principles. Acta Psychologica, p. 95 – 118 [online] https://www-sciencedirect-
com.salford.idm.oclc.org/science/article/pii/S0001691804000514 [Accessed Jan 10 2018]
Marks, A. (2009). The Complete Guide to Game Audio (2nd ed.). Oxford, England: Focal Press,
p.227 – 228. [online] https://www-dawsonera-com.salford.idm.oclc.org/readonline/9780080928074
[Accessed Jan 7 2018]
North, A. and Hargreaves, D. (2000). Musical Preferences during and after Relaxation and
Exercise. The American Journal of Psychology, 113(1), pp.48-49. [online]
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/12573161_Musical_Preferences_during_and_after_Relaxa
tion_and_Exercise [Accessed 10 Jan. 2018].
Pidkameny, E. (2008). Sound in Video Games. In M. J. Wolf, The Video Game Explosion.
Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, p. 251 – 257. [online] https://search-proquest-
com.salford.idm.oclc.org/docview/199703986?accountid=8058&rfr_id=info%3Axri%2Fsid%3Aprimo
[Accessed 8 Jan 2018]
41
Trappe, H. (2010). The effects of music on the cardiovascular system and cardiovascular
health. Heart, 96(23), pp.178 - 179. [online] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21062776
[Accessed May 1 2018]
Vorderer, P. and Bryant, J. (2012). Playing Video Games. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis, p.290.
[online] Available at: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781135257484 [Accessed 5 Jan 2018]
42
9. Appendices
The appendices include researches notes, examples of data tables in Excel, questionnaire, participants’
consent forms, study information sheet, log book, time plan and project plan. They are ordered below.
Appendices:
A: Study Information Sheet and Consent Form
B: General questionnaire and post-run questionnaire
C: Example of data tables
D: Researchers notes
E: Signed consent forms
F: Project Plan
G: Time Plan
H: Log Book
43
A: Study Information Sheet and Consent Form
44
45
B: General Questionnaire and Post-run Questionnaire
46
47
C: Examples of Data Tables
48
49
D: Researchers Notes
50
E: Signed Consent Forms
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
F: Project Plan
Introduction
When playing a video game user mainly focuses on what he sees on the screen, however the
gaming experience wouldn’t be as immersive and enjoyable without the sounds and music
accompanying the visual side. Furthermore, to provide the best possible experience from playing
the game they have to be thoroughly tailored and customized to suit the game atmosphere and
support (or even provoke) player emotions. The aim of this project is to investigate what impact
does game soundtrack has on player’s performance as well as how increase in tempo raise the
tension and affect human psychological and some biological (heart rate) aspects. Also to gain
extensive understanding of how music can enhance immersion and performance in the game.
Furthermore, this investigation will be extended into using various musical genres.
Objectives
These first objectives are seen as the minimum to be achieved during this project:
 To conduct a research using relevant scientific literature on how musical compositions with
various musical attributes affect human brain
 To replace the soundtrack in the existing game (possibly open source game based on Unity
Engine) in order to carry out tests and collect the data (such as in-game results, immersion,
enjoyability, etc…)
 To measure participant’s heart rate using heart rate monitor and compare measurements
influenced by various styles of musical pieces
 To analyse collected data in conjunction with relevant scientific literature and identify the
influence of a certain type of a soundtrack on the gaming experience and performance
 To establish the most suitable type of the soundtrack for enhancing gaming experience and
performance
 To develop extensive understanding of how to make video games more immersive and
enjoyable using music
The following objectives will be carried out if certain necessary items will be accessible:
 To measure participant’s psychological arousal using Galvanic Skin Response Sensors
Equipment Requirements
In order to measure heart rate this project would require any kind of accurate heart rate monitor.
For more extensive tests it would require Galvanic Skin Response Sensors to measure brain activity
and psychological arousal. The rest of the project is computer based, so student will use their own
computer.
Objectives set on: 18/10/17

59
Student Signature: Anton Gudkov Date: 19/10/17
Supervisor Signature: Date:
60
G: Time Plan
61
H: Log Book
Week 1
Started thinking about the topic for my dissertation, gathering all ideas and then filtering out those
one I wasn’t so keen on.
04/10 First Meeting (Week 2)
I have had ideas on what direction I want to go regarding my dissertation topic and I’ve explained it
to my supervisor Ben Shirley and he helped me to pitch my thoughts into a narrow area which could
be researched (which is the topic I’m currently doing). I decided to take a week to think about other
potential topics in case I would come up with something better.
Also few objectives have been set for next meeting with my supervisor:
 Aim
 Objectives
 Start looking at any relevant literature
 What open source games available for unity
 Do we have galvanic skin response sensors
During the week from 04.10 up to 12.10 I have done a lot of research on various audio related
topics that I would be interested in picking as a main topic. Eventually I came up with another
potential study topic I found fascinating – “Designing blind accessible game using audio”. Through
further research I found some useful similar researches and study papers online to make sure there
is enough related information in order to use it as a basis for my work. Also I’ve established aims,
objectives for this specific and other project idea.
12/10 Meeting (Week 3)
On our second meeting with Ben we’ve discussed new idea and did little comparison between two
ideas. I liked both ideas and in order to choose one of them few objectives have been set for next
week (for 19/10 meeting):
 1st idea (blind accessible): add blocks (buildings/street) and sounds to first person open source
unity game
 2nd idea (tempo changes): replace music soundtrack of existing open source unity game.
 Decide on the project and how achievable these tasks are
So I had a week for having a go at both of these objectives. I decided to start with the easiest
(out of them two) task which was replacing soundtrack in existing unity game. Just for the moment
being I’ve downloaded some free unity game project (which wouldn’t be used in actual project) to
get the idea of how to do such tasks in unity. That was relatively easy and I managed to do that
quite soon after attempting it. The second option was trickier, it would involve some coding for
setting up a map, some character which would be able to move across the map, introduce building
62
and obstacles in order to make “streets on the map” for navigating through them. Since I’m not so
good with programming I tried to find some relevant tutorial videos on Youtube and have
attempted it but in the end I decided not to spend so much time on it and re-thought both ideas
and made my mind up on the tempo changes project. I’ve also started writing project plan.
So on this week meeting I’ve informed Ben about my decision and the progress has begun.
Following objectives have been set for the upcoming week:
 Literature review including tempo use in other sound design

 Proposed game
 Test method & Setup incl. Media; what will test look like to participants?
I continued researching relevant literature and analysing methods others researchers were
using. I found some games that could be used for such tests but eventually I decided to use “Jetpack
Joyride”. Questionnaire has been made. 3 songs were picked as audio media for the project.
Tasks set on 26/10 for the 02/11 meeting:
 Carry on reviewing literature

 Edit tunes
 Run trial tests
I’ve edited chosen songs in Ableton Live Suite 9 and run a few trial tests. Results were
satisfactory.
Tasks set on 02/11 for the 09/11 meeting:
 Dissertation structure – heading and sub-headings

 Game to demo with different tracks
 Look into capture software for heart monitor
I’ve created table of contents for the dissertation with headings and sub-headings. Also
presented to my supervisor demo of the test and he was happy with it. On the meeting we’ve
discussed what would be required for measuring heart rate and few options on how to make it in
the most convenient way. The best way would be to purchase elite heart rate monitor which would
be able to work in conjunction with Run Keeper software.
63
Week 7
Continued reviewing literature
Week 8
Continued reviewing literature
On this week meeting my supervisor gave me the Polar H7 HRM which has just arrived. As soon as I
got it I started experimenting with it. Figured out how it works, tried it in conjunction with Run
Keeper software, tried to export data to my laptop. It worked perfectly fine.
Week 10 - Week 14
During these weeks I haven’t had a meeting with my supervisor, due to the very busy schedule with
other assignments and university projects. However it wasn’t an issue, because both of us knew
where I was up to and what tasks I had to do. I carried on reviewing literature, experimented with
HRM a bit more and also started writing an intro for my dissertation.
Week 15
Started writing progress report.
Week 16
Progress report and Log Book due for submission.
Week 31
During this week all 15 experiments were carried out.
Week 32 – Week 33
During these two weeks the collected data was analysed, some more literature was reviewed and
entire dissertation was written.
64
65

How Changes in Tempo & Genre of A Game Soundtrack Affect Gaming Experience and Performance

Caricato da

Informazioni sul documento

Titolo originale

Copyright

Condividi questo documento

Condividi o incorpora il documento

Opzioni di condivisione

Hai trovato utile questo documento?

Questo contenuto è inappropriato?

Copyright:

How Changes in Tempo & Genre of A Game Soundtrack Affect Gaming Experience and Performance

Caricato da

Copyright:

School of Computing, Science and Engineering

BSc Professional Sound and Video Technology

How Changes In Tempo & Genre Of

Supervisor: Dr Ben Shirley

Reader: Dr Bruno Fazenda

The dissertation includes a practical component: NO

2.1 Uses and roles of music and audio in games............................................................................7

2.2 Difference between game and film music.................................................................................8

2.3 Musical preference.....................................................................................................................9

2.4 Effect of musical tempo on heart rate.....................................................................................10

3. Methodology & Experiment Design..............................................................................................12

3.2 The problem to be addressed..................................................................................................12

3.3 Research method.....................................................................................................................13

3.4 Overview of an experiment.....................................................................................................14

3.6 Choice of the video game.........................................................................................................15

3.7 Selection of music....................................................................................................................16

3.9 Data collection and analysis....................................................................................................19

3.10 Equipment/software/artefacts used....................................................................................20

4.2 General questionnaire results.................................................................................................22

4.3 Results between conditions.....................................................................................................24

4.4 Post - run questionnaire results..............................................................................................27

5. Discussion, Conclusions & Future Work.......................................................................................34

5.2 Music as a distracter................................................................................................................36

5.3 Practice effect...........................................................................................................................36

5.4 Limitations of current research..............................................................................................37

5.5 Strengths and weaknesses of current research......................................................................38

2.1 Uses and roles of music and audio in games

PhD researcher Jørgensen (2008) conducted an experiment which involved 13

2.2 Difference between game and film music

2.3 Musical preference

2.4 Effect of musical tempo on heart rate

A number of research studies suggested that music affects participants at the

3. Methodology & Experiment Design

3.2 The problem to be addressed

3.3 Research method

Another example of similar methodology is research by Daniel Lawrence (2012) who

3.4 Overview of an experiment

 After each go participants will be given a “current-run” questionnaire which is looking at

3.6 Choice of the video game

Figure 1: Jetpack Joyride (Source: Softwsp, 2015)

3.7 Selection of music

3 songs have been picked for this experiment:

1. Hybrid – Power Curve (Noisia Driveclub Remix) – 172bpm (indicated as PW)

2. Ten Walls – Walking With The Elephants – 120bpm (indicated as E)

3. Buckethead – Soothsayer – 76bpm (indicated as S)

After the editing selected songs had following BPMs:

1. Hybrid – Power Curve (Noisia Driveclub Remix) – 167bpm, 172bpm, 177bpm

2. Ten Walls – Walking With The Elephants – 115bpm, 120bpm, 125bpm

3. Buckethead – Soothsayer – 71bpm, 76bpm, 81bpm

3.9 Data collection and analysis

 In-game score: distance and coins

 Subjective experience: rated immersion, effectiveness of the soundtrack, gaming experience

3.10 Equipment/software/artefacts used

 The game – Jetpack Joyride

 Empty room with a desk

 Heart rate monitor

 iTunes (playlists with selected music)

 Study Information Sheet

 Participant Consent Form

 Questionnaire (first one on the paper, second one in Google Docs)

3.11 Procedure of the experiment

4.2 General questionnaire results

Table 1 – Questionnaire results about Gender

Table 2 – Questionnaire results about Age Groups

Table 3 – Questionnaire results about General Gaming Skills

Table 4 – Questionnaire results about Musical Preferences