Music and Gaming

   Greetings again, ladies and gents.

   I was just perusing another blog (gasp!), and ran across a clip to some music from YouTube. The song was "Men of Harlech," along with video from the classic film Zulu - an old favorite of yours truly, both song and film. One of the comments attached to said post got me to thinking about music, its ability to set moods, and how often it is, or at least should be, used for such when gaming.

   I have used music in the past while playing games, both as simple background music to highlight the social aspect of wargaming or roleplaying, and as specific music for tone of the game. Nothing makes a game of Call of Cthulhu better than playing late at night, by candle or, even better, oil lamp light, with some spooky music playing low in the background. Or the soundtrack from, say Conan the Barbarian while playing Old School D&D. Or Carmina Burana ("O Fortuna" especially) during the climactic cult sacrifice scene. All that Latin chanting that is obviously not part of a Catholic Mass... seems sinister to me.

   For Car Wars, I'll play road songs: "I Can't Drive 55," "Radar Love," "I Want You to Want Me," that sort of thing. Fast paced stuff. For cyberpunk games, I like punk music (duh!).

   Anyway, for me, it is all about helping to set a mood, something which music is well known for doing. Don't believe me? Play some Barry White next time you're feeling romantic. Oh yeah.

   Until the next time I rise out of the muck that is lurking... have fun!