Sad music when you are 'killed' increases the pleasure of playing
A game of checkers becomes much more fun when music reflects your next move. Research shows that dynamic music strengthens players' involvement in games, and the computer game industry is starting to realise the value of soundscapes.
Meet the researcher
Marco Scirea is currently teaching game development at BSc and MSc in Engineering - Learning and Experience Technology. At the same time he has developed different types of games. Marco Scirea completed his PhD in Affective Music Generation and its Effect on Player Experience: the final objective was to create a system where, by using a cognitive model of the player, we would be able to identify the player's emotional state and be able to reinforce or manipulate it through the use of mood-expressive music to improve user experience.