Do you listen to music while gaming?

[Roygbiv95]

Like substituting a playlist or album for the OST?

I'm getting back into doing this again with Burnout on PS4 and Sekiro. As much as I adore the music in Sekiro, there's something that boosts your morale when it's soundtracked to a spotify list featuring mostly The Kill Bill OST, Wu-Tang, Flying Lotus, Boris, and the Mortal Kombat movie OST. I'm having a blast making it my personal soundtrack to getting gud. Sometimes there are unique unscripted moments that synch-up with the music perfectly in surprising ways. Then after grinding for a while I switch the official soundtrack back on at certain moments.

Are there any games that you play like this? Substituting the official soundtrack for a custom one? Some examples?

 

[Strike]

Only when it's something that doesn't require too much concentration like a multiplayer shooter or a racer.

 

[tmdorsey]

When playing racing games, Smash, or Pac-Man.

 

[Polaris]

Yeah, if I'm just messing around on Forza Horizon 4 or some other mindless game I'll listen to some podcasts. If I need to focus a little bit more than that, I'll listen to some music with no lyrics.

 

[EvilChameleon]

Absolutely. Or clips from various radio shows.

 

[Fotmhero]

Only in some multiplayer games, never in single player games.

 

[Chainshada]

Depends on the game and how good the OST is.

 

[Linkark07]

Multiplayer only games, and that don't require too much communication. Starcraft 2 for example.

 

[deftones r cool]

Nah, it kills the vibe of the game. I'll listen to the music intended... and it better be good. *shakes balled fist angrily*

 

[NoKisum]

Racing, Fighting, Puzzle, Extreme Sports

Those four genres, I almost always use my own music somehow.

Some games I love desperately need custom soundtrack support (I'm looking at you and your terrible choice of music, Burnout and Dead Or Alive series).

 

[KatUSG]

Depends on the game. If it's a tactics game or an RPG, I tend to play while watching a show or listening to a podcast. If it's an action-adventure game or a shooter, I definitely prefer to hear the in-game sound.

 

[Zaied]

Only if I'm playing like a sports game.

 

[aGuyInaBearSuit]

Totally depending on the game, its OST, and the tone of the game itself. For example, I would never listen to my own music over something like BotW which has a very stoic and mysterious vibe to the whole thing, but for something like Far Cry: New Dawn, I will gladly throw on my punk and hip-hop playlists since they match the tone of the game.

 

[JustinH]

not really. More likely a podcast. I really only listen to music when I exercise now.

 

[Samus4145]

Nope never

 

[HardRojo]

For MP games, yeah, like fighting games, kart games and maybe a SP game that requires some grinding.

 

[Robinson]

If the game has a bad soundtrack or I've played the hell out of the game and am sick of the soundtrack, then yes.

 

[Books]

For sure. Giant bomb cast in ferelden.

 

[LiK]

Only if it’s for something brainless like grinding in Destiny. I usually watched YouTube or Twitch instead.

 

[MegaRockEXE]

That's gonna be a no for me since I never listen to music for fun. I knew someone who did that and it seemed weird to me. I'm not someone who needs additional music as filler noise.

 

[Matthew77]

Yup. Without getting into my history of it which could be a novel, I have found a sweetspot with PS4 thanks to Spotify (premium member) integration. I listen to either music or a podcast (thankfully the only podcasts I listen to that are not on there are Sterling’s Podquisition and an X-Men read along called The Danger room, listen to them during Pinball) while with the game I turn down music but then alter the sound effects and voice to the right levels that they don’t drown out or get drowned out by what I am listening to. Right now listening to The Horror Show with Brian Keene while playing Path of Exile.

Funny enough it had me thinking of this before seeing the thread because his co-host’s during a what you did this week segment talked about Sekiro and the new Devin Townsend album Empath, and earlier today I was playing Sekiro while listening to Empath.

Sometimes I love modern tech and this in particular is one of the times and listening to my own things without sacrificing needed in game sounds is why.

 

[Goldenroad]

Sometimes. Usually just when I'm playing multiplayer games like Rocket League or something like that that doesn't really rely on audio cues, or grindy games that don't require me to listen, like a Rogue Legacy or Middle Earth games. I gravitate more towards podcasts now though when I'm playing those kinds of games.

I've finally, in my mid-30's, gotten back to a point where I just want to sit down and listen to music sometimes. That was me all up through my early 20's, but you get into this thing of just having music on all the time, and it becomes a background thing, and nothing really benefits from being a "background thing"...whether it's the music or the game in this context.

 

[kittens]

mostly just when playing hearthstone

 

[Matthew77]

That's gonna be a no for me since I never listen to music for fun. I knew someone who did that and it seemed weird to me. I'm not someone who needs additional music as filler noise.

Funny that, anecdotal of course but it always seemed to me that the majority of people look at people who don’t listen to music at all or “not for fun” to be the weird ones.

 

[LAM09]

Only playing MP games that don't require much attention or communication

 

[DesmaX]

Only for when I'm grinding for trophies

 

[TheBeardedOne]

No, because I want the true experience and don't want to miss anything.

I have a couple of times, but not in years.

 

[Bloodbathnbyond]

Sometimes i listen to podcasts while playing mindless stuff like Destiny or Path of Exile.

 

[Funyarinpa]

The only time I've ever done this was modding NieR music into Left 4 Dead 2. I play SP games for the atmosphere so I don't fuck with their music, and competitive MP needs too much concentration for me to fuck with it.

 

[Juraash]

If it's something without a plot or that's not as story focused, I will sometimes. WoW after thousands of hours, Diablo, Warframe, PSO or other games like those are great candidates for some background noise or music. But. Even then I don't do it always.

 

[Xavi]

Only if I'm grinding or if I'm playing Splatoon 2. I love splatoons music but it can get very repetitive after a while

 

[MadMike]

I like MMOs and games like Destiny/Division. It's pretty much a necessity to listen to music/podcasts or watch Netflix, etc while grinding away. I never listen to anything else if the game is something I want to pay attention to, though.

 

[Dezzy]

Usually I put Spotify on during games where the mood of the game doesn't matter, like puzzles games or stuff like Slay the Spire. I also used to put it on during grinding/crafting sessions in MMOs, but I don't play them anymore really.

 

[The Artisan]

not for campaign. only online

 

[Bishop89]

Only sports/racing games or if it's something that doesn't require any audio like the division 2, no cool music or important audio to listen to

 

[dedhead54]

I’ve been doing it a lot lately while playing Division 2. Other than that mostly just racing games.

 

[Captain of Outer Space]

No, I'll listen to podcasts while playing story-free or light games.

 

[eraFROMAN]

Basically required for Bloody Palace in DMC 5. I love the battle songs, but I heard Dante's start up and end around 100 times before the end, and this is before having to retry

 

[BasilZero]

When I play racing games that have no music and beat hazard ultra.

 

[Kapryov]

Racing games with licenced soundtracks are ripe for replacement. I usually don't gel with their choices anyway... I'm still reeling from Avril in Burnout Paradise.
Games with actual scores and whatnot - never. In fact, I often go into the settings and turn the music UP!

 

[AstronaughtE]

I used to. I used to love finding good music that worked well with games.

My dorkiest one was probably when I used tracks from the Star Wars episode 1 soundtrack to match certain sections of Ganon's Castle in Ocarina of Time.

My most recent one is just a mashup of instrumental stuff like Bonobo, Moon Duo, Air, Blue States for Elite Dangerous and briefly in Mass Effect 2 multiplayer.

I also liked finding good places to drop the Final Fantasy VII soundtrack. I had a great playlist for Gears of War with FF7 music.

 

[Mega Man X]

I do generally when playing multiplayer, replaying a game I’ve beaten, or when doing repetitive stuff like RPG level/grinding.

 

[Brandon]

I've only done this with Garden Warfare and I think Overwatch after 100+ hours. I wouldn't do it for a game I've played less than that since sound is a part of the experience.

 

[Teepo671]

Depends on the game.
I do it pretty regularly with Killzone 2 or Fortnite: Save the World but I don't remember ever using the spotify app on most fightin games, rpgs, action games...actually, I mostly only use it in multiplayer shooting game.
I do remember trying to use it with Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 because I liked the licensed soundtracks in the previous 2 games but was surprised to find that game blocked the spotify app for some reason. I think that and Dead or Alive 5: Last Round are the only games I've run into that actually block the music app.

 

[Lukemia SL]

Yeah for my racing, housemarque games and anything multiplayer I do.

 

[Cheesy]

Depends on what I'm playing. Usually have some music going in the background if it's a multiplayer game, with some exceptions like Siege where hearing stuff is important. Usually don't for single player games, but again it depends.

 

[fersnake]

call me tryhard but no, i concentrate hearing the sounds, footsteps of the enemies, that's mostly on fps i even disable the in-game music xD\

on racing games... well yes.

 

[Acrano]

Depends on the game. I have some compilations but mostly for rocket league, path of Exile, devil May cry etc. Games I already played a lot and don't need to hear the sound.

 

[Sixfortyfive]

Rarely, and only in games that I've played to death already.

 

[Pyro]

Yup, I’ll substitute it for boss fights and it’ll help.