I think Whalen does a beautiful job of describing the effects that music has on a player’s perceptions in videogames. I feel like the article may be a bit difficult to read if you have never played a musical instrument before, because Whalen makes reference to multiple musical terms that aren’t used in everyday language.

I completely agree with the way Whalen describes the effects seamless changes in music have on the game. In my opinion, Koji Kondo is a musical genius and I feel like his soundtrack is half the reason that Ocarina of Time was so successful. Not only does the music correspond to the action in the game, but it also changes depending on the area that you are in. This creates non-diegetic ambiances that work in accordance with diegetic musical cues as Link encounters various enemies, items etc. The music is so good, that the noise for collecting a small item is my text message alert on my phone.

My question would be are there any games without music out there? And if so, are they actually something that can hold your interest for a long period of time? Or is that just the equivalent of muting the game? And what effect does muting the game have on the amount of attachment a gamer has with the game they are playing at any one point in time?