Darude has been kicking up a storm in the eSports world for years with his classic dance hit, Sandstorm. While it’s not the Finnish DJ’s only hit song, thanks to the online gaming community, it’s lived on well past its Y2K peak (when it sold 2.5 million copies) and is now something of an anthem for gamers of all persuasions.
Of course, when it comes to eSports and music, the connections between the two is greater than a single song (which you can listen to below). Yes, we all know that the way you’re expected to respond to any music query on Twitch is by saying it is “Darude – Sandstorm”, but once you get that ditty out of your head you’ll find that music can actually add something to the eSports industry and, more importantly, to your personal performances.
Music Makes the Masses Go Wild
Ever since professional sports became a mainstream spectacle, music has been used to make it more engaging. From half-time anthems and chants inside soccer stadiums, to walkout music for professional boxers, music gives an added sense of depth to an event. Indeed, if you track the rise of the Professional Darts Championship (PDC) which now receives 10 million+ viewers across the event (1.5 million viewers according to Sky Sports for the 2015 final), the now famous tune Chase the Sun by Planet Funk has become an integral part of every show despite it only reaching number #5 in the UK charts back in 2000.
Music breeds entertainment, and entertainment breeds popularity. That’s what major brands care most about. eSports is now an industry on the rise, with millions tuning in online to watch professional players battle each other in the newly patched version of World of WarCraft III, DotA 2 and even poker tournaments.
According to a recent article by ESPN, weekly eSports streams regularly attract 100,000 viewers and the number of fans across North America and Europe is 28 million. With that figure expected to increase by 21% per year over the next five years, it’s little wonder the likes of Nissan, Red Bull and Coke are now sponsoring major events.
Naturally, the action on screen is the main draw for most fans. However, a simple stream of someone playing DotA or Texas Hold’em isn’t really enough to inspire the masses. This is where music comes in. Giving each event a sense of occasion makes it more appealing to the masses and that’s why major events now attract millions of fans. For example, the 2013 DotA2 final was watched by 1,012600 viewers across Twitch, DotaTV and various Chinese streams.
Music of the Mind
Beyond music’s ability to create a spectacle, gamers themselves often use it to improve their performance. Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have found that certain sounds can actually boost our mood and focus. Nature tracks, such as mountain streams, have been shown to mask background noise but remain in the background enough so that it distracts someone from the task at hand.
Poker is a game where concentration is key. Poker players that grind online and stream their sessions via Twitch, such as PokerStars pro Jason Somerville (who holds the record for the most watched twitch stream with 27,000 simultaneous views), need to maintain focus at all times; even if they’re not playing a hand. Because poker is as much about what your opponents do as what you do, maintaining 100% focus is crucial.
Of course, different players have different needs when it comes to emotions. Some players need more help staying energized during a long session, while others need some assistance keeping a lid on their emotions. A number of pros from PokerStars recently shared their music choices with the world by publishing their Spotify playlists, and the results provide some insight into the players’ mentality. For example, professional player Jorge Limon uses a mix of classic tracks, such as November by Max Richter to keep his cool during a session, while Vivian Lim uses rock classics like Psycho by Muse to pump herself up during a big session.
This strategy of using music to alter moods and increase focus is also used by the top Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) gamers. In fact, such is the impact of music that aspiring gamers will often copy the Spotify track lists of the world’s top players in a bid to emulate their success.
A look through the Call of Duty Competitive Game subreddit (a game which its publisher Activision stated that 100 million played as of 2013) showed that reveals detailed breakdowns of the songs players such as Ian “Crimsix” Porter listen to when they are playing online. From Hanging On (released by Polydor and reaching number 144 in the UK chart) by Ellie Goulding to Midnight City by M83, Porter’s mix of songs appears to crank up the energy before toning it down.
An Industry Ready to Listen
Another testament to the gaming industry’s connection with music is the range of equipment designed to make the experience as immersive as possible. Special gaming headphones, such as Sennheiser’s PC 333D feature 7.1-multichannel sound software, allow players to communicate via the inbuilt microphone and listen to their favourite tracks at the same time.
For those who are looking to take immersion to the next level, purpose built iCafes now feature the latest products from Nvidia. Indeed, TheNet.com now operates 70 iCafes across the Philippines (it costs $0.75 per hour to use a station) and each features dedicated gaming chairs, computers, controllers and headsets to create the most immersive experience possible. TheNet.com’s recent review of the ASUS ROG laptop placed it as the best for their cafes because the performance is equally great for games and audio. Naturally, music is a major part of the set-up as players pass the hours playing the favorite games and listening to their favorite tracks. The atmosphere in those cafes must be tops.
While we’d never pass up on an opportunity to post a good Darude meme, the connections between music and eSports certainly run a lot deeper than that. Aside from helping to turn online games into offline spectacles, music feeds the soul during a long session. Music can either bring the mood up or calm things down.
Different beats have different effects on the brain and, if used correctly, can actually improve your performance. In fact, it doesn’t matter if you’re playing Tom Clancy’s The Division (which we gave a rating of 8.9) or taking on the world in DotA 2, music is a great way to unlock skills you never knew you had. While we’re not saying your favorite tunes will make you the next ElkY or Daniel Negreanu, they can certainly help you control your emotions and that’s certainly a better way to use Darude’s classic dance track than as a witty retort during an online gaming stream.
