So, if you’re an avid viewer of certain Dota 2 streamers, you’ll know that a lot of them are known for their on-stream music. For example, EternalEnvy is a self-admitted weaboo and frequently has various anime songs playing behind his games. Arteezy plays a variety of music, frequently rap. Or you can check out “Mango Bay” which popped up seemingly overnight (good luck getting it out of your head). Music selection is a big part of streamers’ ‘branding.’
Soundtracks to video games are often carefully arranged, as the music is designed to keep you motivated and focused without interfering with gameplay.
Pro Tip: next time you have to complete a project for work or school, find a game soundtrack on YouTube and play it on low volume while you work. It will cover up some distracting noises and help you focus better. I wrote a large portion of my Masters’ thesis with the Half-Life 2 soundtrack playing in the lab.
But what do you like to listen to when you get bored of the in-game music? I asked other EsportsEdition writers to weigh in on their favorite background music for gaming:
Andrey (Hearthstone): “…something electronic with a pulse (Kubbi (artist), Professor Kliq (artist), Chiptune (genre)) for action games (or games with a lot of action, such as Starcraft, League) or some jazz for calmer games (puzzle, Hearthstone, indies).”
Chris (Heroes of The Storm): “Everything DnB is amazing for playing imo. “Ghost Assassin” by Maduk is one of my favorites, plus it’s StarCraft-related.”
Greg (Operations):
Jamie (League): “When I played sc2 I could only listen to Nujabes.” [Writer’s note: Nujabes is awesome.]
Joshua (CS:GO): “I only listen to music in CSGO when I’m practicing/warming up, because of how important sound is when you’re actually in a game… Before games in my CEVO league, we listen to “Lose Yourself” by Eminem (I know). I also know all of the words to “Fat Lip” by Sum 41, so sometimes I play that and make my long suffering teammates listen to me sing along to it. I listen to trance music when I’m doing aim training in CS — this is one of my go-to songs.”
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Here are some of my music picks!
I try to switch up the electronica with some different genres sometimes. If you have a little bit of a rage problem or need to focus on your last hitting, try one of these playlists:
If that’s way too chill, try a “modern blues” playlist.
If all else fails, here are some tried and true classics:
What are some of your favorite gaming playlists? Or is external music too distracting – in-game sounds only?
