We've all been there. We're playing a game and want some music. We put on a favorite playlist, and it just doesn't work. So we try to find what does work, and we spend way too much time finding a playlist when we could be enjoying the game.
Ambient music can add so much to a gaming experience! Especially when it comes to more immersive games like RPGs.
You can find plenty of already curated playlists for many of the more popular tabletop games like Catan (don't hate) and Dungeons and Dragons. But when it comes to indie games, finding a good playlist that captures the setting of the game can be a challenge. It's definitely worth the time and effort it takes to make a great playlist, but it can be an all day thing.
A while back, our Question of the Week featured a question from Hopeless, Maine creators Tom & Nimue Brown on this very topic: What is your favorite tabletop gaming playlist? The response wasn't great. Except...
GASP (Gothic Alternative Steampunk and Progressive radio show) host Steven C. Davis actually curated a playlist for the Hopeless, Maine World on MixCloud under the tags #steampunk #gothic #progressive. Yup. That about sums up Hopeless, Maine. So now, when you're playing the Hopeless, Maine RPG, you can pull up this incredible soundtrack.
But Hopeless, Maine isn't the only one of our games that has a soundtrack already curated! Tombpunk RPG system creator Alan Bahr has created a Dungeon Synth playlist on Spotify he listens to while he writes, plays, or works on Tompunk-related material! You can find more about his playlist on his website (along with a lot of other cool Tombpunk stuff). And check out his other fantasy genre-related playlists, too.
Curating a playlist is, in itself, an artform. And like all art, one's interpretation of the best music for game play may not be another's. But consider this: trying out someone else's playlist as a way of finding new ways to think about familiar things can help you grow as a storyteller, which, truthfully, is what we all become with gaming.
We'd love to hear from you. What are your thoughts about gaming with music and curating playlists? And PLEASE share your playlists with us in the comments! And if you've made any for any of our games, share them below and we'll try to add them to this blog!
Other Outland content you might like includes:
Sharing Your Worlds: Game Writing by Alana Joli Abbott
How to convert your family to Board Games & RPGs this Holiday Season
What We Can Learn from Video Games: Tabletop Roleplaying Games as Art
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