Investigating the Effect of Emotional Matching Between Game and Background Music on Game Experience in a Valence–Arousal Space

Abstract

Game music critically influences the experience of a video game. Although this influence has been well investigated, the multifaceted relationships between video games and the emotions evoked by music are rarely reported. By considering diverse emotional matches of game and music, game designers could enhance various aspects of the game experience. The present study investigates players' game experiences by analyzing the electroencephalogram data, game-experience questionnaire answers, and interview responses of 31 experimental participants corresponding to game–music emotional matching based on the valence–arousal model. Finally, four findings were identified based on four types of game experiences: overall preference, emotion, immersion, and performance. These findings led to four game music design approaches.