How music makes Pokémon Go even more addictive
Pokémon Go, the Smartphone game app has exploded into a global phenomenon. Latest reports suggest it has taken over from porn as the single most popular online activity right now and in the first week of its launch over 5% of all Android phones had it installed.
Some would suggest that the Pokémon Go craze is obsessive akin to an addiction.
Thump Mexico wrote a cute piece on how the music used for Pokémon also plays a role in making the entire experience addictive.
The Music makes it even more addictive
All the music is written by a Japanese composer named Junichi Masuda and he has been the guy ever since the series first launched in 1996 on Game Boy.
A recent YouTube video by a channel called Ongaku Concept presented by Joshua Taipale attributes this to Masua using Modal Interchange in his compositions.
What Modal Interchange is, is the process of using chords from the key parallel to the key of the song. For example if the root key is G then one would use a chord from the parallel G minor key that sounds tonally congruent. This makes the music extend beyond the scale of the key and can create an even more emotive feel to the music.
As explained in the video this technique is useful for creating excitement and a sense of heroism in the music, something Masuda has used in the entire series of games and continues to do so with Pokémon Go. Using this musical trick combined with the visual impact can make for a sense of thrill which as we all know, Pokémon Go seems to be doing right now across the globe.
Watch the video explaining how clever the music for Pokémon Go is…
[youtube_sc url=”qD-tGWqgfI0″]
