Music is a force that can unite people across generations, across continents and across social barriers. Hit songs tend to be those that connect people on a physical and emotional level in a way that feels personal, yet somehow speaks to the masses. Anyone going through a rough time in the 80’s or 90’s will no doubt have connected to an emotional ballad about a bad break up or unrequited love.
The music of the previous decades are filled with heart-wrenching songs that tugged on the emotional heartstrings and created a collective sense of melancholy and sympathy for the loveless and scorned. Think back to classic ballads like Tony Braxton’s Un-break my Heart, Boys II Men – End of the Road, Sinead O’Connor’s Nothing Compares to you, or Michael Jackson’s Why.
A Change in Style
These radio hits not only got people singing, they also got people thinking about their own path of love and loss. Today, songs seem a little bit more upbeat. In fact, a study done at a prominent university has categorically shown that since 2010, songs have shifted from moody minor chords to those that contain more uplifting major chords.
Few people have taken the time to contemplate such a turn of events and we have to ask ourselves why has music changed? Could this simply be the natural evolution of music to adapt to a digital society or are people simply tired of being sad? One theory is that the world changed after 2001 and we have all seen enough violence, sadness and desperation on this planet that we simply do not need to be reminded of how depressing life can be when we already know.
Another theory is that the target market for modern music – that is the people buying the music – has evolved and no longer identifies with soppy ballads. The teenagers and millennials of today have a specific taste in music that lends itself to the more upbeat variety. While the influence of digital medium certainly plays a role, songs are more about being your own person, creating a unique identity and defining yourself in a crazy world.
How Online Games Have Changed
The same trend can be seen with online games, whether they are video games or online casino games like online Blackjack. There is a big difference between the types of games being played today versus those that were played online 15 or 20 years ago. It could simply be down to the fact that in the 90’s and early 2000’s online games were restricted by hardware and software constraints and thus had to be developed in a certain way. This led to the development of more thinking-based explorations and building games.
A classic example would be Age of Empires, the Sims, or the Legend of Zelda. Even Super Mario belongs in the category of world exploration games that required players to create, explore and build. Advances in hardware, software and Internet technology has meant that today’s games can be far more interactive and specialised. Popular multi-player Online Battle Arena games simply did not exist 15 years ago, and could possibly have drawn the attention of the older generation if they grew up with the games themselves.
First person shooters have always had their target audience, ever since the release of Wolfenstein and Doom. Today’s First-Person Shooters are simply more technical, more collaborative and far more in-depth thanks to the natural progression of technology and software.
The evolution of games is much like that of music, in that the games are developed for a target audience with specific tastes and demands. Whether it is a song, a game or any off the shelf product, today’s sales are based on user experience that starts with excitement, integration and image and seems to veer away from sadness and depression and all things negative.
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