I think one of the things that helped keep r/synthesizers active was the automatic creation of weekly threads like “Friday Hangout”, where you could leave casual thoughts that might not feel worthy of a top-level post. So, why not try something similar here?
Consider this a trial run. If people like it, maybe we’ll make it a weekly thing. I welcome suggestions for a better title.
Looping isn’t necessarily the only answer. I really liked Dune 2’s approach - basically shuffling through a pool of chill music when nothing much is happening, and then interrupting with one of a few “attack” tracks when combat starts. I think it kinda depends on how long levels/missions are - one looped track will eventually get old no matter how careful you are to avoid distracting/annoying parts.
The way I am thinking I’m going to implement this is create a chill track and an active track that play in sync. Then switch to the active one if something happens.