Have you ever listened to an album so much while playing a specific game that you start to believe the music is part of the actual soundtrack? For me, this happened with Final Fantasy VII in college. I had been listening to the Radiohead "OK Computer" album almost as often as I was watching white trash beat each other with chairs on Jerry Springer. At some point in the last 10 years I've convinced myself that the song Exit Music is playing in the background as Sephiroth walks through fire stabbing all the goody two-shoes in the face, or maybe it was when they killed Aeris. I googled this the other day to make sure I wasn't imagining it but all I can find are youtube videos made by fans...
There is a section in a book I've been reading about Cognitive Biases, one of them being "False Memory" in which your brain confuses imagined events with actual memories. It goes on to say, "Your memories are constantly rewritten in light of your current context: age, experience, worldview, focus, and so on. That incident at your sixth birthday party? It probably didn't happen that way, and it may not have happened at all." Personally, I remember sticking my face into my own birthday cake at showbiz pizza when I was six, and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't make that up for myself... I still have nightmares about the freakishly real animals playing instruments on stage. So, Is it possible the music in FFVII is similar to Radiohead and they've just blended together for me, or am I just imagining something that never was?
Then there is music which I know isn't part of the soundtrack but when I hear it I'm reminded of the game and gives me all sorts of reminiscent feelings.
Marilyn Manson - "Antichrist Superstar?" -> Player Killing in Ultima Online
Coldplay - "X & Y" -> Playing Asheron's Call 2
NIN - "The Fragile (Left)" -> Late night PHP development.
Oddly, I don't have any music attached specifically to EverQuest or World of Warcraft. But I've played those two games so much that I actually "hear" the music even when my speakers are off. I'm pretty sure this is a sign of some sort of mental rut where you are so used to the same thing happening that your mind takes care of the minor details, for instance, there not actually being any sound to hear. Or maybe it's just psychosis.
Finally, there is music in-game that you'll just never forget. The intro music to Ultima Online, Final Fantasy (multiple), and EverQuest for example. Listening to that makes me want to break out my credit card and active my account for nostalgias sake. What music triggers your game addictions?
References:
Pragmatic Thinking & Learning by Andy Hunt