Authenticity in the Music of Video Games

by Stephanie Lind

Overview

From historical games to hyperrealism to retro gaming, Authenticity in the Music of Video Games explores, the shifting understanding of authenticity among players. What do gamers believe authenticity to be? How are their expectations structured by the soundtrack? And how do their actions impact the overall interaction of sound with narrative? Ranging from harmonic analysis to more multimedia approaches, the book links musical analysis to the practical experience of gamers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781793627148
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	05/15/2024
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.48(d)

About the Author

Stephanie Lind is associate professor at the Dan School of Drama and Music, Queen’s University, where she teaches courses in music theory and musicology.

Table of Contents

Contents

Chapter 1: Gameworld

Chapter 2: Tropes

Chapter 3: Thematic Representation

Chapter 4: Retro Gaming Experiences

Editorial Reviews

"This book is an exciting new addition to the fast-growing field of video game music studies. Lind’s exploration of the complex concept of authenticity (for some, historical accuracy, for others, general believability) is carefully connected to ideas of expectation, prior knowledge, and cognitive response. Lind’s approach is uniquely based in music theory, particularly in player understandings of musical and sonic structure. A thought-provoking investigation into how games and their music evoke the past, create thematic associations, and (literally) play with our emotions, her book will be a welcome read for musicologists, theorists, and game aficionados of all stripes."

Karen Cook

Stephanie Lind’s debut monograph is a compelling and exciting exploration of music and sound in video games. A worthwhile read for both researchers and musically literate gaming enthusiasts, Authenticity in the Music of Video Games promises an in-depth discussion of a particularly nebulous concept, and readers can be assured that this volume delivers on the undertaking with clarity, nuance, and flair.

Journal of Sound and Music in Games

"Finally a monograph about video game music and sound from the perspective of music theory! Stephanie Lind’s innovative approach to studying video game music is refreshing and cuts to the heart of how music shapes players’ expectations. That she takes those expectations and situates them within the overarching ludic concept of authenticity is nothing short of brilliant. And she accomplishes all of this in lucid prose that is accessible both for the gaming public and scholar alike."

James Deaville

This book will easily find its place in any library that collects in ludomusicology. Other academic libraries, especially those that collect in adjacent areas of musicology, such as film and popular music, would also benefit from acquiring it. And given the popularity of games and the book’s overall accessibility, there is a place for it in public libraries and on individuals’ bookshelves as well. For these audiences and more, this book is sure to level up one’s collection.

Notes: Quarterly Journal of the Music Library Association

"As one of the first books entirely devoted to examining video game music through a music theory lens, Lind’s Authenticity in the Music of Video Games is a fruitful contribution to multiple fields. Building on a solid and thorough foundation of previous scholarship on video games and music, Lind constructs a pathway into the complex subject of authenticity in video game music and handily guides us through this subject’s challenges and rewards, with accessible prose and lots of new analytical insights along the way."

Elizabeth Medina-Gray