Understanding Video Game Music
£24.99
- Author: Tim Summers, Royal Holloway, University of London
- Date Published: November 2018
- availability: Available
- format: Paperback
- isbn: 9781108413428
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Understanding Video Game Music develops a musicology of video game music by providing methods and concepts for understanding music in this medium. From the practicalities of investigating the video game as a musical source to the critical perspectives on game music - using examples including Final Fantasy VII, Monkey Island 2, SSX Tricky and Silent Hill - these explorations not only illuminate aspects of game music, but also provide conceptual ideas valuable for future analysis. Music is not a redundant echo of other textual levels of the game, but central to the experience of interacting with video games. As the author likes to describe it, this book is about music for racing a rally car, music for evading zombies, music for dancing, music for solving puzzles, music for saving the Earth from aliens, music for managing a city, music for being a hero; in short, it is about music for playing.
Read more- Develops musicological understanding of game music, explaining concepts step by step without requiring extensive previous knowledge of musicology
- Offers a wide range of examples ranging from the 1970s to 2010s, from puzzle games to role-playing games, and from well-known games like Final Fantasy VII to lesser-known games
- Provides a useful appendix as a systematic guide to investigating game music
Reviews & endorsements
'This outstanding book does much to establish an 'extended techniques' musicology, allying close analysis of music with crucial knowledge of gaming construction and procedures. Tim Summers' years of 'deep research' into the subject make this a book of extreme sophistication and erudition that will define the field for years to come.' K. J. Donnelly, University of Southampton
See more reviews'Tim Summers' Understanding Video Game Music is among the most innovative musicological studies published in recent years. Combining musicology, game studies, and media theory, Summers provides an authoritative analytical framework for video game music. This book is timely, playful, and lucid. It will without doubt become a standard work in the field.' Isabella van Elferen, Kingston University
'… it is an essential read for those who are vested in bringing ludomusicology into academia, and incredibly interesting for those who are simply interested in philosophical dialogues, personal anecdotes, or historical background regarding music and games.' Emily McMillan, VGMO (www.vgmonline.net)
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×Product details
- Date Published: November 2018
- format: Paperback
- isbn: 9781108413428
- length: 264 pages
- dimensions: 230 x 175 x 5 mm
- weight: 0.482kg
- contains: 13 b/w illus. 13 music examples
- availability: Available
Table of Contents
Foreword James Hannigan
Introduction
Part I. Analysing Video Game Music:
1. The video game as a source
2. Methods of analysis
Part II. Critical Perspectives:
3. Texturing and the aesthetics of immersion
4. Music and virtual game worlds
5. Communication for play
6. Hollywood film music and game music
7. Musical play and video games
Epilogue
Appendix: how to hear a video game
Bibliography.
related journals
also by this author
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