Circumscribing the open virtual universe: aleatoric and improvised music in the era of video game soundtracks
Video game music (VGM) brings forth many challenges to scholars. Commenting its current state of the art, which we will call ludomusicology from now on, Tim Summers says that “the academic study of video game music is at a transitionary phase in its life — it is developing from a punky juvenile scholarly newcomer into an adolescent marked by self-reflective critical angst about purpose, terminology and methodology” (Summers In: Kamp, Summers & Sweeney, 2016). Eight years later, the affirmation stays true.
One of the many discussed aspects of video game music is its ever-developing adaptability. Karen Collins (2008) calls it dynamic music: a term which encompasses soundtracks that are adaptable to both game states and player interaction. Unlike film and television, video games are nonlinear: each playthrough is different from one another. This quality lies at the very core of the idea of interactive media and imposes an inevitable question: how do we study soundtracks that change from time to time, person to person?
Among video game scholars, Elizabeth Medina-Gray is perhaps the author who has delved the most into the idea of modular music in ludic virtual spaces. Her works (2016; 2019) have helped to illustrate the connection between VGM and preceding modular music — especially that of 20th-century Avant-Garde repertoire. Considering her contribution and of other authors as well, the present paper aims to review a selection of aleatoric and improved music analytical tools with the intention of discussing how—and if—they can help us to understand video game music through their lenses.
Keywords: video game music, ludomusicology, musical analysis
Biography
Luiz Roveran is a professor, researcher, composer and sound designer. In 2023, he obtained his PhD in music at the State University of Campinas (Unicamp) and his thesis was nominated for the 2024 CAPES Thesis Award—one of the most prestigious academic awards in Brazil. His research focuses on topics such as the listening of the virtual, politics in video games and dynamic music composition procedures.
SENAC-SP, Brazil – luiz@luizroveran.com