How musical are game players? Exploring musical situations in video games

Abstract

In this chapter, I intend to expand on the theoretical framings of musical situations, as described by ethnomusicologist John Blacking (1987), by applying the concept to video games. Blacking put the musical situation at the center of his inquiry, considering his discipline “an approach to understanding all musics and music- making in the context of performance and of the ideas and skills that composers, performers and listeners bring to what they define as musical situations” (1987, 3). In parallel with this, my intention is not to prescribe what a musical situation within the context of video games should be, but rather to provide a framework that can be used to position different musical situations, including those determined by music- focused examples like Rock Band (Harmonix 2007) and nonmusic- focused ones like Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo 1985). Numerous video games are clearly musical in nature, reenacting familiar and recognizable musical scenarios. In franchises such as Guitar Hero (Harmonix/ RedOctane 2005– 2015), Rock Band (Harmonix 2007– 2017), and Dance Dance Revolution (Konami 1998– 2022), players participate in musical performances— “simulations” of rock concerts or dance events. Even this brief list of popular music- oriented video games, often referred to as rhythm games, includes different participation modalities: playing an instrument, singing, and dancing are certainly not identical activities. Still, they all have an evident connection with musicality.