The Cambridge companion to video game music / edited by Melanie Fritsch, Tim Summers.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

A Landmark Timeline of Video Game Music — Foreword: The Collaborative Art of Game Music — Part I Chiptunes — Before Red Book: Early Video Game Music and Technology — Chiptune, Ownership and the Digital Underground — Waveform Wizard: An Interview with Composer Junko Ozawa — Part II Creating and Programming Game Music — Building Relationships: The Process of Creating Game Music — The Inherent Conflicts of Musical Interactivity in Video Games — The Triple Lock of Synchronization — ‘Less Music, Now!’ New Contextual Approaches to Video Game Scoring — Composing for Independent Games: The Music of Kentucky Route Zero — Part III Analytical Approaches to Video Game Music — Music Games — Autoethnography, Phenomenology and Hermeneutics — Interacting with Soundscapes: Music, Sound Effects and Dialogue in Video Games — Analytical Traditions and Game Music: Super Mario Galaxy as a Case Study — Semiotics in Game Music — Game – Music – Performance: Introducing a Ludomusicological Theory and Framework — Part IV Realities, Perception and Psychology — A Step Back from Reality: Sound and Presence in Computer Games and Other Worlds — Audio and the Experience of Gaming: A Cognitive-Emotional Approach to Video Game Sound — Psychophysiological Approaches to Sound and Music in Games — Part V Game Music, Contexts and Identities — Game Music and Identity — Game Music and History — Open Worlds: Globalization, Localization and Video Game Music — Female Credit: Excavating Recognition for the Capcom Sound Team.

Video game music has been permeating popular culture for over forty years. Now, reaching billions of listeners, game music encompasses a diverse spectrum of musical materials and practices. This book provides a comprehensive, up-to-date survey of video game music by a diverse group of scholars and industry professionals. The chapters and summaries consolidate existing knowledge and present tools for readers to engage with the music in new ways. Many popular games are analysed, including Super Mario Galaxy, Bastion, The Last of Us, Kentucky Route Zero and the Katamari, Gran Turismo and Tales series. Topics include chiptunes, compositional processes, localization, history and game music concerts. The book also engages with other disciplines such as psychology, music analysis, business strategy and critical theory, and will prove an equally valuable resource for readers active in the industry, composers or designers, and music students and scholars.