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Orchestrating Difference: Representing Gender in Video Game Music

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Masculinities in Play

Part of the book series: Palgrave Games in Context ((PAGCON))

Abstract

As long as video games have been studied academically, the representation of gender in video games has been a particularly important topic of inquiry. However, research on the representation of gender in video games has also been almost exclusively ocularcentric, focusing solely on visual depictions of gender within games and most often ignoring the aural domain. Taking various games from the fantasy genre as case studies, this chapter investigates the ways in which gender—and masculinity in particular—is represented in and through video game music. I argue that compositional conventions, especially orchestration or instrumentation, are used to represent gender in a game’s score. I also discuss various ways that music confirms or undermines gendered expectations and stereotypes associated with a video game.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    It is important to note that although the bodies of male video games can be as uncovered as their female counterparts, there nakedness is seen as a demonstration of virility and a performance of hegemonic masculinity, not an expression of sexuality.

  2. 2.

    Perhaps Celes’ most famous in-game quote: “I’m a general, not some opera floozy!”

  3. 3.

    Due to the limitations of the Sony SPC700 component of the Nintendo S-SNES audio processing unit of the SNES, Celes does not actually sing, but the synthesized “ooh” sounds are translated though supertitles controlled by the player.

  4. 4.

    Maryden Halewell is voiced by Russian-American pianist and classical cross-over artist Elizaveta Khripounova.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Howard University, Washington, DC, USA

    Michael Austin

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  1. Michael Austin
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Communication, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA

    Nicholas Taylor

  2. Department of Communication Arts, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada

    Gerald Voorhees

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Austin, M. (2018). Orchestrating Difference: Representing Gender in Video Game Music. In: Taylor, N., Voorhees, G. (eds) Masculinities in Play. Palgrave Games in Context. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90581-5_10

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