Aesthetics and social interactions in Video Game Music

What is it about?

Traditional aesthetic theory has often assumed that social interactions are at odds with aesthetic experiences because they are somehow distracting. This paper looks at the use of music in two MMO games - examples that provides a more nuanced understanding of the interrelatedness of aesthetic and social experience.

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Why is it important?

Viewing social interactions and aesthetic theory through the prism of videogame music opens up wider issues pertinent to the fields of ludomusicology, video game studies and performance studies, as well as musicology and aesthetic theory. In particular, the paper considers the significance of the gamification of music, and the emerging possibilities of video games as both mass culture and aesthetic art.