At the end of July my research paper on ‘Music and violence in Videogames’ was published online at Game Career Guide! I’ve been busy with some composing and performance this month so it completely passed me by and I’m only updating now.
The paper discusses themes of violence from the fluffy kind in Pokemon to the psychogical exploration of a killer in Super Columbine Massacre RPG. Music is a tool which is used in plenty of media for the purposes of promoting, selling and commenting on violence and as such I believe it is intensely important that any video game creator be aware of what message their game in sending to those who play. The influence that a trusted game publisher can have on a large group of people is vast and the ways in which games can do this is a big part of this research.
As a composer obviously I take a huge interest in this subject as I write music which I am comfortable with ethically and morally. While no publisher can guarantee what kind of effect a game will have on young impressionable minds, a sense of what is possible may help us, as creatives, make experiences that are more responsible and well thought out. I even believe that this had lead to new genres of gaming such as brain training, Wii fitness, and games that specifically limit the number of activities possible each day like Martin Hollis’s Bonsai Barber.
Check the essay out and see for yourself at Game Career Guide at the link below.
http://www.gamecareerguide.com/features/876/rules_of_.php
