Musicking with Digital Games

This paper, by Costantino Oliva of the University of Malta, applies Christopher Small's concept of "musicking" to digital games, arguing that musicology of games should center on the forms of musical participation players engage in rather than on the pre-composed soundtrack. Small defines musicking as taking part in any capacity in a musical performance, whether performing, listening, rehearsing, composing, or dancing, and the author asks what it means to "music" within a game. The paper draws on Aarseth's theory of ergodic effort and cybernetic qualities of games to propose "ergodic musicking," a form of musical participation in which the non-trivial act of traversing a game involves degrees of musical engagement. The central thesis is that this form is unique to digital games and not merely a blend of existing musicking practices.

The analysis considers a range of examples along a spectrum. Rhythm games such as Guitar Hero and Rock Band are examined as remediations of real-world musical activity, building on Miller's concept of schizophonic performance, while Thumper and Tetris Effect are presented as musical games that explore musicalities not tied to prior musicking forms. The paper further suggests that ergodic musicking operates in games with sparse or occasional musical content, drawing on theories of experimental and indeterminate composition by Cage-associated scholars such as Nyman, Khan, and Gottschalk. Ergodic musicking is finally positioned within Borgo's broader framework of transmusicking, which describes contemporary musicking mediated by digital and networked technologies.

The paper is a theoretical and conceptual contribution rather than an empirical study. It presents no survey data, sample sizes, or quantitative findings, and its methodology consists of conceptual argumentation supported by close reference to selected game examples and an extensive literature review spanning musicology, game studies, and sound studies. Its scope is therefore defined by theoretical framing and a limited set of commercial titles, published in the Proceedings of DiGRA 2019, and its conclusions are offered as a reorientation of the field's analytical priorities rather than as measured claims about player behavior or industry trends.