A Speedrun within a Rock Show

Abstract

Bit Brigade is a five-piece band that combines hard-rock adaptations of classic-era Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) soundtracks with live speedruns of the game, performed in concert as a rock show. This article uses Bit Brigade as a case study to develop a conceptual model for multimedia analysis that investigates audiovisual integration in novel ways. The essay comes in four theoretical sections followed by a full analysis of Bit Brigade’s speedrun of The Legend of Zelda. The first section explores Johan Huizinga’s magic circle and Kofi Agawu’s region of play to describe types of semiotic play that involve the gamer, band, and audience at a show. The second and third sections focus on intertextuality and how adaptation and nostalgic recycling of the past yield meaning in this unique artform. The fourth segment unpacks intertextually enhanced agency and investigates audience immersion through the social act of performance. After developing this multi-part framework, the latter half of this article presents an analysis of Bit Brigade’s performance of The Legend of Zelda at MAGFest (2022), chosen because of the group’s unique musical and ludic approach to the game. Throughout, the goals of this study are to show how gaming performance parallels music making and to clarify the ways in which concepts associated with music theory can be reexamined through the study of video game performance art.