Abstract
The international success of Japanese game design provides an example of the invisibility of female game composers, as well as of gendered identification in game music production and sound design. Yoko Shimomura, the female composer who produced the iconic soundtrack for the 1991 arcade game, Street Fighter II (Capcom 1991), seems to have been invisible to game developers and music producers, which is partly due to the way in which the game is credited as a team effort. Regardless of their personal gender identity, game composers respond to themed briefs by drawing on transnational musical ideas and gendered stereotypes that resonate with the Global Popular. Game music, as imagined as suitable for hyper-masculine game arcades, seems to draw on a masculinist aesthetic developed in Hollywood compositions. In turn, Street Fighter II’s music and the competitive game culture of arcade fighting games has been interwoven with masculinist music scenes of hip-hop and grime. The discussion of the music of Street Fighter II and the musical versions it inspired, nevertheless highlights that although seemingly simplified gendered stereotypes are reproduced within the game, gender identification itself can be complex within the context of game music composition.
Highlights
Yoko Shimomura is the Japanese female composer of the distinctive and memorable character and scene music of the successful seminal 1991 arcade version of Street Fighter II: The World Warrior for the Capcom game development company
On the basis of the material we have assessed, we argue here that in composing the music of a game for the masculinist space of the game arcade, as a female composer Yoko Shimomura effectively operated with a “double consciousness”
The discussion of Shimomura’s 1991 OST of Street Fighter II identifies the issue of invisibility of a game music composer for a Japanese game company like Capcom, it shows how musical influences can flow via Street Fighter II from Western macho film music to macho game arcades, regardless of the gender identity of the composer
Summary
Yoko Shimomura is the Japanese female composer of the distinctive and memorable character and scene music of the successful seminal 1991 arcade version of Street Fighter II: The World Warrior for the Capcom game development company. The first player experiences the graphical and musical theme of their challenger’s home stage, such as Ryu’s Japanese dojo rooftop-themed setting, Blanka’s Brazilian jungle riverside cottage, Chun-Li’s Chinese street vendor stage, or Guile’s American military base In this way, the game sets the scene and gives the player a sense of place, time and atmosphere. The game sets the scene and gives the player a sense of place, time and atmosphere Some of her home stage music themes, associated with fighting characters such as Blanka, are idiosyncratic and quirky, while many of the music themes make reference to the music of internationally known action movies, thereby enhancing the mass appeal of the game.
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