Unlimited Replays: Video Games and Classical Music, by William Gibbons

Abstract

Book Review| January 01 2020 Unlimited Replays: Video Games and Classical Music, by William Gibbons Unlimited Replays: Video Games and Classical Music, by WilliamGibbons. Oxford University Press, 2018, 208 pp, $29.95. Reviewed by JonathanGodsall. Jonathan Godsall Jonathan Godsall Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Journal of Sound and Music in Games (2020) 1 (1): 113–115. https://doi.org/10.1525/jsmg.2020.1.1.113 Connected Content Commentary: The Problem with Players: A Response to Jonathan Godsall Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Jonathan Godsall; Unlimited Replays: Video Games and Classical Music, by William Gibbons. Journal of Sound and Music in Games 1 January 2020; 1 (1): 113–115. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/jsmg.2020.1.1.113 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentJournal of Sound and Music in Games Search Keywords: William Gibbons, Unlimited Replays, classical music, borrowing, player, art, film music, game music, BioShock Unlimited Replays occupies a significant place in game music scholarship. It is the first book devoted to ever-intriguing instances of classical music in video games, and through addressing that topic, it seeks to build a bridge from ludomusicology toward more longstanding fields of enquiry. The author, William Gibbons, is concerned not only with what classical music does in games but also with broader questions of cultural value and meaning. The book's narrative thus privileges cases in which the combination of classical music and video games engages (knowingly or not) with common understandings of those forms as, respectively, “art” and “entertainment.” Within this remit, the range of examples covered is admirably broad, from uses of classical music in video games on conventional systems (new and old, familiar and unfamiliar) to mobile apps that “gamify” classical works. Consideration is also given to the journey of original game music onto classical concert-hall stages... You do not currently have access to this content.