Musical Representations of Gender in Nier: Automata and Similar Role-Playing Video Games
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Date
2021-09-13
Authors
Harper, Hayden
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Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
It is no secret that the video game industry codifies gendered stereotypes, which appear in mechanics and visual illustrations of characters in games. In this thesis, I scrutinize the construction of gender in the musical elements of soundtracks in role-playing games. Expanding upon Michael Austin’s work (2018), I examine how musical gender construction compares with the visual and interactive representations of gender on the screen.
Using Nier: Automata as the primary case, I employ a variety of techniques to demonstrate how musical parameters subvert expectations established by other role-playing games. However, a conflict exists when we contrast musical observations with the visual and interactive elements. A ludomusical dissonance sustains between the aural and visual images of the main characters. In examining the gendered ludomusical dissonance in Nier: Automata, my thesis shows that dissecting musical representations of gender, in relation to the visual and interactive constructions, transforms unnecessarily gendered perceptions.
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Keywords
Feminist Musicology, Gender, Ludomusicology, Multimedia Studies, Neo-Riemannian Theory, Video Game Studies