The sounds of Skyrim: a musical journey through gaming

This chapter considers the expanding role of music in digital gaming and its transportation outside of the confines of the gaming environment into a “live” space. Using the game Skyrim as a particular focus to explore this dynamic, I examine the transformation of music in computer games from a background “soundtrack” to a fully immersive and participatory user experience. This transformation draws the user more deeply into an exchange where they become both consumer and producer of gaming content, who share and experience their gaming music in live environments like concerts and emulations across social media sites.