In what ways is a video-game player a co-creator? In this paper, I will discuss contemporary video game music, and the role of the player as a part of the “composition process.” I will focus upon a few main games throughout the Legend of Zelda series, and how the player becomes in part a creator of the overall “score”, the sonic landscape created through their actions in the game. The creative process of the “acting subject” has been studied anthropologically for decades, but only recently have video games been able to model this social “freedom.” The role, ethics, and aesthetics of the “acting player” has recently been studied in games of high drama such as Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty, but what about in a fantasy context with seemingly “less at stake”? The Legend of Zelda series has always been known for its use of creativity, and problem solving when it comes to gameplay, and I believe that this sort of gameplay is mimicked within the nature of the score. I propose that within the process of co-composition, we are able to connect with each other at a deeper level. That through this process of collective play, the actions of the player and the composer work in a musical dialogue, modeling our own subjectivity when confronting other kinds of social texts.
