ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the use of eighteenth-century musical styles in video games for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) during the 1980s and early 1990s. For both practical and aesthetic reasons, early game composers frequently turned to late baroque musical styles, particularly in fantasy-based games. In some cases, such as the Dragon Warrior series, this stylistic borrowing suggests the elaborate musical and physical structures associated with the time period. In other instances, however, the web of associations includes many aspects of ‘geek culture’ of the 1980s and 1990s, including fantasy film, tabletop games, and progressive rock.
