Aesthetics and social interactions in MMOs: The gamification of music in Lord of the Rings Online and Star Wars: Galaxies

This article argues that the dichotomization of aesthetic and social experiences is reductive. Music in popular Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) provides a provocative and relevant perspective on aesthetic experiences that are simultaneously social. A case study will consider music as both a gameplay mechanic and as a performative art in The Lord of the Rings Online (2007–), with Star Wars: Galaxies (2003–2011) as a point of comparison. This provides a more nuanced understanding of the interrelatedness of aesthetic and social experience, and touches on wider-ranging issues pertinent to the fields of ludomusicology, video game studies and performance studies, as well as musicology and aesthetic theory. In particular, the article will address the gamification of music, and the emerging possibilities of video games as both mass culture and aesthetic art.