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Explo ing music-based a achmen o ideo games h ough a ec exp essions in w i en
memo ies
© 2024 The Au ho (s). Published by Else ie B.V.
Published e sion
Tuu i, Kai; Koskela, Oska i; Tissa i, Heli; Vahlo, Jukka
Tuu i, K., Koskela, O., Tissa i, H., & Vahlo, J. (2025). Explo ing music-based a achmen o ideo
games h ough a ec exp essions in w i en memo ies. En e ainmen Compu ing, 52, A icle
100883. h ps://doi.o g/10.1016/j.en com.2024.100883
2025
Con en s lis s a ailable a ScienceDi ec
En e ainmen Compu ing
jou nal homepage: www.else ie .com/loca e/en com
Explo ing music-based a achmen o ideo games h ough a ec exp essions
in w i en memo ies
Kai Tuu ia,b,∗, Oska i Koskelab, Heli Tissa ic,d, Jukka Vahloe,b
aFacul y o Educa ion and Psychology, Uni e si y o Jy äskylä, FI-40014, Finland
bDepa men o Music, A and Cul u e S udies, Uni e si y o Jy äskylä, FI-40014, Finland
cDepa men o Language S udies, Umeå Uni e si y, Umeå 901 87, Sweden
dDepa men o Languages, Uni e si y o Helsinki, FI-00014, Finland
eCen e o Collabo a i e Resea ch CCR, Tu ku School o Economics, Uni e si y o Tu ku, FI-20014, Finland
ARTICLE INFO
Da ase link: h ps://u n. i/u n:nbn: i: sd:T-FSD
3473
Keywo ds:
Game music
A achmen
Memo ies
A ec exp essions
Music psychology
Cogni i e linguis ics
ABSTRACT
This pape p esen s an explo a o y esea ch on music-based a achmen o ideo games, s udied h ough
pe sonally alued game music memo ies. I ocuses on people’s engagemen wi h game music and game
echnologies, expanding p e ious esea ch on he ole o game music in people’s li es. We ga he ed 183
w i en game music memo ies and analyzed hei con en s and language. We ocused on exp essions o a ec
and sen imen , which we assumed would indica e a ec i e in ol emen . Howe e , we also explo ed he
cons i u ion o a achmen by in es iga ing how exp essions o a ec and sen imen we e associa ed wi h
o he aspec s in he s o ies ha e lec pe sonal alua ion, ocusing speci ically on ac o s o au obiog aphical
ememb ance, concep ualiza ions o game music, and gaming echnology ela ed o memo ies. These in es-
iga ions employed a mixed-me hods app oach ha combined quali a i e and s a is ical analyses. A majo
inding was ha especially pe sonal ememb ances ha in ol ed an awa eness o he sel o ela ed o he
game music expe ience signi ican ly p edic ed he use o exp essions o a ec and sen imen in he s o ies.
In sum, he s udy ou lines a amewo k o in es iga ing people’s long- e m engagemen wi h echnology as
being in ima ely ela ed o he con ex o e e yday li e and he cons i u ion o sel -unde s anding.
1. In oduc ion
Video games a e cul u al and comme cial media p oduc s ha o e
hei playe s a wide ange o ec ea ional ac i i ies and expe iences.
Fo many people, games and hei music may also become objec s
o a ec ion. Emo ional a achmen o ce ain p oduc s o b ands in
gene al ela es o hei pe cei ed alue, ha is, how s ongly people
wan o hold on o hem a he han disca ding hem easily [e.g.,1].
As he concep o a achmen o iginally s ems om he con ex o
in e pe sonal bonding [2,3], i has also been de ined as a ‘‘s eng h o
he bond’’ be ween he pe son and a achmen a ge s, such as people,
places, as well as echnological p oduc s like social media [4, p. 71].
The in e pe sonal amewo k is ele an o unde s anding a achmen
o media, as he e is e idence ha people’s engagemen wi h music
lis ening, wa ching TV, and eading ic ion do unc ion as social su -
oga es [5]. In sum, he concep o a achmen is essen ially abou
long- e m commi men o an objec o a ec ion ha a pe son conside s
aluable and meaning ul. In ega d o ideo games, such a ibu ion
o alue and a ec ion o a game may de elop upon app ecia ing he
game ei he as a cul u al exp ession/a i ac [6,7] o as a i s -hand
∗Co esponding au ho a : Facul y o Educa ion and Psychology, Uni e si y o Jy äskylä, FI-40014, Finland.
E-mail add ess: [email p o ec ed] (K. Tuu i).
expe ience o he play ul ac i i y (i.e., meaning ul play) i a o ds [8–
10]. A achmen o games has been s udied mainly h ough he lenses
o need sa is ac ion, as well as om he pe spec i es o p e e ences,
g a i ica ions, and addic ion o playing [11–16], o as an a achmen
o speci ic elemen s in games, such as cha ac e s [17], places [18] o
i ual commodi ies and possessions [19,20]. To his da e, howe e , no
s udies on a achmen o game music has been published.
Sounds and music ha e been p ominen aspec s o engaging wi h
games since he dawn o ideo games. While he awa eness and app e-
cia ion o game music as a signi ican pa o gameplay expe ience has
inc eased o e he pas yea s, s udies on he long- e m implica ions o
game music a e s ill sca ce. Mos o he exis ing esea ch on game music
has ocused on he immedia e e ec s o game music, ha is, he ole
and unc ion o music and audio on he gameplay expe ience du ing
playing [e.g., 21–23]. A ecen an hology on game music esea ch [24]
acknowledges pe spec i es ha ex end beyond gameplay (e.g., syne -
gies wi h comme cial popula music, emix communi ies, and game
music conce s), bu hese accoun s do no y o b oadly app oach
h ps://doi.o g/10.1016/j.en com.2024.100883
Recei ed 16 Ap il 2024; Recei ed in e ised o m 14 Augus 2024; Accep ed 22 Augus 2024
En e ainmen Compu ing 52 (2025) 100883
A ailable online 28 Augus 2024
1875-9521/© 2024 The Au ho (s). Published by Else ie B.V. This is an open access a icle unde he CC BY license ( h p://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/4.0/ ).
K. Tuu i e al.
e e yday p ac ices wi h game music, no do hey explo e he po en ial
ac o s being in ol ed in a achmen o game music. In e ms o b oade
game music s udies, we wan o emphasize Diaz-Gasca’s [25] s udy on
mo i a o s in he consump ion o ideo game sound acks. Rele an ly
o he p esen s udy, Diaz-Gasca explo ed he expe ien ial and socio-
cul u al easons o engaging wi h game sound acks, highligh ing he
ole o pe sonal memo y connec ions in he de elopmen o in e es in
game music. Howe e , his s udy does no a emp o comp ehensi ely
in es iga e he cons i uen s o pe sonal game music a achmen .
Music is s ongly in e connec ed wi h memo ies, especially he ones
including biog aphical sel - ememb ance [26]. This linkage be ween
music and memo y has mo i a ed us o in es iga e he long- e m alu-
a ion o game music h ough w i en memo ies. Music has an abili y o
ake he lis ene back in ime, and i id eelings and sensa ions, like he
ones in ol ing nos algia [27], can accompany memo ies o a speci ic
e en emembe ed. Some memo ies may e en ela e o in ensely s ong
expe iences wi h music [28], which can pa ly explain why people also
a ach o and willingly ca y and che ish memo ies o speci ic pieces o
music in hei mind [29].
In his pape we in es iga e people’s meaning ul ela ionships and
las ing engagemen wi h game music and gaming echnologies, ex end-
ing he sc u iny on he ole o music in he pe son’s li e in he longe
e m. This is done h ough ocusing on pe sonally alued memo ies
and, in pa icula , he exp essions o a ec in hem. Ou ocus is on
Game Music Memo ies (GMMs), ha is, memo able expe iences o game
music ha a e spon aneously sel -selec ed by he esea ch pa icipan s
as meaning ul and alued. The GMMs analyzed in his s udy we e
pe sonal game music s o ies collec ed om 183 people hough an open
w i ing in i a ion.
Ou s udy belongs me hodologically in a con inuum o music e-
sea ch, in which expe iences wi h a pe sonally impo an piece o mu-
sic is explo ed h ough e ospec i e, w i en sel -na a i es. Gab iels-
son [28], o example, asked people o w i e abou he s onges
expe ience wi h music hey ha e e e had. His seminal s udy p esen ed
a e y wide spec um o ways in which music can be pe sonally
impo an , demons a ing ha he phenomenon o musical a achmen
is mul i ace ed in na u e. As ano he example, Saa ikallio e al. [30]
collec ed desc ip ions o how people use hei a o i e piece o music
o e oke emo ions in daily li e, poin ing ou he ele ance o psycho-
logical unc ions o music in de eloping an e e yday ela ionship wi h
music. Finally, in an e hnomusicological s udy, Kilpiö [31] in es iga ed
people’s pe sonal memo ies abou hei C-casse e use in Finland. This
esea ch highligh ed he social and cul u al his o ical ole o echnology
as pa o in ima ely memo able expe iences wi h music.
On he basis o exis ing esea ch on music and memo y [26,27]
and p e ious s udies in ol ing e ospec i e ecollec ion o expe iences
wi h music [28,30,31], we assume ha w i ing abou ond memo ies
o game music expe iences p o ides he pa icipan s wi h an access o
pe sonally impo an e en s and con ex s being associa ed o games
and hei music. We expec ha such memo ies open up he di e se
ways how games and hei music a e connec ed wi h people’s li es,
sel -unde s anding, and social ela ionships. In his way, s o ies o
memo able and alued expe iences o game music disclose aspec s o
he music’s pe sonal meaning ulness ha no only ela e o ideo games
bu also ex end beyond he ac ual gameplay. Such a e ospec i e
app oach based on memo ies is expec ed o e eal pe spec i es o
e e yday li e in a ying ime-spans, which inhe en ly emphasize a long-
e m engagemen wi h music. Th ough analyzing a ious indica o s
ha e lec pe sonal ondness, a ec ion and che ishing being inco po-
a ed in GMMs, he o e a ching aim is o explo e people’s pe sonal
a achmen o game music, as well as people’s musical a achmen o
games.
Ou in es iga ion is ini ially done by analyzing a ec exp essions
(AEs) in w i en memo ies o ond (i.e., pe sonally alued) game music
expe iences. Wi h a ec exp essions we mean wo ds and mul i-wo d ex-
p essions ha e e o a ec [32]. Ou a ionale o his app oach is ha
he amoun o exp essed a ec in he w i en s o ies is deemed as a key
indica o o an emo ional in ol emen in w i ing a GMM, p esumably
signi ying pe sonal alua ion and a achmen owa ds he memo y.
Ea lie s udies on p oduc a achmen ha e dis inguished emo ional
in ol emen as a ac o o a achmen and demons a ed i s abili y o
p edic , o example, b and loyal y and longe i y beha io [33,34].
A e ou lining how exp essions o a ec a e dis ibu ed ac oss he
GMMs, we pe o m u he analyses on he language and he con en o
he s o ies. These a e done wi h a pa icula aim o iden i y domains o
s o y con en s ha would p o ide meaning ul amewo ks in ela ion o
AEs ha would explain how he memo ies wi h game music a e alued
by hei owne s. These analyses in ela ion o he a ec exp ession
indica o s comp ise he main elemen o he s udy.
Nex , h ough e iewing heo e ical app oaches in he upcoming
sec ions, we will ou line h ee domains as hypo he ical amewo ks
o he pu pose o ela ional analyses. Th ough hese domains, we
will ind ou how AEs a e displayed in associa ion wi h (1) pe sonal
ememb ance, (2) me apho ical concep ualizing o game music, and
(3) gaming- echnologies associa ed wi h he s o ies. These s o y- ela ed
domains p o ide hema ic lenses o complemen ing he in es iga ion
o AEs, by explaining how game music memo ies a e alued by hei
owne s — also p o iding us wi h a human-cen ic amewo k in gaining
unde s anding o people’s ela ionship wi h games and ways people a e
a ached o hei music.
2. Resea ch amewo k and ques ions
2.1. Meaning ulness o au obiog aphical memo ies
Music has been ound o be an e ec i e igge o au obiog aphical
memo ies [35]. A ecollec ion o game music a guably p o ides a way
o a pe son o ge in ouch wi h he meaning ul e en s o he pas . In
o he wo ds, ond GMMs no only conce n in ol emen wi h he music
i sel , bu hey should also inco po a e a ious elemen s o gameplay
expe ience as well as b oade e e yday meanings ha ex end beyond
he ac ual si ua ions o play. Acco ding o Diaz-Gasca’s [25] s udy,
people alue expe iences o game music because o he memo ies hey
e oke. The s udy e ealed ha many o hose e oked memo ies ela ed
o he gamewo ld, i s e en s, eelings and aes he ics. Bu simila ly
o musically e oked memo ies in gene al [26,27], hey also included
b oade ememb ances and associa ions o pas imes: nos algic memo-
ies o amily, iends, places and o he au obiog aphically and socially
signi ican expe iences. In gene al, i has been hypo hesized ha he
sense-making o he sel (i.e., wha kind o pe son we a e) and he
o he s (how we ela e o o he people) a e among he mos p ominen
unc ions o au obiog aphical ecollec ion in humans [36–38].
The e ie al o au obiog aphical memo ies can be ei he spon-
aneous o s a egic in na u e [37]. The o me ype is also called
in olun a y ecall as i e e s o becoming awa e o a pas expe ience
wi hou a conscious a emp o e ie e i [39]. Spon aneous and s a e-
gic e ie al also di e om each o he in ega d o he ype o memo y
con en . Fo example, spon aneous ecall mo e o en p o ides access o
speci ic episodes o a pe sonal pas and he associa ed emo ions [40].
On he o he hand, s a egic/ olun a y e ie al is mo e o en asso-
cia ed wi h p oblem sol ing and social sha ing o memo ies, a he
han dayd eaming, hinking abou a pe son, o iden i y, which we e
mo e equen ly disclosed pu poses in in olun a y memo ies [37]. The
way in which memo ies a e sampled hus ma e s in s udying GMMs.
Speci ic and de ailed episodic memo ies, cha ac e is ic o spon aneous
e ie al, oge he wi h emo ional associa ions [including connec ions
o embodied memo ies, see 41] i he pu poses o his esea ch be e
han mo e abs ac and disembodied gene aliza ions o pas expe i-
ences. Ou me hod o ga he ing he memo ies in en ionally aimed a
p o iding suppo o spon anei y in ecalling pe sonally meaning ul
game music expe iences.
En e ainmen Compu ing 52 (2025) 100883
2
K. Tuu i e al.
2.2. Pu poses o engaging wi h music memo ies
DeNo a [42,43] has emphasized he ole o music as a pe sonal and
social esou ce ha people use e lexi ely o cons uc ing meanings
and cons i u ing hemsel es as ce ain ypes o indi iduals and social
agen s. The idea o ‘‘music as a esou ce’’ aises he ques ion: in wha
ways do people, ei he consciously o unconsciously, use music in
hei e e yday li es? In he ield o music psychology, he e has been
a lo o esea ch especially on unc ions ela ed o he egula ion o
emo ions and moods, social bonding, and e oking memo ies as well
as de eloping one’s sel and iden i y h ough music [44–48]. A ecen
s udy by Tuu i e al. [49] co obo a es he ele ance o his app oach
also in he con ex o game music.
Because he numbe o di e en unc ions o music iden i ied in
music psychology s udies is la ge and he unc ions ela e o di e en
esea ch app oaches, he e ha e been e o s o syn hesize and ind
he hemes unde lying he unc ions and connec ing hem. Schä e
e al. [50], o example, ca ied ou a su ey ha included 129 de-
sc ip ions o he unc ions iden i ied in he li e a u e. By using p incipal
componen analysis, h ee unc ional dimensions o lis ening o music
we e ou lined om he esponses. Acco ding o he esul s, people
in gene al lis en o music (1) o achie e sel -awa eness, (2) as an
exp ession o social ela edness, and (3) o egula e a ousal and mood.
A guably, hese indings also p omo e a mo e gene al unde s anding o
how he dimensions o music’s e e yday meaning ulness and alua ion
could be s uc u ed.
Conside ing ha Shä e e al.’s [50] unc ions ela e o he con ex
o lis ening o music, we expec o see some di e ences be ween hem
and he unc ions ela ing o eminiscing on musical expe iences, which
is he ocus o he cu en s udy. While he o me ela e o u ilizing
musical sounds in e e yday ci cums ances, he unc ions in eminiscing
a e abou u ilizing he pas expe iences o pe cei e and make sense o
he p esen .
In he con ex o eminiscing, he sel -awa eness unc ion clea ly
ela es o pe cep ion o he sel h ough eminiscing and e lec ing
he expe iences wi h music. Due o he p i a e na u e o eminiscing,
he ela edness unc ion appa en ly ocuses on e lec ing social ela-
ions h ough he pas expe iences wi h music, ins ead o exp essing
and displaying hem h ough music in he p esen . These wo dimen-
sions o sel -awa eness and social ela edness align well wi h he sim-
ila ly p ominen unc ions o au obiog aphical ecollec ion in gene al
[36–38].
In ega d o he hi d music lis ening unc ion, a ousal and mood
egula ion, ou ocus will be on he needs o e-expe ience he music
h ough eminiscing — ha is, he pu poses o e-enac ing he emo-
ional and aes he ic pas expe iences o he music. F om his iewpoin ,
elying on ei he spon aneous o s a egic e ie al, eminiscing music
a guably is closely ela ed o he memo y- ela ed phenomenon o musi-
cal imagining. This e e s o ecalling and expe iencing a amilia piece
o music h ough he ‘‘mind’s ea ’’ [29,51–53].
In he manne desc ibed abo e, he ipa i e model o sel -, social-
and expe ience o ien ed pu poses o engaging wi h music can be ap-
plied as dimensions o pe sonal ememb ance o analyzing he au obio-
g aphical and game music ela ed expe ien ial con en s in he GMMs.
2.3. Concep ualiza ions o in ima e ela ionship wi h game music
The way DeNo a [42,43] has amed music as a esou ce is al eady
an example o me apho ical language, ha is, a way o desc ibing
some abs ac hing, a a ge domain, in e ms o a mo e conc e e
concep ual sou ce domain. In gene al, such me apho ical mappings
ela e o concep ualizing a gi en a ge domain h ough he cha ac e -
is ics o a chosen concep ual sou ce, consequen ly cons i u ing one’s
unde s anding o he a ge domain [54]. Talking abou music as a
‘‘ esou ce’’ hus is abou unde s anding music as a aluable commodi y,
while also b inging he ocus on wha i p o ides o a pe son when
in e ac ing wi h i .
Ra he han sugges ing ha me apho s a e me ely a he o ical
de ice, he heo y o concep ual me apho s [54,55] highligh s he
cogni i e-linguis ic mappings inco po a ed in he p ocesses o human
sensemaking. I is well known ha people end o use me apho ic
language when desc ibing wha hey hea in music and wha hei
musical expe ience is like [56,57]. Besides concep ualizing speci ic
momen s in music, me apho s can also ope a e on a la ge scale, as
is e iden in he way whole musical wo ks a e ea ed as ‘‘s o ies’’
o ‘‘na a i es’’ [58]. Mo eo e , i has been sugges ed ha e en he
mos undamen al aspec s o ou unde s anding o music, such as he
pe asi e idea o music as ‘‘mo emen ’’, a e la gely me apho ical in
na u e [59].
Acco ding o he heo y o concep ual me apho [54], human
hough is la gely s uc u ed by di e en concep ual me apho s. Fo
example, he me apho MUSIC IS RESOURCE can be iden i ied in
me apho ic exp essions, such as ‘‘I use music o elie e my s ess’’,
which employ he concep ual me apho in ques ion. Wi h espec o
he aims o his s udy, we conside his kind o cogni i e-linguis ic
pe spec i e insigh ul o desc ibing how a achmen mani es s in lan-
guage. Pa icula ly, we in es iga e how he pe spec i e o concep ual
me apho s can be applied o disco e ing ‘‘ways o a aching’’, ha is,
wha kind o concep ual me apho s people use in concei ing hei
in ima e o ond ela ionship o game music.
2.4. Role o gaming echnologies in music-based a achmen
Gaming echnologies, di e en pla o ms and hei in e aces a e
essen ial aspec s o e e yday gaming expe iences. By in es iga ing a -
achmen o ideo games wi h a long- e m pe spec i e h ough w i en
memo ies, aspec s o an endu ing a ac ion o he games and de ices
om di e en e as a e likely o be e ealed. I is easy o assume ha
ond memo ies o engaging wi h game music also disclose a ec ion
owa ds games and game de ices o di e en ime pe iods ha ela e
o he music. Despi e being ende ed obsole e by newe ones, some
games, gaming de ices [e.g., 60], and e en speci ic ypes o audio
ha dwa e [e.g., 61] a ain a s a us as classics — o as objec s o a ce ain
‘‘ e o chic’’ ascina ion because o being ou da ed [62].
Besides cul u al alua ions o gaming echnologies, seen, o ex-
ample, in he discou ses abou he pas ‘‘golden e a’’ o ideo games
and ideo game music, alua ions also ela e o a pe sonal le el o
meaning ulness ha en angle wi h people’s au obiog aphical his o ies
in ol ing gaming a i ac s. This is in line wi h s udies add essing how
games and he ela ed ha dwa e om ce ain pe iods may se e as
ehicles o nos algia [63], ene a ed a i ac s o e o sensibili ies and
di e en an communi ies [64], loci o cons uc ing one’s iden i y [65]
o sou ces o app ecia ion o aes he ic ea u es ela ed o bygone ech-
nologies [61,66]. These no ions imply how an a ec ion o game music
could ela e o ce ain echnologies o ime pe iods. Mo e gene ally, we
can hypo hesize ha he e a e linkages be ween ideo games, gaming
echnologies and game music ha po en ially ha e implica ions on
a achmen . A pe son may ha e de eloped, o example, a pa icula
ondness o he sounds, g aphics, o physical in e aces o ce ain
de ices o speci ic echnology b ands.
2.5. Resea ch ques ions
The s udy is o ganized in o esea ch ques ions (RQs), which a e o -
mula ed as ollows. A ec exp essed in w i en eminiscing o pe sonal
game music expe iences is he e deemed as a undamen al indica o o
pe sonal a ec ion owa ds he memo y. The e o e, he ini ial aim o he
in es iga ion is o de ec how much a ec is exp essed ac oss he game
music memo ies (coined as RQ #0). The subsequen RQs (#1–3) ela e
o u he in es iga ions on he GMM con en s ha , in ela ion o he
a ec -componen , p o ide complemen a y akes on how he alua ion
En e ainmen Compu ing 52 (2025) 100883
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K. Tuu i e al.
Fig. 1. Resea ch model o explo ing music-based a achmen o ideo games h ough a ec exp essed in w i en memo ies abou pe sonally alued game music.
o he game music is displayed in hese pe sonal na a i es. These
RQs add ess how AEs a e displayed in associa ion wi h he hema ic
domains discussed in he p e ious sec ions.
As a me hodological p emise, we expec ed s o ies abou ondly
eminisced game music expe iences o e lec pe sonal alua ion o he
memo ies, inco po a ing exp essions and con en ele an o music-
based a achmen o ideo games. The o e a ching objec i e o his
s udy is o ind ou which o he a iables, ou lined in in es iga ions
o RQs #1–3, a e s a is ically he mos impo an in p edic ing he use
o AEs and posi i e/nega i e sen imen in he s o ies. By iden i ying he
main p eceden s o exp essing a ec in eminiscing game music expe-
iences, i is consequen ly possible o be e unde s and hei po en ial
oles in cons i u ing a achmen o game music. The esea ch model, as
a whole, is illus a ed in Fig. 1.
RQ #0: Wha is he amoun and alence o exp essed a ec ac oss he
GMMs?
The i s aim o he s udy is o ge an ini ial g asp o an o e all
‘‘a ec i e landscape’’ o he s o ies in o de o unde s and people’s
a achmen o games and hei music. The a ge o he in es iga ion
he e is in de ec ing how much a ec is exp essed ac oss he pe sonal
na a i es. We ake explici AEs as gene al indica o s o a ec i e
in ol emen in ecalling and w i ing GMMs, and he e o e also as an
indica o o impo ance o a memo y and i s expe ien ial con en s. An
accompanying s a egy he e is o in es iga e he o e all alence o he
memo ies by measu ing he amoun o posi i e and nega i e sen imen
in he s o ies [67]. While one would expec he ond memo ies o be
mos ly posi i e, p e ious esea ch sugges s [68] ha a ec i e expe-
iences o en consis o a mix o posi i e and nega i e alence. Bo h
he measu es o AE equencies and he sen imen in ensi ies ac oss
he s o ies comp ise he dependen a iables ep esen ing game-music
based a ec ion in he GMMs o he es o he in es iga ion.
RQ #1: How do he dimensions o pe sonal ememb ance s uc u e
GMMs and how a e hese dimensions associa ed wi h AEs?
Ou in es iga ion ega ding his RQ is o med in acco dance wi h
he h ee dimensions o pe sonal ememb ance ou lined abo e. Fi s ly,
he dimension o Sel -awa eness cap u es cogni i e e lec ion in ol ing
a pe son’s sel and iden i y h ough eminiscing expe iences wi h game
music. The second dimension, Social ela edness, is abou he social
en i onmen a ound musical engagemen . In hese wo dimensions,
he elemen o a ec ion is hypo hesized o in ol e he alua ion o
au obiog aphical ememb ances and he associa ed e lec ions o he
sel and he o he s. The dimension o Game music expe ience ocuses
on he eminisced expe iences o being in ol ed wi h game music.
Ou ake on his dimension no only includes game music, bu i also
ex ends o cap u e he li ed- h ough expe iences o he gameplay as a
whole. He e, he a ec i e elemen is expec ed o ela e o he aes he ic
enjoymen o he expe ience and he ela ed p ac ices [see 10,69].
RQ #2: How do me apho s o game music s uc u e GMMs and how
a e hese me apho s associa ed wi h AEs?
This RQ ela es o explaining a achmen o game music ough
me apho ical concep ualiza ions o game music in he s o ies. We
i s iden i y me apho ic exp essions o game music and hen explo e
he employmen o di e en cogni i e-linguis ic sou ce domains in
hem. The u ilized sou ce domains p o ide in o ma ion on how he
s o y w i e s concei e hei ela ionship wi h he game music (e.g. by
concep ualizing music as a ‘‘buddy’’ o a means o ‘‘ a eling’’).
RQ #3: How does in ol emen o gaming echnology s uc u e GMMs
and how a e echnology ela ions associa ed wi h AEs?
The eminisced expe iences in s o ies ela e o games and game
de ices om di e en his o ical pe iods, as well as di e en ypes
o echnological pla o ms (i.e., home compu e s and gaming con-
soles). Rega ding his RQ, we explo e hese a ia ions in echnology
ypes (i.e., he game i les and de ices) ac oss GMMs, and possible
echnology- ela ed dependencies ha may indica e he exis ence o
echnology-speci ic a achmen and nos algia.
3. Da a and me hods
3.1. Da a ga he ing
S o ies abou ondly eminisced game music we e collec ed om
Finnish pa icipan s ia a publicly a ailable w i ing in i a ion o
GMMs, a anged in collabo a ion wi h he Finnish Social Science Da a
A chi e. In he online o m o s o y collec ion we asked: ‘‘Do you
ha e memo ies ela ed o game music ha you eel a e impo an o
you – o e en lo ed? We wan o hea you s o y abou jus such
memo able game music expe iences’’. A e he ini ial ques ion, he
opic o memo able game music expe ience was b ie ly desc ibed in
an open and non-de ini i e manne . Adap ing he idea o elici ed
w i ing [see 70], he in en ion o he call was o ge spon aneous and
eely o med pe sonal na a i es on he gi en opic om he people.
In addi ion o he s o ies, backg ound in o ma ion o pa icipan s was
asked. The o m included ques ions abou gende , age, game iden i y
(op ions: ‘‘I’m an ac i e game ’’, ‘‘I’ e been an ac i e game a an ea lie
s age o li e’’, ‘‘I don’ conside mysel an ac i e game ’’), and ques ions
abou he ime a pe son uses daily o playing games.
The w i ing in i a ion, oge he wi h he link o he online ques ion-
nai e o m, was dispa ched h ough a ious channels, including social
media g oups and emailing lis s. A Facebook ma ke ing campaign was
also used o sp eading he w i ing in i a ion o ensu e ha i would
each people om di e en demog aphic g oups. The e a e indica ions
ha simila memo y igge s abou andom opics, ecei ed du ing
e e yday ac i i ies, ha e p o ided suppo o spon aneous eminisc-
ing [71]. Ini ially, 184 people esponded o he w i ing in i a ion, o
whom one had o be le ou because o being unde -aged.1
1The Finnish na ional boa d on esea ch in eg i y s a es ha he pe son’s
own consen o pa icipa e is su icien when he pa icipan is 15 yea s old
o olde .
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Table 1
C oss- abula ions o game iden i y wi h daily a e age gameplay, and gende .
Ac i e game Has been
ac i e game
No a game To al (n)
Less han 15 min 5.4% 73.0% 21.6% 100% (37)
15–30 min 41.2% 41.8% 17.2% 100% (29)
30–60 min 82.1% 15.4% 2.6% 100% (39)
1–2 h 85.4% 14.6% 0.0% 100% (41)
O e 2 h 100.0% 0.0% 0.0% 100% (37)
To al 64.5% 27.9% 7.7% 100% (183)
Female 51.5% 24.2% 24.2% 100% (33)
Male 67.8% 28.0% 4.2% 100% (143)
To al 64.8% 27.3% 8.0% 100% (176)
3.2. Pa icipan s
The pa icipan s consis ed o 183 people (Age 𝑀= 34.6yea s, 𝑆𝐷 =
7.81,𝑀𝑖𝑛 = 17,𝑀𝑎𝑥 = 59). Two indi iduals did no disclose hei ages,
and hese a e ea ed as missing alues in he coming analyses. O he
pa icipan s 78% (𝑛= 143) we e male and 18% (𝑛= 33) we e emale. I
should be no ed ha he smalle po ion o emale esponden s does no
ep esen he Finnish popula ion o game playe s, which should consis
o mo e o less equal dis ibu ion o he male and emale gende s [72].
Fi e pa icipan s epo ed hei gende as ‘‘o he ’’, and wo pa icipan s
did no wan o ell hei gende . Due o he small size o he la e
wo g oups, hese cases a e excluded om u he s a is ical analyses
in ol ing gende compa isons.
Mos o he pa icipan s (64.5%, 𝑛 = 118) epo ed ha hey a e
ac i e game s. The second la ges g oup (27.9%, 𝑛 = 51) epo ed
ha hey ha e been playing ac i ely a an ea lie s age o li e. The
es o he pa icipan s (7.7%, 𝑛 = 14) did no conside hemsel es
as being ac i e game s. This sel -classi ica ion is consis en wi h he
epo ed amoun o daily gameplay in a s a is ically signi ican manne
𝜒2(8,183) = 98.50, 𝑝 < .001 (see Table 1). Pa icipan s ha ha e been
ac i e game s also appea o be mode a ely ac i e game playe s in he
p esen . The Chi-squa ed es e eals a signi ican dependence be ween
game iden i y and gende 𝜒2(2,176) = 14.79, 𝑝 < .001. Compa ed o
males, a bigge pe cen age o he emale pa icipan s do no iden i y
hemsel es as game s.
3.3. Me hodological app oach on analyzing he da a
The analyses pe o med on he s o ies ollowed a mixed-me hods
app oach combining bo h quali a i e and quan i a i e elemen s. The
quali a i e elemen s essen ially comp ised he means o iden i ying
and unde s anding he e bal exp essions and hema ic con en s o
he s o ies in ela ion o each esea ch ques ion. The a ionale o he
quan i a i e elemen s was o in es iga e he p e alence o he gi en
quali a i e dimensions in nume ical o m and ou line hem as a iables
o pe o m s a is ical analysis.
The s a egy was o i s pe o m linguis ic analysis o he s o ies
o de ec ing he ins ances o displayed a ec (RQ #0), as well as
iden i ying he use o me apho ic exp essions and hei ways o con-
cep ualizing a pe son’s ela ionship wi h he game music ac oss he
s o ies (RQ #2). Nex , shi ing he quali a i e ocus on s o y con en s,
we iden i ied ins ances o he hema ic dimensions o Sel -awa eness,
Social ela edness, and Game music expe ience (RQ #1). F om he
s o ies, we also collec ed in o ma ion abou he men ioned games and
gaming echnologies (RQ #3).
In quali a i e analysis, coding gene ally e e s o a aching labels
o segmen s o da a ha desc ibe hei con en and p o ide analy ical
handles o making compa isons wi h o he coded da a segmen s [73].
Th ough explo a o y quali a i e coding, we i s iden i ied speci ic key
exp essions and hema ic con en s om he ex ual da a, and hen
in es iga ed how a ec exp essed ac oss he s o ies associa es wi h he
o he elemen s iden i ied in he s o ies. All o he coding was ca ied
ou manually, wi h he hi d au ho being p ima ily esponsible o
linguis ic iden i ica ion o a ec exp essions and concep ual me apho s,
while he i s and he second au ho s being esponsible o hema ic
con en analysis and addi ional pa sing and g ouping o me apho s.
The quali a i e codings we e quan i ied o pe o ming compa a i e
be ween-pa icipan s s a is ical analyses. In addi ion o he quan i i-
ca ion o quali a i e analyses, nume ical da a abou he exp ession o
sen imen (RQ #0) was compu a ionally ex ac ed om he s o ies by
he me hod o au oma ed sen imen analysis.
The ul ima e aim was o explo e how he a ec exp essed in he
s o ies associa es wi h he linguis ic and con en - ela ed elemen s, also
coded in o he s o ies, and inally o model which o he elemen s
a e he mos impo an p edic o s o a ec exp essions and sen imen
in ensi ies. S a is ically his was achie ed h ough a linea eg ession
model, using he equency o a ec exp essions as a a ge , and he
o he s o y ela ed elemen s as independen a iables.
3.4. Quali a i e analysis
The quali a i e analyses we e done wi h A las. i so wa e o indica -
ing he p esence o speci ic exp essions, men ions, hemes o concep s
in he ex ual da a. Quo a ions om he ex da a we e coded in e ms
o each aspec o in e es . Quo a ion leng h was eely de e mined by
a esea che esponsible o a gi en code, hus he uni o analysis
was no ixed (e.g., o wo ds o pa ag aphs). The alidi y o codes and
coding was cons an ly con olled by e alua i e discussions be ween he
esea che s du ing he p ocess o con en analysis.
Ou s a ing poin o ex analysis was o ou line a ec exp essions
(RQ #0). As a p inciple, we concen a ed on wo dings ha we e used
o desc ibe a ec i e o emo ional expe ience, hus no necessa ily
di ec exp essions o bu s s o emo ions [see 32]. In his manne , 853
quo a ions we e iden i ied as AEs.
In o de o illus a e he con en o hese iden i ied AEs, hei mos
equen wo ds we e examined. Table 2 shows English ansla ions o
he o iginal Finnish wo ds2 ha we e coun ed a leas h ee imes
ac oss all AE-coded quo a ions. No e ha he wo ds in he quo a ions
ha we e deemed o be i ele an noise in e ms o he a ec con en
(such as equi alen s o ‘‘and’’, ‘‘which’’ o ‘‘ ha ’’) we e no included
in he wo d coun bu we e il e ed ou by using he s op-lis unc ion
o A las. i. Mo eo e , equen wo ds ‘‘music’’ and ‘‘game’’ as well
as wo ds ha ansla e edundan ly o he same English wo d we e
excluded om Table 2. The esul ing lis (see Table 2) includes a ange
o e bal means o ei he deno ing emo ions, moods and eelings, o
desc ibing he ways o being a ec i ely engaged.
In a simila manne o de ec ing AEs, ano he linguis ically o ien ed
analysis was ca ied ou o ou line me apho ic exp essions o game
music in he s o ies (RQ #2)3. The esea che esponsible o he
ini ial de ec ion phase ga e hem p elimina y names as concep ual
me apho s, hus iden i ied hei concep ual sou ce domains. A simila
naming p ocess is desc ibed by S e anowi sch [75], which he calls
me apho ical pa e n analysis. In he nex phase, he me apho s and
he naming o hei sou ce domains we e sc u inized oge he wi h
he o he au ho s. As a esul o he discussion, he ca ego iza ion o
me apho s became bo h mo e p ecise and mo e di e se. Also, some
o he exp essions o iginally ma ked as me apho ical we e excluded
om he analysis, which esul ed in he inal numbe o game mu-
sic me apho s ac oss he s o ies being 555. In he inal s age o he
analysis, all me apho ic exp essions o game music we e pa sed and
2An in lec ed Finnish wo d o en needs o be ansla ed in o mo e han one
English wo d. Whe eas Finnish ope a es wi h endings, English ope a es wi h
p eposi ions.
3This analysis o concep ual me apho s has been p e iously published. Fo
a mo e de ailed epo , see [74].
En e ainmen Compu ing 52 (2025) 100883
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Table 2
A lis o he mos equen ly used wo ds ac oss he 853 AEs (Finnish wo ds ansla ed in o English).
Emo ions Emo ion I liked Nos algic I el (like) To me I like
Hea I go en husias ic Exci emen Mind Nos algy Peace ul Feeling
Melancholic Came To cause I go en h alled Happiness Wi h eage ness A ached
Ra he Memo ies I enjoy Enjoyed Ge Good Exci ed
Exci ing Expe ience Cold I emembe Up Dea I lo e
Dea es Dea ones Soo hing To he hea My hea Feel In o a mood
Shi e s Anxie y Annoy Pa icula ly Longing E oked To my deligh
Wi h some G a e ul Towa ds Touch Tea s Wa m Wi h wa m h
To my mind Gladly Pleasu e Me In me Fea Sadness
Sad G ea ly A mosphe e
Fig. 2. The main ca ego ies o me apho ical sou ce domains, oge he wi h examples o he ela ed image-schema ic s uc u es, in he concep ualiza ion o game music.
g ouped in o a mo e cohe en model o me apho ypes. The pu pose
was o cla i y me apho ical simila i ies and di e ences by examining
hei image-schema ic s uc u es [76]. Th ough his p ocess, 8 main
hema ic ca ego ies o me apho ical sou ce domains we e iden i ied
(see Fig. 2), in which game music is concep ually desc ibed in e ms
o Agencies, Fo ces, Spa ial ela ions, T ans e ence, Media o s, Linkages,
Tangible objec s, and Sensa ions.Fig. 2 also illus a e how each o he
main ca ego ies inco po a ed a ying image-schema ic s uc u es o
mani es ing he sou ce domain.
Rega ding he con en analysis on he h ee dimensions o pe sonal
ememb ance (RQ #1), ano he se o coding was ca ied ou o each
hema ic dimension ( he numbe o quo a ions a ibu ed o each heme
is p esen ed in b acke s). Fo his we u ilized combina ions o p e i-
ously done con en -d i en sub-codings ha ma ched he heo y-based
dimensions. The heme o Sel -awa eness combined wo sepa a e sub-
codings: ‘‘au obiog aphical exp essions’’ and ‘‘exp essions e lec ing o
desc ibing he sel ’’ (in all 586 quo a ions). The heme o Social ela -
edness consis ed o a coding ca ego y ‘‘o he people’’, which includes
ei he explici men ions o implici indica ions o o he people being
in ol ed in he expe ience (in all 559 quo a ions). And inally, he
heme o Game music expe ience combined h ee sub-codes con aining
desc ip ions o ‘‘episodic expe iences o ac i i y’’, ‘‘expe ienced im-
me sion, ad en u e and low’’, and ‘‘quali ies o music’’ (in all 1139
quo a ions).
All men ions o gaming de ices and game i les we e de ec ed and
coded ac oss he s o ies (RQ #3). These codings we e used as he
basis o ca ego izing GMMs acco ding o a gaming de ice ype (home
compu e memo ies, game console memo ies, o mixed/undisclosed), and
o de e mining a median publica ion yea o he game i les men ioned
in he s o y. In addi ion, e e ences o speci ic game music echnologies
we e coded. Such ype o explici e e ences mos ly poin ed a speci ic
sound-p oducing echnologies ha we e common in de ices om he
ea ly 1980s o he mid 1990s [see 77]. By u ilizing hese codes in
combina ion wi h he codes in ol ing speci ic gaming de ices and
game i les, we we e able o ca ego ize all GMMs a e he game music
echnologies hey inco po a e ( in age audio, mode n digi al audio, o
bo h echnologies). The in age audio class he e includes ‘‘chip une’’
echnologies (i.e., p og ammable sound chips and beepe s), ‘‘ acke ’’
o ‘‘MOD’’ o ma music echnologies (based on sho sound samples),
and ‘‘Adlib’’ o ‘‘Gene al MIDI’’ echnologies (i.e., FM o wa e able
syn hesize s on sound ca ds) [see 78, pp. 7–61]. In con as o he
in age game music, which is based on a sequenced playback o syn-
hesized sounds, he mode n digi al audio class is cha ac e ized by a
p e- eco ded o m o music playback.
3.5. Quan i a i e measu es and analysis
The equencies o code occu ences and co-occu ences we e ob-
ained om he A las. i so wa e. Because he quo a ions o bo h AEs
and Social ela edness we e ela i ely sho (o en jus a ew wo ds o
e en a single wo d), ela ional co-occu ences be ween he wo we e
de ec ed by using a i e-wo d-long window o neighbo ing wo ds bo h
p eceding and ollowing he quo a ions.
In his s udy, sen imen analysis unc ions as an indica ion o he
gene al in ensi y o posi i e and nega i e alence in ex s (RQ #0).
The e o e, we do no expec ha only explici ly exp essed a ec would
ha e an e ec on he sen imen in ensi y measu es. S o ies also con-
ain, o example, opinions and e alua i e exp essions, as well as
episodic desc ip ions o gameplay. The wo example quo a ions4below
demons a e pa s o s o ies ha we e no iden i ied as explici AEs
bu ne e heless ge a high in ensi y sco e o sen imen . The la e
example also illus a es how he epo ing o gameplay expe iences
(o , e.g., igh ing he aliens in a game) can deno e nega i e sen imen ,
al hough he o e all poin o he w i e seems o be in desc ibing he
posi i ely imp essi e na u e o he game music.
...In he 80s, game music was awesome! The C64 game ‘‘Fo bidden
Fo es ’’ by Paul No man and he music he composed o he same
game we e eally g ea . (+4 posi i e sen imen )
...Howe e , he mos imp essi e song always played when x-com
soldie s a acked o des oy an alien base. The backg ound music
playing du ing he mission b ough o he su ace all he same
sensa ions as du ing any ho o ilm. (−4 nega i e sen imen )
We used he Sen iS eng h [67] so wa e o pe o m he analysis. I
is a lexicon-based analysis p og am ha also p o ides wo d lis s o
he Finnish language. Sen iS eng h has been designed o e alua e he
in ensi y o sen imen in sho in o mal ex s (e.g., in social media)
and has been used o analyzing ex s in Finnish [79]. The so wa e
p o ides wo sco es o he ex s: he in ensi y o posi i e sen imen (a
sco e anging om 1 o 5) and he in ensi y o nega i e sen imen (a
sco e anging om −1 o −5). The dual sco ing me hod is app op ia e
since ex s o en con ain a mix o posi i e and nega i e sen imen s.
4All quo a ion examples in his pape a e ansla ions o he o iginal
Finnish ex s. Howe e , all measu es e e o he o iginal ex s.
En e ainmen Compu ing 52 (2025) 100883
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Fig. 3. F equencies o men ions o games and game se ies (n =664) o de ed by
publica ion yea .
Fo he sake o cla i y in he u he analyses, he sco es o nega i e
sen imen was con e ed o posi i e alues. We also used he p og am’s
abili y o pe om a ina y classi ica ion o o e all sen imen (a sco e o
−1,0o 1, espec i ely deno ing nega i e, neu al and posi i e o e all
sen imen s).
S a is ical analysis was pe o med wi h SPSS 29 so wa e. The num-
be o a ec exp essions and he wo d coun in s o ies we e es ed
wi h a Kolmogo o –Smi no es o no mali y, which indica es ha he
AE equencies and s o y leng hs do no ollow a no mal dis ibu ion,
𝐷(183) = .226, 𝑝 < .001 and 𝐷(183) = .205, 𝑝 < .001 espec i ely. Fo his
eason, and due o he o dinal na u e o some measu es o his s udy,
s a is ical analyses p e e ably u ilize non-pa ame ic es s app op ia e
o gi en a iables, including K uskal–Wallis analysis o a iance and
Spea man’s co ela ions.
3.6. S o y da a desc ip ions
All bu one o he s o ies we e w i en in Finnish (one was in
English). The leng h o he s o ies a ied s ongly om e y sho
(𝑀𝑖𝑛 = 8 wo ds) o ela i ely long (𝑀𝑎𝑥 = 2144 wo ds), he mean
and median leng hs being 235.8 and 158.0 wo ds, espec i ely. Gende
seems o ha e an e ec on he leng h o he s o ies, as he K uskal–
Wallis es indica es 𝐻(1,176) = 5.68, 𝑝 < .05). The median wo d coun
o emale esponden s (𝑀𝑑𝑛 = 192.0) was highe han he same igu e
o male esponden s (𝑀𝑑𝑛 = 137.0).
In all, 322 di e en games o game se ies we e men ioned ac oss
he s o ies. The publica ion yea s o he i les we e e ie ed om a
ideogame da abase hos ed by Kin a e Analy ics.5B oad e e ences o
game se ies we e common in he s o ies, which did no necessa ily
speci y he exac i les o he se ies. In hese cases, he speci ic sub- i les
o he se ies we e igno ed in he analysis. The publica ion yea o he
mos equen ly men ioned speci ic game i le (e.g., Final Fan asy VII)
was selec ed o ep esen he whole game se ies (e.g., Final Fan asy).
As we can see om Fig. 3, he o e all emphasis in GMMs was on olde
games: games published in 1985–1987 ecei ed he g ea es numbe
o men ions ac oss he s o ies. In u he analysis we use he Median
publica ion yea o all he game i les men ioned wi hin a s o y. Thus, in
e ms o games men ioned in GMMs, his igu e ep esen s he a e age
ime pe iod ha he s o y has i s ocus on. In e ms o a Median
publica ion yea , he bigges numbe o s o ies we e a ibu ed o he
yea s 1997 (12%, n =22) and 1986 (8.2%, n =15). Fo six s o ies,
publica ion yea s could no be de e mined.
The e was a s ong nega i e co ela ion wi h he median publica ion
yea s and he age o he pa icipan s (𝑟= −.548, 𝑝 < .001), meaning
5Kin a e Analy ics (h ps://kin a eanaly ics.com) is an academic s a up
company ha p o ides se ices in playe analy ics, and hey hold a game
da abase o some 100,000 en ies.
Table 3
Compa ison o a e age median publica ion yea s (MPY) and ages ac oss gaming de ice
and game music echnology g oups.
MPY (Mdn) Age (Mdn)
Gaming de ice: Compu e 1990 40
Console 1997 29
Mixed 1997 33
Music echnology: Vin age 1987 41
Mode n 2002 29
Bo h 1996 35
ha olde pa icipan s ended o eminisce abou olde games. Also,
he median publica ion yea s a e associa ed wi h gende 𝐻(1,170) =
6.65, 𝑝 < .05. Howe e , he a e age alues o men (Mdn =1995) and
women (Mdn =1997) di e ed only a li le.
In ega d o gaming de ices, he GMM s o ies we e di ided in o
home compu e memo ies (42.6%, n =78), game console memo ies
(31.1%, n =57), and memo ies o mixed o undisclosed de ice ypes
(25.7%, n =47). One o he s o ies was no based on digi al game
echnology and i was excluded om he ca ego iza ion. Ye ano he
echnology- ela ed classi ica ion conce ned how he s o ies ela ed o
ei he in age (31.7%, n =58) o mode n (36.6%, n =67) game music
echnology, o bo h o he echnologies (30.1%, n =55). Th ee o he
s o ies (1.6%) did no p o ide pa icula enough e e ences o ech-
nologies and we e excluded om hese classes. The Chi-squa ed es
e eals a signi ican dependence be ween hese g oupings (𝜒2(4,179) =
60.76, 𝑝 < .001). In pa icula , i seems ha compu e -based memo ies
a e associa ed mo e wi h in age music echnologies (61.5% o e lap),
and console-based memo ies a e mo e a ilia ed wi h mode n digi al
audio echnology (59.6% o e lap).
F om Table 3 we can obse e how bo h o he echnology-based ca -
ego iza ions di e in e ms o a s o y’s Median publica ion yea and a
pa icipan s’ age. On a e age, compu e -based memo ies we e cen e ed
on olde games and we e w i en by olde pa icipan s when compa ed
o he o he ypes o GMMs. The associa ion be ween Gaming de ice
and Median publica ion yea is signi ican (𝐻(2,176) = 24.221, 𝑝 <
.001). A pos -hoc pai wise compa isons es (Dunn-Bon e oni) u he
indica ed ha , in pa icula , he sco es o he Compu e g oup we e
obse ed o be signi ican ly di e en om hose o g oup Console
(𝑝 < .001) and g oup Mixed (𝑝 < .001). The Music echnology g oups
also di e ed in e ms o he Median publica ion yea s o he s o ies.
The sco e di e ences we e signi ican (𝐻(2,177) = 108.416, 𝑝 < .001).
Bu unlike he Game de ice g oups, in which only compu e -based
s o ies di e ed, pos -hoc compa isons indica ed ha all h ee Music
echnology g oups we e signi ican ly di e en om each o he (𝑝 <
.001).
4. Resul s
4.1. Indica o s o a ec (RQ #0)
4.1.1. A ec exp essions
Ac oss he s o ies, 853 exce p s o ex we e iden i ied as AEs. The
mean equency o AEs wi hin a s o y was 4.66 (𝑆𝐷 =6.17). Thei
dis ibu ion was une en, howe e , and no all s o ies e en con ained
hem: o he 183 s o ies, 24.6% (𝑛𝑛𝑜𝑛𝑒 =45) had no AEs, 35% (𝑛𝑓𝑒𝑤 =
64) had 1–3 AEs, and 40.4% (𝑛𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑦 =74) con ained mo e han h ee
AEs. The maximum numbe o AEs pe s o y was 39. This is no o say
ha almos one qua e o he s o ies we e wi hou a ec , bu i was
jus no explici ly exp essed in he ex .
Rega ding gende ela ed di e ences in he dis ibu ion o AEs,
he e is a s a is ically signi ican e ec o gende , acco ding o he
K uskal–Wallis es , 𝐻(1,176) = 12.31, 𝑝 < .001.Fig. 4 indica es ha
women (𝑀𝑑𝑛 =6) used AEs mo e equen ly han men (𝑀𝑑𝑛 =2). As
many as 72.7% o women used mo e han h ee AEs in hei s o ies,
compa ed o 32.2% o men in he same ca ego y.
En e ainmen Compu ing 52 (2025) 100883
7
K. Tuu i e al.
Fig. 4. Boxplo showing dis ibu ions o AE equencies o emales (Mdn =6) and
males (Mdn =2).
We also ound signi ican co ela ions bo h be ween Age and AE q
(𝑟= −.270, 𝑝 < .001) and be ween Wo d Coun and AE q (𝑟=.786, 𝑝 <
.001). So he e is a sligh nega i e co ela ion wi h esponden ’s age,
and a s ong posi i e co ela ion wi h he wo d coun o he s o ies,
bo h o which a e obse able in Fig. 5. The la e co ela ion seems
ob ious in a sense ha longe s o ies a o d mo e equen use o AEs.
4.1.2. Sen imen in ensi ies
Ac oss he s o ies, he alues o posi i e sen imen (𝑀=2.53,
𝑀𝑑𝑛 =3, 𝑀𝑖𝑛 =1, 𝑀𝑎𝑥 =4) we e gene ally highe han he nega i e
coun e pa s (𝑀= −2.07,𝑀𝑑𝑛 = 1,𝑀𝑖𝑛 = 1,𝑀𝑎𝑥 = 5). As he
median alues imply, he mos equen sco e o posi i e sen imen
was 3(54.6% o he s o ies) while he espec i e sco e o nega i e
sen imen was 1(53.0% o he s o ies). In o he wo ds, mo e han hal
o he s o ies a es ed no nega i e sen imen , as he sco e o 1deno es
no in ensi y. The po ion o s o ies wi h no de ec ed posi i e sen imen
was much smalle , only 19.1% o he s o ies. The classi ica ions o
o e all sen imen pola i y p o ided u he indica ion o a gene al bias
owa ds posi i e alence in GMMs. As much as 121 s o ies (66%) we e
e alua ed as posi i e, 33 (18%) as neu al, and 29 (16%) as nega i e.
The K uskal–Wallis es showed no signi ican di e ences o gende
in posi i e sen imen sco es, 𝐻(1,176) = 2.48, 𝑝 =𝑛.𝑠. Bo h women
(𝑀𝑑𝑛 = 3, 𝑀 = 2.76, 𝑆𝐷 =.87) and men (𝑀𝑑𝑛 = 3, 𝑀 = 2.48, 𝑆𝐷 =.91)
p oduced posi i e sen imen wi h almos an equal in ensi y, al hough
he mean alue is sligh ly highe o emales. Howe e , he e is a s a-
is ically signi ican e ec o gende in nega i e sen imen , 𝐻(1,176) =
3.885, 𝑝 < .05. I appea s ha women (𝑀𝑑𝑛 = −2,𝑀= −2.48,𝑆𝐷 =1.5)
gene ally p oduced sligh ly highe in ensi ies o nega i e sen imen
han men (𝑀𝑑𝑛 = −1,𝑀= −1.92,𝑆𝐷 =1.19).
No signi ican co ela ions we e ound be ween sen imen in ensi-
ies and age. Howe e , he wo d coun o he s o ies had s a is ically
signi ican co ela ions wi h bo h posi i e (𝑟=.487, 𝑝 < .001) and
nega i e (𝑟=.532, 𝑝 < .001) sen imen . We also ound a signi ican de-
pendency be ween game iden i y classes and o e all sen imen pola i y
classi ica ions, 𝜒2(4,183) = 12.17, 𝑝 < .05. The mos salien obse a ion
om he dis ibu ions is as ollows: O he 29 s o ies classi ied as
nega i e, e en 26 (89.7%) we e w i en by ac i e game s. The nega i e
sen imen s o ies we e, howe e , only 22% o he ac i e game s’ s o ies
in o al (𝑛=118), he pe cen ages o neu al and posi i e s o ies being
13.6% and 64.4% espec i ely. Al hough mos o he nega i e s o ies
we e w i en by ac i e game s, 62.8% (𝑛𝑝𝑜𝑠 =121) o he posi i e and
48.5% (𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑢𝑡 =33) o he neu al sen imen s o ies we e also w i en by
his la ges g oup o pa icipan s.
Finally we es ed i he e a e co ela ions be ween sen imen in en-
si ies and AE equencies. The esul s yielded signi ican co ela ions,
mode a e o posi i e (𝑟=.444, 𝑝 < .001) and s ong o nega i e
(𝑟=.600, 𝑝 < .001) sen imen sco es. The esul s imply ha bo h ypes
o sen imen in ensi ies go hand-in-hand wi h AE occu ences ac oss
s o ies.
4.2. Dimensions o pe sonal ememb ance (RQ #1)
Ac oss he s o ies, con en s ela ing o he dimensions o Sel -
awa eness (586 ins ances in 88.5% o he s o ies), Social ela edness (559
ins ances in 63.9% o he s o ies), and Game music expe ience (1139
ins ances in 88.0% o he s o ies) we e iden i ied. The equencies o
each ememb ance dimension pe s o y we e dis ibu ed as ollows:
Sel -awa eness (𝑀= 3.20,𝑆𝐷 = 3.16𝑀𝑖𝑛 = 0, 𝑀𝑎𝑥 = 19), Social
ela edness (𝑀=3.05, 𝑆𝐷 =4.53 𝑀𝑖𝑛 =0, 𝑀𝑎𝑥 =32), and Game
music expe ience (𝑀=6.22, 𝑆𝐷 =8.69 𝑀𝑖𝑛 =0, 𝑀𝑎𝑥 =73).
Rememb ances abou game music expe iences we e abou wo imes
mo e common in compa ison o he o he dimensions. No associa ions
wi h age o game iden i y wi h he dis ibu ion o ememb ance ypes
we e ound. The e was, howe e , signi ican e ec o gende on he
s o y con en s conce ning Sel -awa eness (𝐻(1,176) = 11.517, 𝑝 < .001)
and Social ela edness (𝐻(1,176) = 18.557, 𝑝 < .001), being obse able
in highe espec i e equencies in he s o ies o women (𝑀𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 =4.48,
𝑀𝑠𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑙 =5.85) han men (𝑀𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 =2.91, 𝑀𝑠𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑙 =2.34).
4.2.1. Thema ic sub- ypes o a ec exp essions
Fo explica ing he associa ions be ween he hema ic dimensions
and he AEs (RQ #1), we ca ied ou a ela ional analysis o how
AEs we e hema ically displayed in he s o ies. This was done h ough
de ec ing h ee sub- ypes o AEs ha ep esen co-occu ences o AEs
wi h he s o y con en s ela ing o dimensions o Sel -awa eness,Social
ela edness, o Game music expe ience. Fo each sub- ype, we p o ided
some examples in he o m o ex quo a ions ha illus a e how AEs
we e connec ed o each dimension o pe sonal ememb ance.
In all, 404 Sel -awa eness ela ed AEs (i.e., SELF-AE) we e de ec ed,
hence his was clea ly he la ges o he h ee subclasses. The mean
equency o SELF-AEs wi hin a s o y was 2.21 (𝑆𝐷 = 3.64), which is
almos a hal o he o e all equency o AEs. The dis ibu ion ac oss
he 183 s o ies was as ollows: 40.4% (𝑛𝑛𝑜𝑛𝑒 = 74) had no SELF-AEs,
exac ly same amoun o s o ies (𝑛𝑓𝑒𝑤 = 74) had 1–3 o hem, and
19.1% (𝑛𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑦 = 35) con ained mo e han h ee. The maximum numbe
o SELF-AEs in a s o y was 26.
The ollowing examples show AEs wi hin hei hema ic con ex s
including sel - e lec i e ememb ances o pas imes. These ypically
deal wi h hemes o pe sonal g ow h, coming o an age, o e com-
ing obs acles o li e, as well as o he kinds o ela ionships wi h he
game music ha e lec a pe son’s iden i y. In he quo a ions, AEs a e
highligh ed wi h bold ex , and emphasis is added o he game i le.
...I began o hink ha his game [Child o Ligh ], and also i s
music, aps in o a eeling o how I ook some key s eps owa ds
adul hood du ing ha ime. Many hings a e somehow associa ed
wi h ha eeling ha he yea s o you h a e o e : Playing he
i le song you sel (jus as was cus oma y wi h Amelie’s heme back
hen); a e u n o ideo games a e yea s o adolescence, and he
di icul s ages and losses in my close ela ionships ha o ced me
o look a li e in a new way...(male, 31)
...Sonic’s music is happy and helps me cope wi h e e yday li e. I
chee ed me up as a child when I was bullied a school...( emale,
30)
...Wi h ha game [Legend o Zelda: Oca ina o Time], I lea ned
o play, ead, and lea ned a new language, because o cou se he
game was in English. A he same ime, I also wen h ough a wide
a ie y o emo ions. You could say I kind o g ew up wi h ha
game...(male, 26)
En e ainmen Compu ing 52 (2025) 100883
8
K. Tuu i e al.
beyond gameplay (i.e., au obiog aphical memo ies o he game mu-
sic) associa e wi h ideo game music a ec ion. This unde lines he
impo ance o game music, no only wi hin games, bu gene ally in
how we engage wi h music o cons uc ing ou e e yday expe iences,
and e en ou iden i y as he pe sons who we a e. We hus conside
his esea ch as a s ep owa ds conside ing game music wi hin a wide
con ex o e e yday musical ac i i ies and di e en dimensions o
social and pe sonal li e. In mo e gene al e ms, we hope o con ibu e
o gene a ing new discussion ha lies in he in e sec ion o playe
expe ience and he b oade iew o music psychology. We belie e
ha s udying game music h ough memo ies highligh s how daily
expe iences o music a e o en meshed wi h and e en obscu ed by
he mundane con ex s and ac i i ies hey en angle wi h. Ye , upon a
e lec ion – such as he pa icipan s ha e p o ided in hei s o ies –
he ‘‘unhea d melodies’’ [c . 89] ha accompany ideo games may
inco po a e impo an and memo able expe iences in ou li es.
CRediT au ho ship con ibu ion s a emen
Kai Tuu i: W i ing – e iew & edi ing, W i ing – o iginal d a ,
Me hodology, In es iga ion, Funding acquisi ion, Fo mal analysis, Con-
cep ualiza ion. Oska i Koskela: W i ing – e iew & edi ing, Da a cu-
a ion, Concep ualiza ion. Heli Tissa i: W i ing – e iew & edi ing,
Me hodology, Da a cu a ion. Jukka Vahlo: W i ing – e iew & edi ing,
Fo mal analysis.
Decla a ion o compe ing in e es
The au ho s o his manusc ip ce i y ha hey ha e NO a ili-
a ions wi h o in ol emen in any o ganiza ion o en i y wi h any
inancial in e es (such as hono a ia; educa ional g an s; pa icipa ion
in speake s’ bu eaus; membe ship, employmen , consul ancies, s ock
owne ship, o o he equi y in e es ; and expe es imony o pa en -
licensing a angemen s), o non- inancial in e es (such as pe sonal
o p o essional ela ionships, a ilia ions, knowledge o belie s) in he
subjec ma e o ma e ials discussed in his manusc ip .
Da a a ailabili y
The codes and da a ha suppo he indings o his s udy a e
a ailable upon easonable eques om he co esponding au ho . The
ull da a is no publicly a ailable due o consen es ic ions by some
o he pa icipan s. A sligh ly limi ed e sion (177 esponden s) o he
s o y da a is a ailable as an elec onic da ase : Finnish Social Science
Da a A chi e [dis ibu o ] h ps://u n. i/u n:nbn: i: sd:T-FSD3473.
Acknowledgmen s
This wo k was unded by Kone Founda ion, Finland (Game Music
E e yday Memo ies, 201908388) and Academy o Finland (Cen e
o Excellence in Game Cul u e S udies, decision 353267; PROFI 7
JYU.Lea nDigi, decision 353325).
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