In his essay “Play Along – An Approach to Videogame Music,” Zach Whalen describes the role of music (which for the sake of argument will include the actual music during gameplay along with the sound effects encountered throughout the game) as an essential part to video games.  One of the trajectories that Whalen states musical sound follows is expanding the concept of a game’s fictional world.  One of the best examples I can think of that allows the operator to further enter the game through the musical soundtrack is the original Tony Hawk Pro Skater.  Whenever the player would drop into the two minute course, a different alternative punk song would come on to give the operator a sense of actually being the skater listening to a music track while slashing around town.  However, when I think back to memories I have of playing Tony Hawk, the first thing that comes to mind is the soundtrack rather than the gameplay itself.  While there are other elements of the game that stick out, such as collecting tapes and button mashing ridiculous trick combos, the soundtrack still sticks out as being one of the best parts of playing Tony Hawk.  If I were to say that one of the best parts of playing a video game was the soundtrack, I would most likely not think highly of the gameplay.  Despite this fact, Tony Hawk became a classic for the Nintendo 64.  The question that I have from this conclusion is whether or not the music in a game can surpass other elements of game, such as the gameplay itself, in an effort to boost the overall experience of the game?  Can the musical satisfaction of beating a level, such as at the end of any Super Mario level, give more joy to the player than just the pure satisfaction of beating a level?  Does the music in a game expand the concept of the game as Whalen states, or does the music set up a basis for the game to follow throughout the narrative that the gameplay must expand upon?