Video Game Studies?

I saw on the news over breakfast today that the eleventh annual video game awards have just been held. You can probably tell I’m not much of a ‘gamer’: the last time I played anything resembling a computer game was well over twenty years ago. Yet the fact that there are now awards ceremonies associated with the computer game industry seems to me to give rise to a few interesting questions. These awards were established in 2014, and obviously attempt to emulate the Oscars. If so, could it be said that these awards are an attempt by the game industry to put itself on a cultural parr with film? An overt statement of equal intellectual and cultural importance; sort of like declaring computer games to just be films which you can play. After all, look at any first person game and it’s aesthetic is very similar to that of a film.

However, if that is the case, that gives rise to some quite interesting questions. If computer games can now be categorised alongside other art forms like film or literature, to what extent can they now be studied? Academic film studies has it’s origins in the 1950s (at least); it is a fascinating, complex intellectual discourse. Might a similar discourse now arise around games and gaming? After all, people have begun talking about games in great detail, particularly online: the question that interests me is whether such discussions have reached the same intellectual and philosophical level film studies reached largely due to the work of writers like Roland Barthes and Andre Bazin.

5 thoughts on “Video Game Studies?”

  1. Oh yes! They absolutely have reached that level. like you mentioned, there are countless online discussions, amazing video essays, and more about video game genres. I love watching these. And not just about the games but the fanbases the games attract too. there are some philosophical books written about video games too. And i understand video games are still niche. almost everyone watches film, but muuuuuuch less people have ever played a console game (but many people play solitaire and match-3 games on their phone. those are still video games, but i digress), so the discussions are niche and philosophers of video games are making video essays and podcasts to cultivate community. Video games are ubiquitous but not, yet “Gamergate” had an impact on in the US because it was like the beginning of the “red pill” movement (i’m not sure if “gamergate” influenced the UK and other parts of the world). I guess in so many words video games and gamers are a subculture and deserve an award ceremony to celebrate their talents and hard work, from the designers to the actors.

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      1. i freaking love movies and love to watch “let’s plays.” Games I feel like are movies are the choice-based games like Tell-Tale games or the game “Beyond: Two Souls,” “Life is Strange,” “Heavy Rain,” “Detroit: Become Human,” or “Until Dawn.” These games use motion-capture. “Undertale” and “Skyrim”/”Elder Scrolls” are fan-favorites.

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      2. Yes, but how do we conflate that with notions like auteurism, where a director of a film is the source of it’s meaning? Films tell stories which stem from their directors; they are the same every time you watch them. Computer games, on the other hand, are controlled by players; they are different every time you play them. Thus the two are completely different.

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      3. that’s a great question. there are video games with linear storytelling and the creators want you to explore the themes they are presenting. there are games about grief, games about mental illness, and other topics. the video game experience can be different based on your actions, but you’ll still understand and be impacted by the story. And even the choice-based games have themes and stories. You’re experiencing the game the way the creators want you to experience the game the way they intended. Everything created in video games have a purpose. And movies and video games are about the experience with friends and peers too. Movies bring people together. Video games do the same thing. Man, i’m trying to think video essayists but there are SO many exploring this. Some that come to mind is “nakeyjakey” “game theory” and “bizlychannel.” There’s also “hbomberguy” a fellow English man haha

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