Video Games as Culture and Experience

Dominique Gerald M. CimafrancaComputer Studies DivisionAteneo de Davao University

Web: www.villageidiotsavant.comTwitter: @dcimafranca

Sorry for the boring title.

I thought I had to make itsound impressive.

Because you know. Ateneo.

Confession: How I REALLYgot cervical spondylosislast summer.

Actually....

What makes video gamesso compelling?

A lot of it depends onthe personality of theplayer.

“Maybe I'll get a betterscore this time....”

Spirit of challengefor the obsessive-compulsivein all of us

“How do I solve thisproblem?”

Games as puzzlesfor the budding engineers

“What happens next?”

Discovery and Story.

An AdventurerIs you!

Video games as FictionFramework of a story... ….many branches in the narrative ...with multiple possible endings.

Agency – the capacity for action – in the player.

“Video games can never be art.”

Roger Ebert (1942-2013)

What is art?

An an arrangement of elementsin a way that appeals to thesenses and shapes the emotions

...experience

Experience => Culture

Culture – capacity to representexperiences with symbols...

...to act creatively and imaginatively...

...to share that experience with others.....

But....what about us?

Consumer –--------------- Producer

Questions?

Video Games as Culture and Experience

Dominique Gerald M. CimafrancaComputer Studies DivisionAteneo de Davao University

Web: www.villageidiotsavant.comTwitter: @dcimafranca