Video games are difficult to classify. While some consider games to be mindless pastimes, others view them as unique works of digital literature. Video games can come in many different styles, all which have their own unique purpose or motive. These games can be used as a means of experiencing a story, or leisure time with friends and family. Some seek to engage the user in an insightful storyline as played through an animated character, while others simply satisfy the addictive habituality of simple key strokes as explained by Michael Clune. Nonetheless, there is a hidden line that separates certain games from being classified as pieces of electronic literature. There is one important thing to take away from this. Although this line may be hard to define, and some games may fall in both categories, certain games can be classified as electronic literature, and others can not.
This distinction is often based on the story behind the game. Certain games like Skyrim or Mass Effect may have unquestionable literary characteristics and contributions to make, but the demographic served by these games is limited. Females and (ideally) youths may not be as drawn to them. What about the consideration of games like Mario Kart? An avid Mario Kart player will see a lot of the same characters that have been in Mario’s games since Donkey Kong in 1981. Throughout the decades, all of the characters have been the same, and the plot lines have been remarkably aligned. This continuity, even in a simple Mario game, highlights not only nostalgic accessibility, but also the capability of a game to forge and maintain its own world.
It is helpful to confront some misconceptions about video games through a few valuable perspectives of individuals in our readings. Video games are often notorious as time-wasters, known for encouraging counterproductive behavior. They can cause health problems. They prevent oneself from doing work. But anyone can say this for everything people do for recreation. Movies, reading, sleeping. It’s impossible to draw a line. Still, video games are rarely an addiction. Michael Clune discusses how video games helped him “overcome his addictive nature.” “Computer games have enhanced and enriched my life while drugs and alcohol turned me into a walking corpse.” His observations and contrasting points between gaming habits and addiction are enlightening. Video games are not mindless. In Sherry Turkle’s article “Video Games and Computer Holding Power,” Matthew, a twenty-nine year old economist, considers a game’s potential to lead a player “into another mental space where the thoughts and the cares of his day cannot intrude.” Denying the positive aspects of gaming, or misrepresenting the negatives, will get us nowhere in this discussion.
Another characteristic of gaming as an element of digital humanities, while not essential, is graphics. The quality and realism of graphics in nearly every video game has become better with advances in technology. Ultimately, these graphics can make a plot line more immersive and the interaction more natural. This helps the player become a part of the game itself, making it much easier to see the game as a story. Modern graphics can be wholly considered works of art, so why shouldn't the stories behind them be considered literature? At the core, though, do graphics matter? What about the text adventures we have explored the last few days in class? Perhaps the beauty of the medium is being able to convey a gripping story without them.
Where is the line drawn at which a video game can engage the psyche at a level of depth comparable to, perhaps, the literary classics? Many would argue that the Halo series (or even Pong) presents significantly more narrative depth than your typical romance novel. Modern gaming is capable of delivering not only the computer “microworlds” that gaming has always existed in, but also immersive, character-driven, narrative-based stories that confront human themes and engage the player as part of a new, avatar-based existence not governed by the limits of their home reality.
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