1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910832998403321

Autore

Mitchell Alex

Titolo

Videogame Formalism : On Form, Aesthetic Experience and Methodology / / Jasper van Vught, Alex Mitchell

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Amsterdam : , : Amsterdam University Press, , [2023]

2023

ISBN

90-485-5423-3

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (264 p.)

Collana

Games and Play ; ; Volume 10

Soggetti

Games

Video games - Authorship

Video games - Philosophy

Video games - Structure

Video games - Aesthetics

Video games - Criticism and interpretation

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Sommario/riassunto

Formalism is often used as an all-embracing term covering a range of ontological and methodological approaches in game studies, with little connection to the history or tradition of the approach in other fields. This dilutes the usefulness of the approach, and invites (often unfounded) criticism. Videogame Formalism addresses these issues through an exploration of the historical and theoretical roots of formalist approaches to videogame analysis, situating this approach within games studies, and arguing for its importance and applicability as a methodological toolkit and a theoretical framework for understanding the aesthetic experience of videogames. It presents an overview of how formalist approaches can provide insights into the ways games create aesthetic experiences through the use of poetic gameplay devices, and lays out a comprehensive yet flexible methodological framework for undertaking a formalist analysis of games. This approach is then demonstrated through a series of detailed examples and case studies.