Critical gaming discourse
January 18, 2008
I chatted today with Richard Terrell, author of an ambitious new blog called Critical-Gaming. Terrell believes we have yet to develop a sufficient critical discourse for games, and his blog is an effort to address that fact:
Because game design isn't taught in our colleges and universities, it doesn't have a centralized school of thought. The body of knowledge is scattered at best. For this reason, it is hard for a thorough understanding of game design and critique to become widespread.
I have started this blog in efforts to inform both gamers and non-gamers of the complexities of gaming and how it compares to any other art forms (music, literature, moves). Borrowing from literary critical theory, I am in the process of developing 8 primary critical modes for videogame critique. Classical criticism. Player Response. Structuralism. Deconstruction. Psychoanalytic criticism. New Historical criticism. Feminist criticism. Marxist criticism.
I did mention he's ambitious.
His latest project is The Bioshock Discourse, which is a flash-based branching presentation tree designed to compile key reviews, critical essays, forum discussions and other related information devoted to Bioshock in an accessible visual format. Very cool and very useful, especially as an historical record of the vigorous response to this important game.
You can check out Terrell's blog here.
Spread that game blogger love.