Aesthetic Theory and the Video Game (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780719077180)

This book draws on aesthetic theory, including ideas from the history of painting, music and dance, to offer a fresh perspective on the video game as a popular cultural form. It argues that games like Grand Theft Auto and Elektroplankton are aesthetic objects that appeal to players because they offer an experience of form, as this idea was understood by philosophers like Immanuel Kant and Theodor Adorno.

Video games are awkward objects that have defied efforts to categorise them within established academic disciplines and intellectual frameworks. Yet no one can deny their importance in re-configuring contemporary culture and their influence can be seen in contemporary film, television, literature, music, dance and advertising. This book argues that their very awkwardness should form the starting point for a proper analysis of what games are and the reasons for their popularity. This book will appeal to anyone with a serious interest in the increasingly playful character of contemporary capitalist culture.

Author: Graeme Kirkpatrick
ISBN-10: 0719077184
ISBN-13: 9780719077180
Publisher: Manchester University Press
Language: English
Published: 08/31/2011
Pages: 256
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.60lbs
Size: 7.70h x 5.00w x 0.60d

Review Citation(s):
Choice 05/01/2012