Videogames Killed Authorial Intent

Last updated on: January 25, 2011 at 8:42 am by Richard Clark

Videogames Killed Authorial Intent 2011-01-25T08:42:49-07:00 Richard Clark

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

A few days ago, Kill Screen Magazine’s web site published the first of a regular series I’m writing for them called “Top Down.” It’s basically a series of posts that draws out the worldview impressions and implications that games have, as a result of their story, mechanics, and aesthetics. I started with the obvious choice: Hydro Thunder Hurricane.

Okay, so it’s not so obvious. How can a game about racing boats in crazy environments with arcade gameplay imply anything deeper than “whoah”? Well, you’ll have to read the article for the answer to that question.

Still, even after reading, you may think it’s a little bit of a stretch. After all, even the developers of the game, Vector Unit, tweeted that the article was “highly amusing”, and well, that’s not exactly what I was going for. In reality, I was attempting to draw out some of the dangers of escapism and avoidance, and point out ways that Hydro Thunder (whether consciously or not) draws these dangers out.

Still, I had to consider whether it was valid to write about impressions and implications that were not intended by the original designers. In other words, when it comes to writing about games, how important is authorial intent?

Christians love to go on about the importance of authorial intent, and I used to do the same. When it came to novels, movies, music, the main question at hand was “what is the author trying to say?”. We can go from there. Lately, I’ve started to move a little on that issue, but that’s a topic for another, longer post. With games, though, it’s clear: it’s not about the author. In fact, the authors are so numerous, and the development cycle is such a collaborative endeavor, that the author’s intent is nearly impossible to isolate most of the time. Not to mention that the best games excel at providing an experience that differs drastically from one player to the other. The developers can guide this experience, but subtle differences in how the game is played can change the meaning drastically.

Let’s discuss this in the comments. Is it possible to interpret the author’s intent in a game? Should we even try? What are some experiences you’ve had in a game that you’ve found to differ drastically from the experiences of others?

http://www.killscreenmagazine.com/articles/top-down-hydro-thunder-hurricane

Asides

Previous Post

January 25, 2011

The Most Popular Posts of 2010: #6 - Hipster Christianity: Did You Know That You're a Hipster?

Next Post

January 26, 2011 What is Our Place in Kanye’s Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Asides Elsewhere Featured Film Games General Culture Headline Literature Music Of the Moment Podcast Politics RetroPost Sports Technology Television Uncategorized Viral

Select a Month February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz