In the past decade, video games have exploded into a multi-billion-dollar industry, as is particularly evident with the rise of the esports scene. However, there still remains a misunderstanding of the value of video games in the overall mainstream arts and culture scene.
Video games are an extremely underrated art form. From the design of characters and setting to the formulation of storytelling in many video games, there are many complexities to the creation of video games that warrant academic study. Whole academic programs are now dedicated to learning how to create video games.
Academic studies into the world of video games, like Carleton professor Aubrey Anable’s work on video games, gives legitimacy to video games not simply as form of entertainment but as a real medium for self-expression.
Video games are not simply niche entertainment. Like other traditional artistic mediums such as film, the appeal of video games reaches across generations and cultures; it’s definitely worthwhile to explore how they affect and are affected by society at large.
