VIDEOGAMES ARE A MESS
Ian Bogost
WHAT IS A GAME?
Is a game a system
of rules, or is a game a
kind of narrative?
LUDOLOGY vs. NARRATOLOGY
Is a game a system
of rules, or is a game a
kind of narrative?
Is a game a system of
rules, like a story is a
system of narration?
(Yes.)
MOVE 1: An ontology of form
NARRATIVISM
“...video games are two rather different things at the
same time: video games are real in that they are
made of real rules that players actually interact with;
that winning or losing a game is a real event.
However, when winning a game by slaying a dragon,
the dragon is not a real dragon, but a fictional one.
To play a video game is therefore to interact with
real rules while imagining a fictional world and a
video game is a set of rules as well a fictional world.”
Whatever a game is,
some part of it is more
real than another.
IDEALISM vs. REALISM
Mechanics
Dynamics
Aesthetics
Operational Logics
(Mateas & Wardrip-Fruin)
MOVE 2: Games exist on
multiple levels, but some
are more real than others
SEGREGATIONIST
vs.
INTEGRATIONIST
MOVE 3: Players enact rules
in contexts to create games.
PLATFORM STUDIES
MOVE 4: ?
Being is for Subjects
“No—he will simply add—perhaps only to himself, but
add it he will—something like a simple codicil, always
the same one, which he will discreetly append to the
end of the phrase: event Y occured X number of years
before the emergence of humans—for humans (or
even, for the human scientist).”
Speculative Realism
“The human/world relation is just a
special case of the relation between
any two entities whatsoever.”
FLAT ONTOLOGY
Interpretive! Fiction! ! Player!! Reception
Formal! ! ! Rules! ! Game!! Material!!
Interpretive Fiction Player Reception Form Rules Game Material
AD
95
09
80
BE
10
F9
D0
24
00
0A
27
05
1A
0A
F0
39
C8
C9
90
DA
4B
A9
05
F8
10
29
C9
A9
F9
A9
12
E3
20
E8
18
CA
E0
85
EF
CA
98
1D
09
A9
A9
05
18
FF
CA
7F
07
0E
A6
0A
A5
10
8E
24
65
24
86
8C
24
F0
05
A9
C9
06
05
C5
90
4C
10
85
D0
85
A1
85
91
25
BF
CB
DD
CA
B0
A5
94
04
83
00
60
85
20
80
06
7F
EB
80
03
A3
10
D2
09
A4
84
D0
85
D0
16
80
30
A2
D0
90
B0
80
80
D0
A5
BC
85
20
4C
A5
03
D0
40
E5
8C
05
DD
04
A9
C9
EB
0C
41
29
05
20
BF
2E
80
A2
02
E3
38
80
4C
08
85
10
84
E8
A5
A9
8D
04
A5
D0
C9
A9
98
E3
B0
86
C9
04
85
BA
B4
85
39
A5
91
0B
E3
24
D2
10
85
90
9C
02
29
03
09
BA
44
A1
06
85
2A
46
24
A6
B1
81
26
26
88
CC
C9
95
8A
03
85
A2
B0
D0
04
A5
95
20
B0
02
68
E2
E3
A9
B5
29
A2
E4
84
F0
90
CA
8A
4C
D7
08
04
25
D0
81
A5
90
12
B5
85
24
10
05
A2
0F
38
38
A1
06
90
A5
29
E8
A5
86
A9
A6
0C
29
BD
BE
65
95
96
EB
1B
85
30
09
66
66
84
A9
16
D2
0F
B1
96
83
01
9C
A9
03
95
4C
83
A8
AA
30
50
A9
EE
20
A2
E4
A6
80
A2
29
38
24
85
C9
D0
E0
FF
C9
BD
44
A8
B9
BD
06
19
85
8A
95
26
20
84
95
02
0F
E9
91
D6
3B
39
13
D0
03
95
B2
B9
00
00
A5
A5
AC
D0
CA
A3
AA
A3
CA
A9
85
03
70
A0
90
C9
90
08
F0
AB
0A
FC
BC
BC
80
A1
24
1E
A9
38
BF
D0
D0
F0
D2
AA
F9
00
01
51
06
C8
54
BD
0A
BD
95
85
C9
10
94
A2
9C
66
4C
47
2F
24
A6
C9
24
A6
C8
90
E0
C9
AA
92
0A
30
20
D5
08
15
10
02
85
A3
38
A2
A5
CC
A1
03
33
80
A5
04
28
40
B5
BD
85
0A
29
4C
D0
A2
03
B5
8A
D0
B4
00
D2
F0
36
B0
30
86
9C
A9
90
90
A5
95
83
85
0F
AB
03
01
4C
CA
4C
74
C6
A9
4A
0A
A2
07
06
D8
C9
02
13
F2
10
A8
B5
83
A8
BC
4C
86
53
30
30
A9
E5
10
4A
CA
38
A9
A9
F0
21
D0
A0
C8
29
A9
A2
B5
88
A5
38
A1
B1
09
B1
8C
A2
24
4A
24
76
80
00
20
90
31
03
D0
B5
0B
10
A2
10
E2
B4
20
24
CA
E0
85
15
CA
4A
CB
A2
95
85
CA
02
A5
C9
EF
A2
95
05
29
FD
10
A5
90
37
10
02
8A
A0
D0
F0
F0
30
CA
D9
F0
C8
9C
20
85
30
A2
A9
F0
IMBROGLIO
VIDEOGAMES ARE A MESS
fin