"Tether and Accretions : Fantasy as Form in Videogames," Christopher Geotz
Christopher Goetz, a BCNM Designated Emphais student and Film & Media PhD candidate, recently published an article about videogames in the academic journal, Games and Culture (2012 7: 419) entitled "Tether and Accretions : Fantasy as Form in Videogames". Here is a link to the article, which can be accessed for free from any campus-based connection, or from off-campus with a proxy server:
"Tether and Accretions : Fantasy as Form in Videogames", Christopher Geotz (Games and Culture 2012 7: 419)
Below is an abstract of the article, which engages ongoing debates about videogame medium specificity:
I argue that videogames are structured by conscious fantasy. This project traces two fantasies (tether and accretions) that combine into the genre of the role-playing game, providing a rough timeline for the evolution of these fantasies in videogames. It also engages in close readings of individual works that highlight important aspects of each fantasy. This study can serve as the basis for a formal analysis of games that is reinforced by their divided nature (game and story). Fantasy can serve as an intermediate term between game and story, and as such can incorporate the player into a game’s formal analysis. I also argue that videogames teach us that fantasy is a better term for describing media convergence than story. Note that ‘‘fantasy’’ here does not refer to the literary genre but rather to a dynamic psychological concept related to play.