Theoretical Approach/Methodology

The theoretical approach for this piece will be to examine, contrast, and compare such cultural productions as films, television series, literature, performance art, and games themselves, particularly from the last ten years, that display evidence of a change in attitude towards aesthetics in popular culture.  This approach will be used to attempt testing of the hypothesis that games are becoming a contemporary style for culture, with an underlying aesthetic desire for productions to resemble games and gaming culture, and that this desire can both be seen and categorised in modern cultural productions. For the sake of these arguments, this newly proposed style will be referred to as the ‘Ludic Aesthetic’.

Cultural examples will be presented from the viewpoint of both gamer and academic, and will be examined closely enough to try and make the sensation of the Ludic’s presence felt by others less immersed in the gaming industry; essentially drawing this new aesthetic out for others to see.  In the supposition that the drive towards the Ludic Aesthetic stems from a range of factors within both the capitalist economy and the digital cultures sphere, the findings and propositions will be grounded in both established and evolving theoretical frameworks, drawing on the findings of traditional and modern philosophies and the ongoing work of experts in the digital cultures field.  A section of the research undertaken will focus on undertaking digital research, and defining the results found as a test point for this relatively new academic field.

In order to develop the research hypothesis, reference will be made to the work of long-established academics in digital cultures, such as Lev Manovich, Marshall McLuhan, Stephen Shaviro, Walter Benjamin, Charlie Gere, Espen Aarseth, Dan Pinchbeck, Janet Murray, and to the pre-digital cultures philosopher of the human desire to play, Johan Huizinga.  Some examination of the underlying, underpinning philosophies within the sphere will also be required, as many aspects of digital cultures are relevant to research in the gaming field generally, such as internet connectivity, developing smartphone use, mediation remediation and dismediation, and the building tension between augmented and virtual realities.  Part of the research will consist of referral to, and utilisation of, the accumulated two-year body of research engendered by this author within the field, which examines individual elements of the overall arguments presented here.

It is finally considered important to note that in order to make sense of this style of research, it is necessary for the author to have a familiarity with, and insight into, videogaming, and in fact to be a gamer, as well as an academic.  It can be argued that an original lack of familiarity with videogaming, video game styles, player preferences and videogame immersion generally in academia led to the early schism between narratology and ludology, to the detriment of understanding overall, and it is this area of latent disassociation that this style of research essentially falls within.  While the level of direct gaming experience is perhaps irrespective, with the status of a gamer as amateur, professional, or even just occasional being immaterial, it can still be argued that an understanding of videogaming is required in order to successfully develop this subject’s understanding.

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