THE VIDEO GAME PLAYER: REGARDING THE ARCADE MACHINE

Leslie Rising
49 minutes ago
2 min read

Justo Navarro

Between the games of the last century and those of today, when screens are miniaturized, intimate and invasive, omnipresent, the video gamer follows the unique flow of electronic fiction and escapism. With the computer (of whatever type, from the phone to virtual reality headsets) transformed into a storehouse, producer, and distributor of multiple signals and images, a filter through which to relate to reality, video games are the magic circle in which the essential elements of the entertainment industry merge: films, advertising, information, comics, art, literature, music—you name it—images of images industrially repeated.

Video games have copied all media, just as all media now copy video games, which years ago reached the hallowed halls of high mass culture—museums—while game worlds invaded the real-life settings of players. A continuity was emerging between the imaginary world of the video game and the player's real world, who suddenly saw their immediate reality appear on the screen as part of the game's universe. And while in the real world, for example, they had to locate their prey in a hunting game, their video games were forging closer ties with new economic models and new social bonds.

In the age of video games, leisure time and occupied time seem to merge. As intelligent machines reduced the number of human workers needed and leisure time expanded, computers became machines for entertainment, and the absence of forced labor, largely dedicated to purchasing (for example, lives and resources to continue participating in an online game), proved to be a structural component of the new economy. Even interactions with public and corporate authorities through computers now resemble the logic of a video game: the program forces the user to act according to a very limited set of possibilities. Like the citizen in front of the computer, the video game player must obey, as automatically as possible, the commands dictated as figures appear on the screen. Automatic obedience has become an industrialized mass pastime.

Delving into the aesthetic dimension and sociopolitical implications of video games, with erudition wisely seasoned with engaging style and guided by proven literary skill, Justo Navarro makes his essay debut with a text brimming with unexpected connections and astute insights. He tackles a relatively unexplored area in the Hispanic world with an inquisitive spirit and well-documented rigor. Virtual world and real world, political theory and comparative studies, reflections on language and interactivity: a foundational and essential volume.

PUBLICATION DETAILS

LANGUAGE	BINDING	EDITION	ISBN	YEAR	PAGES
Spanish	Paperback		9788433964120	2017	160

OTHER NAMES

El videojugador: A propósito de la máquina recreativa