Even after reading Bitzer for the third time, I have to
admit that I’m struggling a bit to apply his concepts to game design. Not to
say I don’t understand what he’s talking about, I do, but it’s just frustrating
to think about games that way. I’ve guess always thought of games as just
something you do for fun, or to kill some time, but with Bitzer, games are this
whole complicated thing with discourse here and exigency there and I’m just not
wrapping my head around it.
Take the situation for example - why do people design video
games? I assume to simply make money, but how should I know. Maybe they’re
trying to teach some life lesson, or inspire creativity, or maybe they’re just
bored. I grew up having to listen to my parents saying video games are a waste
of time, so for me I don’t really see a whole lot of reasons for games other
than they’re fun to play and they relieve stress.
Then there’s the whole discourse thing. Is
the act of designing video games rhetorical discourse, or is playing the games
discourse? Is there any discourse? It’s all just really confusing for me right now. Maybe I’m
over thinking it or maybe I’m just tired...leave it to Bitzer.
I think you're right: there's definitely an economic element driving contemporary work with games. But there are also so many independent developers and underdog start-up companies that seem to be driven by their passion for making games that are both meaningful as well as fun. And this is where some of the most interesting productions seem to be springing up!
ReplyDeleteYou ask a great question: "Is the act of designing video games rhetorical discourse, or is playing the games discourse?" - There are a lot of elements going on here. Some games are inherently social and foster discourse. Some games make arguments that participate in certain discourses. And gamers themselves have their own discourse community: shared ideas, interests, and ways of speaking about the world and games.