Videogame Formalism: On Form, Aesthetic Experience and Methodology

Formalism in game studies is often misunderstood and criticized, but Videogame Formalism offers a comprehensive and flexible methodological framework for analyzing games' aesthetic experiences through poetic gameplay devices. It explores the historical and theoretical roots of formalist approaches and situates them within games studies, providing insights into the ways games create aesthetic experiences.

Format: Hardback
Length: 264 pages
Publication date: 11 December 2023
Publisher: Amsterdam University Press

Formalism is a broad term encompassing various ontological and methodological approaches in game studies, often lacking historical or traditional connections to other fields. This dilution of the approach can lead to unfounded criticism. Videogame Formalism seeks to address these concerns by exploring the historical and theoretical foundations of formalist approaches to videogame analysis, positioning it within the broader field of games studies, and advocating for its significance and applicability as a methodological toolkit and theoretical framework for understanding the aesthetic experience of videogames. It provides an overview of how formalist approaches can reveal the mechanisms through which games create aesthetic experiences through the use of poetic gameplay devices, and offers a comprehensive yet flexible methodological framework for conducting a formalist analysis of games. This approach is exemplified through a series of detailed examples and case studies.

Weight: 586g
Dimension: 161 x 241 x 21 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9789463720663