Sutton-Smith and the video game (not) as automaton
Reading “A Brief Biography of Computer Games” by Lowood and he quotes Sutton-Smith 1986 as saying:
Of all the toys that are machines and that work by themselves and can be enjoyed in solitude for endless periods of time, the apotheosis is undoubtedly today’s video game. The “video game” is an automaton that might have made Descartes shout with delight. (pp. 61-62)
Now, I must admit an ignorance of Descartes’ “automaton” but the idea of video games being the apotheosis of “machines that can be enjoyed in solitude” is a bit odd.
One thing that games, these days especially, are not is something solitary. Every gaming experience, whether online or offline is a shared experience simply by the fact that players have a common experience. Common reference points, cultural outgrowths, “insights” into the topic at hand, etc are all things which “solitary” players share.
yeah, ran out of thought there…I know there was a great example I thought of a couple days ago that summed it all up, but can’t remember it now….