The World Is Born from Zero - (Video Games and the Humanities) by Cameron Kunzelman (Paperback)
About this item
Highlights
- The World is Born From Zero is an investigation into the relationship between video games and science fiction through the philosophy of speculation.
- About the Author: Cameron Kunzelman, Mercer University, Macon, Georgia, USA.
- 206 Pages
- History, Study & Teaching
- Series Name: Video Games and the Humanities
Description
About the Book
While the formal speculative qualities of written material and films are well known and understood, the techniques of speculation that are unique to games are undertheorised. By looking to two short games (VA-11 HALL-A and The Hard Way) whose primarBook Synopsis
The World is Born From Zero is an investigation into the relationship between video games and science fiction through the philosophy of speculation. Cameron Kunzelman argues that the video game medium is centered on the evaluation and production of possible futures by following video game studies, media philosophy, and science fiction studies to their furthest reaches. Claiming that the best way to understand games is through rigorous formal analysis of their aesthetic strategies and the cultural context those strategies emerge from, Kunzelman investigates a diverse array of games like The Last of Us, VA-11 Hall-A, and Civilization VI in order to explore what science fiction video games can tell us about their genres, their ways of speculating, and how the medium of the video game does (or does not) direct us down experiential pathways that are both oppressive and liberatory. Taking a multidisciplinary look at these games, The World is Born From Zero offers a unique theorization of science fiction games that provides both science fiction studies and video game studies with new tools for thinking how this medium and mode inform each other.
From the Back Cover
The World is Born From Zero is an investigation into the relationship between video games and science fiction through the philosophy of speculation. Cameron Kunzelman argues that the video game medium is centered on the evaluation and production of possible futures by following video game studies, media philosophy, and science fiction studies to their furthest reaches. Claiming that the best way to understand games is through rigorous formal analysis of their aesthetic strategies and the cultural context those strategies emerge from, Kunzelman investigates a diverse array of games like The Last of Us, VA-11 Hall-A, and Civilization VI in order to explore what science fiction video games can tell us about their genres, their ways of speculating, and how the medium of the video game does (or does not) direct us down experiential pathways that are both oppressive and liberatory. Taking a multidisciplinary look at these games, The World is Born from Zero offers a unique theorization of science fiction games that provides both science fiction studies and video game studies with new tools for thinking how this medium and mode inform each other.
About the Author
Cameron Kunzelman, Mercer University, Macon, Georgia, USA.