Videogame as Media Practice

Abstract

Our aim in this article is to explore videogames as new media practices, not in isolation but as part of broader media transformations related to the development of current digital technologies. Videogames are the product of a hybridization process between audiovisual media forms and game cultures, rapidly gaining popularity among kids and the elderly population. The experience of audiovisual consumption and aesthetic pleasure is enhanced by interactive and game amusement components not found in previous audiovisual genres such as cinema or TV. In fact, videogames situate `play' at the core of the audiovisual experience, introducing innovative changes in audiovisual production and reception patterns. Our proposal is that videogames introduce a new relationship between subject and representation that goes far beyond the `spectatorship' position, pointing to a playful relationship with images that may be useful for understanding new forms of media practices. Videogames, thus, as a new media practice, can be seen as an exponent of greater change not only regarding how media are produced and consumed, but also in the way leisure is organized and in the role of play in our everyday life.