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March ‘09 Round Table – Updated 04-01
By Corvus | March 31, 2009
Although February’s Round Table was a bit slower than January, there were plenty of excellent posts that are well worth a read. This month’s Round Table topic is the third and final topic in our literary series.
March ‘09
About the Author: This month’s topic turns the literary focus from the medium, to the author. If you submitted a post to either the January or February topics, feel free to write about the process you underwent in converting literary themes into gameplay. Did you struggle with anything in particular? Are you satisfied that your game design(s) communicated what you intended? Have subsequent comments or idea made you wish you could go back and start he process over? And how much does your design say about you and your own interpretation of the themes of the source material?Alternately feel free to turn your focus to another game designer, or to game designers in general. In literature we frequently “hear” the author’s voice in their work. Stephen King, Margaret Atwood, Tom Robbins–these are excellent examples of authors whose voices are quite recognizable. Through reading their works, we feel we come to feel we know them, to understand their philosophies. There are a handful of games where the “author” can clearly be heard through the work. How closely tied is this to the thematic content of the games and how exactly did they communicate these themes to their audience? And should they have, or should video game designer try to remain out of their work, allowing the player to establish their own themes through gameplay?
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- Mar. 4 – The Select Button: About the Author. Brian opens the Round Table with a look at autership and Metal Gear Solid.
- Mar. 5 – Living Epic: About (the lack of) Author. Roger, with his gaze firmly on the audience, discusses the (lack of) importance authorship ultimately has.
- Mar. 5 – Wall Street Journal (honorary entry): Game Designers Gain Notoriety. Jamin provides some food for thought with this article on the fading anonymity of game designers.
- Mar. 7 – Mind’s Eye: The mad scribbles of a game designer. Josh takes a look at his own process when designing a Jekyll & Hyde game and draws upon that experience to talk about issues of authorship in video games.
- Mar. 8 – Write the Game: About the Author. Kiera ponders whether Sid Meier’s politics really show through his games.
- Mar. 10 – Deirdra Kiai Productions: A Message from the Author. Deirdra discusses the importance of the author and expresses just a bit of envy.
- Mar. 18 – nongames.com: Game Design and Authorship. Chico discussed the balance of control between auteur and audience.
- Mar. 19 – TTNN: January Introspection. David takes a look at his own process of translating Junji Ito’s manga, Uzumaki, into a board game.
- Mar 19 – Show & Tell: Omelas, Post Mortem. Alex discusses the inspiration and thought process behind his January BoRT entry.
- Mar. 21 – Groping the Elephant: Shattered Glass. Justin takes a look at a former studio with a strong authorial voice.
- Mar. 24 – The Autumnal City: Translating Identity. Travis turns his critical eye on authorship and identity.
- Mar. 25 – Worldmaker.net: The Role of the Auter in Games. Max pursues a broader definition of auteur.
- Mar. 25 – The Game Critique: Fumito Ueda. Eric stands in the shadow of a colossus, Fumito Ueda.
- Mar. 28 – Gamer Quest: About the Author. Angelo explores the work of Uruguayan game developer, Gonzalo Frasca.
- Mar. 31 – Philosophy of Interactive Technology & Media: About the Author. 22 Temple students join this month’s BoRT as part of their mid-terms.
- Mar. 31 – Cult of the Turtle: The Role of the Author. Joe muses about authors, directors, and control.
- Mar. 31 – Man Bytes Blog: About the Ego. I (what else?) get my rant on about publishers and teamwork.
- Mar. 31 – Elements of Meaning: Translation, Ambiguity, and Restrictive Definitions of Genre and Medium. Erik covers the slippery nature of authorship as it relates to video games.
- Mar. 31 – Peanut Butter and Bacon: [Insert Confused Cartoon Face Here]. Jonathan discusses his thought processes as he designed a game about autism.
Tagged:Blogs of the Round Table. | 1 Comment »
March 2nd, 2009 at 5:41 pm
Sounds like a great topic in light of the many discussion about “authorial intent” in recent games. Can’t wait to see what folks come up with!