Videogames have been the source of much debate. From one of
the greatest film critics saying that videogames cannot be art (rest in peace, Ebert) to one of the
most prominent videogame scholars saying that videogame analysis should focuson ludic elements to a top videogame scholar creating a reductive taxonomyauthoritatively stating what is and is not a game (a taxonomy that, curiously,
supports his claims that videogames are not about story, and you can thank Jesper Juul for this one), people have seen
videogames as a mechanics-only form of media that is somehow less than otherforms of art. Of course, not everyone agrees with this. People ranging from
scholars attempting to establish a videogame canon to museums creatingvideogame exhibits to scholars exploring the narrative potential of videogameshave also explored the non-ludic aspects of gaming. One such aspect that has
largely been left unexplored is whether games can incorporate literary or
artistic traditions into their design. For this piece, I will hastily attempt
to answer the question of whether videogames can be period pieces.
