Off Book | Video Games, the latest episode of the ongoing web documentary series by PBS Arts, takes a closer look of the evolution of video games and why the are important to society. Game designer Eric Zimmerman, game studies scholar Jesper Juul, game journalist Leigh Alexander and game designer and curator Syed Salahuddin are all featured in this episode.
Video games are important. They are a storytelling medium, a place for self-expression, a sandbox for the human imagination, and an extension of an ages old tradition of gaming. We play out some of the most essential aspects of our culture in games, and we learn more about ourselves and the world around us in the process. From the powerful cinematic experiences of mainstream gaming, to the hyper-personal environments of indie games, we are in the midst of an explosion of gaming activity that, as some predict, will continue to define the way we live and interact with information, and each other, far into the future.
