The cultural status of video games and the question of the author.

Abstract

Video games are already a medium with a historical development long enough to have unfolded debates and complex reflections on its cultural status. This text analyses the main coordinates of that status, attending to ontological and specially social complexities, and focuses on a central discursive element: the question of the author. Video game authorship arises from general accepted ideas about the creative process, the medium’s own production specificities, and legitimation strategies. Three recent examples of strategies for constructing the author as a cultural marker are offered here: the figure of Hideo Kojima, the Playdate Podcast, and the short documentary Tribute.