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Reflections
CVGS 2022

Reflections

By December 10, 2022No Comments

I remember the day Professor Jagoda went through a critical analysis of Braid, and how I felt afterwards. For lack of a better explanation, here’s what I mentioned in the Discord that night:

Now that we’re at the end of the quarter, I can’t help but still feel this way — with some caveats of course. As one of our classmates responded to me, games are also meant to be a source of enjoyment; they don’t necessarily always have to have a deeper meaning. However, I think that sometimes that enjoyment comes from doing the work of figuring out what elements of a game are behind why you take such a liking to it, and why someone else might like it as well — whether it be the mechanics, the narrative, or even the aesthetic of the game.

Most importantly, in keeping with the theme of community that my blog posts have centered around, looking at all we’ve talked about in this class has made me realize just how important games are in all our lives, no matter how big or small. So many of our personal values and ethos are encapsulated in these games, as well as the process of looking at them through a critical lens. Being able to engage in interesting conversations about the implications of the games we’ve played has been one of the most enjoyable and fulfilling experiences I’ve ever had. Seeing the Game Awards this week and finishing our final projects as well also made me think about the sheer amount of creativity and collaboration that goes into making games, or any form of media for that matter — they are one of many creative outlets that bring out and display the best of who we are.

When I sit down and play through my favorite games, just like many of us mentioned in class last Thursday, we’ll be able to give a whole host of reasons to play games to our friends and family…but perhaps the most important of them all is that games, just like any other form of media or art, have the power to change the way we see things.