"The History of the Interface in Interactive Art": Reading Response

The 6 artists Söke Dinkla uses to exemplify the 6 categories of interactivity are:

1. Myron Krueger – Glowflow (Power and Play)

2. Jeffrey Shaw – Points of View (Participation vs. Interaction)

3. David Rokeby – Very Nervous System (Proximity and Manipulation)

4. Lynn Hershman – Deep Contact (Strategies of Seduction)

5. Grahame Weinbren – The Erlking (Nonlinear Narration)

6. Ken Feingold – The Surprising Spiral (Remembering, Forgetting, and Reconstructing)

Videogames are often given the short end of the stick, often categorized with film and books, rather than being seen as an independent art form. In my opinion, videogames need to be looked at and seen as a legitimate art form and be autonomous from films and books. In one of my classes this year, this idea was, for the most part, agreed upon as many videogame aspects just simply cannot be looked at in terms of literary and film theory. Videogames require their own theory to be fairly judged in an artistic form, which in itself is not an easy task. Since videogames are still a relatively new art form (in comparison to film and literature), not enough work has been done to establish a videogame theory. As well, the videogame industry is moving incredibly fast, making what people have written about videogame theory obsolete within a year. In one of my classes this year, our textbook contained articles written about videogames, comparing them with literature and films, and often using games from years past to make their argument. Most of the arguments made in that textbook do not seem valid anymore, as the videogame industry has evolved so much that new technology and ideas for reinventing and revolutionizing the industry take precedence. Being one of the fastest growing industries in history, it is hard to tie gaming to one specific theory on its own, in my opinion. Videogames seem to be more of a blending of different techniques used in film and in literature to create an interactive form of art. Even though it borrows techniques from these other industries, the product stands by itself independently, and it should be judged that way.