09/01/2023
"Movies established their cultural worth, and their merit as a form of entertainment and art for adults very early on," says Smith. "Comic books and games both started as juvenile junk food; they both scared parents and governments into thinking the medium would rot the brains of children; and both have struggled to shake off that image even as they've diversified."
Eventually we will reach a point where gaming can be understood using its own language. There will always be specialist terms, but as the medium matures it will become embedded in our cultural landscape. One of the side effects will be that terminology and basic concepts will filter into the collective consciousness – ones encompassing the art house bracket as well as the mega-budget shoot-em-ups. Until then, borrowing the language of other art forms may be the best way to describe what we’re playing.