Game Poems
- Videogames as an avenue for human emotion
- The best games have the biggest impact
- How can videogames craft impact and meaning, tackle difficult topics and subjective experiences and explore unexpected themes and emotions
- E-poetry – poetry does not have to be made with words but experienced through different digital media
Like e-poetry, videogames can act as a kind of poetry, especially tiny games which convey a personal experience of the author. Tiny games can be like poetry, in that they are short and designed to be analysed and thought about beyond the experience of playing the game rather than soley an avenue for entertainment. These game poems thrive in interpretation and they have merit insofar as they can be experienced and interpreted differently.
Using poetry as a lens when creating games helps to create more unique games that interact with the player in rhythm and metaphor, allowing a games designer to explore serious themes conveyed through experience. ‘[…] when working on game poems, I generally force myself to focus on the games as they are experienced instead of the code that underpins them’ (Magnuson, 2023, p. 92). Designing games primarily for how they are experienced allows the designer to focus on this aspect, prioritising the elements which create this experience and removing what doesn’t serve that purpose, further highlighting the intended experience as a game poem.
