The Role of Fantasy in Video Games: A Reappraisal

Abstract

The majority of videogames as they are currently constituted seem to display a mechanistic repetitiveness in conception, development and production. A creative shallowness in games, a lack of innovation, and a tendency to clone successful titles, are in part attributable to the hegemonic control exerted by game producers.  This situation persists despite the intense frustration from the creative talent within the industry: “design documents are worked out by the marketing department; effectively as an artist or programmer you do what you’re told” (Wade 2007, p.687). This article approaches Fantasy as an underlying structuring element capable of energising the creative evolution of video games. Fantasy is interpreted as persisting throughout all game forms, and not confined to its own recognisable genre.