NABET, NABET 2011

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MARSHALL McLUHAN, VIDEO GAMES AND THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY
Timothy L. Wilson, Peter Zackariasson

Last modified: 2011-10-10

Abstract


This paper offers a conceptualization on the nature of games as a customer offering through classical media considerations.  That is, in his seminal treatise on the media, Marshall McLuhan asserted that “The medium is the message.”  We have at hand new technology and a new medium – video games.  To get some feeling of how gamers extend themselves, we turn to two classics, James Thurber’s Secret Life of Walter Mitty and Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash for some insight.  There is an indication that life may indeed be imitating art.  In other words, video games provide a significant advancement from a pre-existing situation in a manner analogous to the way Gutenberg’s printing press changed lives through books.  Literature has long presented possibilities in which one can be immersed.  Through video games, and virtual worlds, this potential has been taken to new heights.  According to McLuhan’s treatise they may be providing even greater advances in the way we adapt in the future. 


Keywords


video games; literary approach; future