Hi everyone,
This week we had a look at the second chapter of Matthew Spokes’ examination of “Gaming and the Virtual Sublime”, which contained a history of the sublime and ways we could attempt to define it, as well as a few examples of the feeling of the sublime in video games, such as the moment in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim where you look down from the top of the Throat of the World, the largest mountain in the game, and see the town you visited just a few hours prior as a bunch of tiny pixels on your screen. That discussion also inspired me to return to Morrowind, which I must do at some point…
Next week we’ll be reading the third chapter of the book, entitled “The Contemporary Sublime”.
We also started the long-awaited “The Outer Wilds“, which is already proving to be a perfect match for the book we are reading. The rolling, endless vistas of space, the fantastic architectural flourishes, and the thrill of discovery and engagement in a video game that is both intelligent and fun should prove to be a continually engaging experience throughout the semester.
Hope everyone has a great week, looking forward to seeing people next week!