Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter by Tom Bissell

Part of what makes me nervous about analyzing my reactions to a text is that more often than not, I have about three settings: hated it, loved it, or "meh". I feel that the more I review things, the better I'll get it at it - after all, I have a liberal arts degree. If that means one thing, I hope that it means I'm able to think critically about something.

That being said, I loved this book. I loved it. I wish I had written it. It was a completely random coincidence that I came across this book. Or, maybe not. I ran across an interview with the author on IGN.com (which I check daily for gaming news), was interested in what Tom had to say about video games and immediately ordered his book on Amazon.com. Part of what interested me is that I'm just starting to becoming aware of the growing body of criticism on gaming - this was brought on by my Video Art graduate seminar, in which I wrote a research paper on the context of gaming in the art world.

It was a pretty basic paper - it could have been a lot longer, were it not for time, motivation and professor-set limits. My basic thesis was that any backlash that video games receive when their analyzed as art (from people such as Roger Ebert, though he has since recanted his poorly-thought out accusations) is simply part of the normal critical process that new mediums go through. I compared it to the initial critical backlash against photography and cinema (which were similarly derided as lacking any artistic merit) and then applied different methods for analyzing other forms of art (literature, film) to video games, as well as made examples of games that are currently pushing the boundaries of the medium. Basically, the point of my paper was blunt - games are art, and you can't argue against that.

The attitude towards games that Bissell's book takes is similar, though he is a little more willing to question/consider the artistic merit of games than I was. Even from the perspective of a non-liberal arts-educated gamer, I would have found this work entertaining at the least. There are numerous anecdotes about Bissell's gaming experiences, many of which I was able to sympathize with. These ranged from losing hours upon hours of time, to the point of missing out on important real-life events while playing Bethesda Softworks' RPG's such as Fallout 3 or Oblivion - especially the hazards of neglecting to save early and often. There was also the highly entertaining recounting of a versus match in Left 4 Dead, in which I felt just as proud of his achievement reading about it as I would have been playing it. Even when I hadn't played a game, Bissell's writing made me feel like I had - or that I wanted to, as evidenced by my new desire to play Far Cry 2.

However, I am aware of critical theory, which made this book that much more enjoyable. I was able to find reasons to justify the hundreds of hours I've spent gaming throughout my life, and the claims that I made in my paper were also reinforced. In all actuality, I wished there had been more critical discussion - I would have loved for this book to have been 5o0 pages. Alas, the target audience for this book - ostensibly in some part gamers, probably would not have enjoyed that much critical discussion. At any rate, reading a work about someone so impassioned about something - something that I also share a passion for, has inspired me to restart this blog. So I owe this author gratitude, and I'll send him an e-mail when I have the time.

I'm not going to grade this book, but if you're intelligent and a gamer it's an obligatory read.