I

Cinema has demonstrated, over the course of more than a century, an extraordinary communicative power, playing with the emotions of viewers to the point of creating modern myths that have influenced and continue to influence the material world. Video games have added another fictional layer to this dynamic, one that the gaming industry has long hailed as a unique and unparalleled innovation: interactivity. In the past decade, the success of the narratives and worlds proposed by video games has become a source of inspiration for cinema and other forms of storytelling, whereas previously, the opposite phenomenon (from cinematic success to video games) was more common. Is this shift mainly due to the allure of the narrative worlds presented, the growing influence of gaming communities, or commercial strategies?

How can we explore and deepen our understanding of the differences and similarities between these two media, considering that, despite the obvious distinctions in form and structure, the primary interaction with images and stories always takes place in the mind of the user, whether viewer or player?

II

The pervasive expansion of video games, understood not only as interactive software but as any form of game represented on a screen—from cinema to other forms of visual entertainment—has demonstrated the capacity to captivate both players and viewers by creating immersive universes where entertainment and narrative merge. These digital and narrative worlds not only entertain, but also act on deep unconscious levels, touching chords that might have seemed unattainable in the past. To what extent are these narrative worlds, the logic behind their construction, and the modes of agency they offer shaped by short-term market and profit demands, and to what extent do they leave room for something more? Does the kind of entertainment provided merely cater to the need for amusement and escapism, or does it contribute to building deeper meanings? What social, political, and educational impacts does the immersive power of these expressive mediums produce?

III

Video games, which are rarely conceived from the sacred and ritualistic dimension of the concept of Ludus, continue to be viewed primarily as tools of entertainment. However, Ludus has always had a formative, expressive, and constructive function, not only for the individual but for civilization as a whole: all of human history can be interpreted as Ludens. In this context, we ask whether and to what extent video games can critically and creatively express this function as builders of meaning in reality, as explorers of new questions of meaning and significance. Is it possible to define what a video game of high culture is, precisely in an era where high culture itself struggles to formulate successful ideas amidst global crises, in the face of the return of war to Europe and the acceleration of economic and cultural shocks? If video games are not merely tools of escapism from the present, how can they address deeper questions? Can (video)games be a powerful tool for learning, for solving problems, for simulating dilemmas and solutions, for imagining scenarios and multiple options, for confronting chance and necessity, and for critically navigating complexity?

"Videogames History and High Culture" is created as part of APULIA DIGITAL EXPERIENCE 2024
intervention “Promote Cinema 2024” using the resources of POC Puglia 2014/2020 – Axis VI Action 6.7