To game, or not to game, that is the question

Are video games art, and what can you learn from making one with team. These are questions being pondered at Salisbury University as part of a new philosophy course.

According to Dr. Timothy Stock, the professor teaching the course, and the courses creator, the class discusses the philosophy of art in socially responsible video game design.

Stock said half of the class is devoted to teams of students coming up with their own games. The other half, Stock said, students will spend studying four independently created games, debating things such as whether a game really has meaning if it has no points and can’t be won.

“When a game deliberately has no purpose or no reward system or something like that, then maybe it actually becomes more interesting to consider what is this supposed to be, what is the experience,” Stock said.

Stocks said he also hopes that through working together in teams to design their own video games he can inspire students to continue to create things after they finish his class.