C. Thi Nguyen, an Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Utah, dives into the fascinating intersection of games and philosophy. He discusses how games, as a unique art form, allow us to explore and experiment with agency, revealing the joy that comes from personal experience rather than mere achievement. Nguyen also addresses the dangers of gamification and how it can skew our values, leading to issues like echo chambers and conspiracy theories. Ultimately, he encourages playful exploration to unlock critical thinking and navigate the complex landscape of trust and expertise.
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From Food Writer to Philosopher
C. Thi Nguyen's drunk Chowhound posts about food got him a job as a food writer at the LA Times.
He later transitioned to philosophy, seeing games and food as underappreciated subjects.
insights INSIGHT
Defining Games
Games involve voluntarily accepting unnecessary obstacles to experience the struggle.
The goal in games is partially defined by adhering to specific restrictions, unlike real-life objectives.
insights INSIGHT
Games as Autotelic Activities
Some activities are autotelic, meaning they are valuable for their own sake, not just for the end result.
Games highlight this, as we create struggles for the enjoyment of the process itself.
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C. Thi Nguyen's "Games: Agency as Art" delves into the philosophical underpinnings of game design, exploring the concept of agency as a core element of the player experience. Nguyen argues that games are not merely entertainment but also artistic expressions that shape player agency through their mechanics and narrative. The book examines how different game designs influence player choices and actions, highlighting the interplay between player freedom and the constraints imposed by the game's rules. Nguyen's work challenges traditional notions of art and expands our understanding of how games can be both engaging and thought-provoking. It's a significant contribution to game studies and philosophy.
Games are everywhere, but why exactly do we play them? It seems counterintuitive, to artificially invent goals and obstacles just so we can struggle to achieve them. (And in some games, like Twister, the fun is in losing, even though you’re supposed to try to win.) C. Thi Nguyen is a philosopher who has developed a theory of games as an art form whose medium is agency. Within each game, we have defined goals, powers, and choices, and by playing different games we can experiment with different forms of agency. A dark side of this idea is to be found in “gamification” — turning ordinary-life activities into a game. Games give us clarity of values, and that clarity can be seductive but misleading, leading people to turn to conspiracy theories about the real world.
C. Thi Nguyen received his Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of California, Los Angeles. He is currently associate professor of Philosophy at the University of Utah. He has written public philosophy for venues such as Aeon and The New York Times, and is an editor of the aesthetics blog Aesthetics for Birds. He was the recipient of the 2020 Article Prize from the American Philosophical Association. His recent book is Games: Agency as Art.
Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas 