Redefining the borders of video games - Mélanie Courtinat
Channel: ens postdigital
Date: 2021-09-15

Both in terms of meaning and technical, but also narrative limitations, video games have to be defined by its borders. Through that perspective, the contemporary artist Mélanie Courtinat questions the preconceived idea of “real” games versus pretended “fake” ones, from Candy Crush to visual novels. She analyzes the fascination of the players for going out of bounds and the complex feelings that come with it. Through a presentation of her own works and ideas, she invites us here to rethink and redefine our own definition of the medium itself.

Mélanie Courtinat (1993) is an artist and interactive designer based in Paris and Lausanne. Her work has led her to create virtual spaces and speculative environments, using various mediums such as virtual and augmented reality, video games or 3D art. She has been on exhibit around the world, from Paris to Tokyo, Milan to San Francisco. Beside her artistic projects, she also teaches video game theory at the ECAL in Lausanne.