Gore Galore: Literary Theory and Computer Games

Computer games have not been adequately theorized within the humanities. In this paper a brief history of computer games is presented as a starting point for developing a topology of games and a theory of computer games as rhetorical artifacts suitable for critical study. The paper addresses the question of why games should be treated seriously and suggests a theoretical approach based on Backhtin’s poetics of the novel where the experience of time and space (the chronotope) provides a framework of questions for discussing computer games.