Student Independent Projects Historical Studies 2017: Human Freedom: Existential Philosophy in Video Games

Abstract

What is Humanities? This question is best answered as the study of how people process and document the human experience. This incorporates many fields such as; Philosophy, Literature, Religion, Art, Music, History, and many more which fall under the umbrella of the Humanities.1 Video games are an art form that incorporate the above listed modes of expression. Like the diverse field of the Humanities, there are many genres of games which serve different functions depending on their medium. Pong, for example, is nothing more than two-dimensional tennis, and has the sole purpose of entertaining the player; besides affecting the player's personal experience, Pong does not include any of the previously mentioned topics. However, a genre known as Role Playing Games (RPGs) does incorporate everything from the Humanities.