Memory of a Broken Dimension: a study in a politics of skill for experimental art games

Abstract

This paper outlines a political theory of digital games using conceptual resources drawn from the history of art. Beginning with a close reading of a single game—Memory of a Broken Dimension—the author develops his theoretical concerns through a contrast between Ian Bogost’s theory or procedural representation and a theoretical framework focused on the politics of skill acquisition process, embodied activities of information access and manipulation, and the historically determined forms of material objects. By revisiting key texts pertaining to minimalist sculpture—specifically those of art historian Michael Fried and artist Robert Morris—the author elucidates the connection between Memory of a Broken Dimension and the lager political stakes of his project.