Art and aesthetics

Abstract

It is plausible that video games contain elements of fiction. Red Dead Redemption (Rockstar San Diego, 2010) depicts the fiction of a man named John Marston, his search for the members of his old criminal gang, and his death at the hands of federal agents. Marston, the world in which he lives, and the events that take place around him are the type of depictions that would find a natural place in other fictive media such as cinema. But significantly, the gameplay of Red Dead Redemption also partakes in this fiction: the player spends his or her time hunting coyotes, searching for lost treasure, and fighting gun battles. These are not activities that the player really performs; rather it is fictional that s/he does these things.