Games on Media: Beyond Remediation

This chapter draws on Bolter and Grusin’s concept of remediation in order to explore the reflective commentary that games provide on past media. It starts with the idea of ‘games on games’ and how video games relate to their own past, by looking at Evoland (2013) and Evoland 2: A Slight Case of Spacetime Continuum Disorder (2015) and the way in which they retell fragments of video game history. Then, the relationship between games, film, and film genre is explored by examining L.A. Noire (2012) and its film noir pedigree. Finally, through a look at Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002), its televisual and cinematic influences, its memorable soundtrack, and the game’s overall cultural impact, the issue of canon is explored.