LIBERTY AND LIMITATION: THE MULTIFACETED REPRESENTATION OF THE SEA IN VIDEO GAMES
LIBERTY AND LIMITATION: THE MULTIFACETED REPRESENTATION OF THE SEA IN VIDEO GAMES

Summary/Abstract: Acknowledged as cultural artefacts only in the late 20th century, video games have sincethen translated a plethora of great human themes and motifs into an altogether novel medium. Innumerous titles, the motif of the sea with its vast symbolism represents one such borrowing. However,compared to literature or painting, for example, video games as a form of artistic expression aremerely in their infancy, and this is readily detectable in their endeavour to represent the marineexpanse. In fact, in most cases, although the sea is beautifully depicted on the horizon, it is actuallyused by game designers to signal the end of the traversable world or, in other words, to signal a limit.The aim of this paper is to explore the tension that is thus created between the symbolically chargedrepresentation of the sea, most commonly associated with liberty, adventure and the great unknown,and the basic game mechanics that disturb this representation. Furthermore, we examine several titlesthat attempt a more authentic approach to the matter in order to gauge whether video games are orever will be able to receive and to continue the rich tradition that has rendered the multifaceted seaacross the arts.

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